Brookside was a groundbreaking soap that first aired on Channel 4 in 1982, and ran for 21 years – and it’s about to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The soap – which starred the likes of Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson and Anna Friel – wasn’t afraid to tackle controversial subjects.
The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on November 02 1982.
Brookside, produced by Mersey Television, was created by Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond.
Here’s everything you need to know about the series as Brookside celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Read more: Brookside fans think soap predicted Coronavirus
Brookside 40th anniversary: Is Brookside going to return?
There is some hopeful news for fans – Brookside creator Sir Phil Redmond has teased some form of comeback as the show approaches its 40th anniversary.
The iconic series celebrates four decades since it first started on November 2 this year, and Phil has hinted at a possible film.
Phil is currently working on a Grange Hill film and teased a similar project for Brookside in an interview with BBC Breakfast.
He said: “I’ve also got all the old Brookie crew and the Hollyoaks gang saying they would love to be in it so who knows?
“If we’re going to do Grange Hill this year, perhaps we’ll go to Brookie next and Hollyoaks the year after that.”
When asked directly if Brookie is coming back, he replied: “The whole world seems to be going back to the 80s so why not?”
He added: “One of the things I’ve learnt in my career is that, if you really want to do something, you can have it up and running in the next couple of months.”
Watch this space!
Will Brookside be repeated?
There are currently no plans for the whole run of Brookside to be repeated .
But fans can watch a selection of episodes with a BritBox subscription.
The streaming service has eight in total.
These include the first episode, Sheila’s attack, Sue and baby Daniel’s deaths, Beth and Margaret’s kiss, the body under the patio, and the final episode.
These same episodes are available free to All4 viewers.
Read more: Brookside fan launches petition for the release of classic episodes
Brookside 40th anniversary: Where was Brookside filmed?
The soap was set in a housing estate near Liverpool.
The Channel 4 series filmed in real houses in a cul-de-sac, off Deysbrook Lane in Croxteth.
Mersey Television bought 13 new-build houses, with six of them used as sets and the remaining used for production facilities.
Although the show came to an end in 2003, Mersey TV hung on to Brookside Close for another two years.
After that, the houses and Redmond’s company were bought for £40m by All3Media in 2005.
The close then passed to a property developer who refurbished all the houses.
How did Brookside end?
The final episode saw the return of iconic characters Barry Grant (Paul Usher) and Lindsey Corkhill (Claire Sweeney).
They returned for the soap’s swan song.
Drug dealer Jack Michaelson (Paul Duckworth) had been terrorising the Close for weeks.
A lynch mob – including Tim O’Leary, Steve and Marty Murray, and Dean Sullivan’s character Jimmy Corkhill – decided to deal with him in a very Brookside way.
By murdering him!
Meanwhile, Barry dealt justice to the two men who had killed his brother Damon 15 years earlier.
He was waiting for them on their release from prison…
The final poignant scenes saw Jimmy Corkhill leaving the close, which had been bought by a company building an incinerator.
He was the last resident to leave Brookside Close.
He added the letter ‘d’ to the word ‘Close’, symbolically signalling the end of the soap.
Scriptwriters named drug dealer named Jack Michaelson, as a play on the name Michael Jackson, the Channel 4 controller who had axed the soap.
Read more: Brookside stars back soap’s return
Brookside 40th anniversary: When was the last episode of Brookside?
The final episode of Brookside aired on Channel 4 on November 4, 2003.
At least 1.9million viewers tuned in to bid the soap farewell.
The series had run for 21 years, since November 02, 1982.
How many episodes were made?
Over the course of 22 series, there were 2915 episodes in total.
Stand-out episodes include the rape of Sheila Grant, the murder of Trevor Jordache, Beth and Margaret’s lesbian kiss, and Sue and baby Daniel’s deaths.
Of course, later viewers will remember the 1996 incest storyline involving brother and sister Nat and Georgia Simpson.
There was also a deadly virus – sound familiar? – and the Millennium Club explosion of 1999.
The explosion killed Greg Shadwick, who was too busy having sex in the shower with Susannah Farnham to hear the alarm.
His son Jason Shadwick was also killed, after being crushed by rubble whilst trying to save Greg.
Other memorable episodes included Josh Carter taking his own life by setting himself on fire.
Brookside 40th anniversary: Why did it end?
Simply, it was down to demand.
In its 80s heyday, the soap had 8million viewers per episode.
However, viewing figures dropped to just half a million.
Therefore, Channel 4 made the decision to axe the soap.
Creator Phil Redmond blamed the drop in part for the soap being shunted around the TV schedule.
Where to watch Brookside now?
Nostalgia seekers are able to watch some episodes of Brookside on All 4.
These include the first ever episode from 1982, and several classic episodes from 1986, 1991, 1994, 1995 and 2003.
Of course, these classic episodes cover THAT lesbian kiss (the first pre-watershed), Sheila’s horrifying rape, and the body under the patio.
The last ever episode, which aired on 2003, is also available to watch.
It sees Barry Grant and Lindsey Corkhill return, and Barry asking Jimmy for Lindsey’s hand in marriage.
There are several iconic Brookside episodes on BritBox, too.
Sadly, Brookside DVD’s are not available, although some are Amazon and Ebay users are selling VHS copies.
Brookside is available to watch on All 4, and BritBox.
Would you like to see Brookside return? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.