Brookside (TV series)

Brookside
GenreSoap opera
Created byPhil Redmond
StarringList of characters
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2,915[1]
Production
Executive producerPhil Redmond
ProducersColin Mckeown
Paul Marquess
Will Scarnell
Lizzie Taylor
Stuart Doughty
Mal Young
Christopher McCaw
David Andrews
David Hanson
Jon East
Production locationsLiverpool, England
Production companyMersey Television
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release2 November 1982 (1982-11-02) –
4 November 2003 (2003-11-04)
Related
Damon and Debbie (1987)
South (1988)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Brookside is a British television soap opera, set in Liverpool, England, which began on the launch night of Channel 4, 2 November 1982. It ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003.[2] It was produced by Mersey Television and conceived by Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond.[3][4]

Brookside was Channel 4's highest rated programme from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, with audiences regularly in excess of seven million.[5] Initially notable for its realistic and socially challenging storylines,[6] from the mid-1990s the show began raising more controversial subjects under new producers such as Mal Young and Paul Marquess.[7] It is especially well known for broadcasting the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television in 1994, as well as a domestic abuse storyline resulting in murder.[7] It also had the first gay character on a British TV series, who was outed in a 1985 storyline.[8] In 1996, the series experienced an extreme backlash from viewers when it featured a hugely controversial storyline focusing on an incestuous sexual relationship between two siblings,[9] and from that point the show became notable for its more outrageous and improbable storylines.

Although the series had a long and successful run, its viewing figures were in terminal decline by 2000, and low ratings eventually led to its cancellation in June 2003.[10] The final episode was broadcast on 4 November 2003 and was watched by around two million viewers.[11][12]

The first episode of Brookside was repeated as part of Channel 4 at 25 on 1 October 2007. The episode aired on More4 in a season of celebratory Channel 4 programmes to mark the channel's 25th anniversary. Several classic episodes have also been available to view on All 4 since 2009. After years of campaigning by fans, the special DVD Brookside Most Memorable Moments was released in November 2012, just over 30 years after the series originally began. It features clips and episodes from the programme's 21-year history.[13][14] In January 2023, STV Player signed a deal with distributor All3Media to become the first streaming service to provide every episode.[15] Original cast members Claire Sweeney and Sunetra Sarker praised the decision to relaunch the show on STV Player.[16]

  1. ^ "Brookside guide-70". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  2. ^ Kibble-White, Graham, 20 Years of Brookside, p. 13
  3. ^ Kelly, Gordon P. (8 September 2011). "Ancient Historiography (L.) Pitcher Writing Ancient History. An Introduction to Classical Historiography. (Library of Classical Studies 1.) Pp. x + 275. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2009. Paper, £15.99 (Cased, £45). ISBN: 978-1-84511-958-4 (978-1-84511-957-7 hbk)". The Classical Review. 61 (2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/s0009840x11000874. ISSN 0009-840X. S2CID 161838081.
  4. ^ "Interview: Phil Redmond, creator of Grange Hill and Hollyoaks, on what's wrong with British TV". Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  5. ^ Reporter, Adam Sherwin, Media (11 October 2002). "Brookside falls foul to plague of missing viewers". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 June 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Tansley, Janet (28 January 2015). "Brookside's famous patio 20 years on – who lives in the Close now?". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  7. ^ a b Lawson, Mark (14 October 2002). "Mark Lawson on 20 years of Brookside". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Seventy five years of British television: The Mirror looks back at the key moments". The Mirror. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  9. ^ Plunkett, John (10 October 2002). "Brookside: the highs and lows". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Brookside is finally axed". BBC News. 11 June 2003. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  11. ^ "Brookside bows out after 21 years". BBC News. 5 November 2003. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  12. ^ "Two million watch Brookside's end". BBC News. 5 November 2003. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Brookside fans take to new campaign". ATV Today. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. ^ Humphries, Jonathan (30 May 2015). "Huyton man gathers 12,500 signatures in petition for bring back The Inbetweeners". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. ^ "All3Media deal sees classic UK soap Brookside stream for first time on STV Player". C21media. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Brookside: Actors' delight as STV Player to stream soap from start". BBC News. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.