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Brookside (TV Series)
''Brookside'' is a British television soap opera, set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003. Originally intended to be called ''Meadowcroft'', the series was produced by Mersey Television (now renamed Lime Pictures) and was conceived by ''Grange Hill'' and ''Hollyoaks'' creator Phil Redmond. ''Brookside'' became very successful and was often Channel 4's highest rated programme in the mid-1980s, with audiences regularly in excess of eight million viewers. Initially notable for its realistic and socially challenging storylines, from the mid-1990s the show began raising more controversial subjects under the guidance of new producers such as Mal Young and Paul Marquess. It is especially well known for broadcasting the first pre-Watershed (television), watershed lesbian kiss on British television in 1994, as well as a domestic abuse storyline resulting in murder. It also had the first op ...
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Soap Opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.Bowles, p. 118. The term was preceded by " horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns. BBC Radio's '' The Archers'', first broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running current television soap is ''Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960, with the record for the longest running soap opera in history being held by ''Guiding Light'', which began on radio in 1937, transitioned to television in 1952, and ended in 2009. A crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the defining features that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Albe ...
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Cul-de-sac
A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology and traffic signs include many different alternatives. Some of these are used only regionally. In the United States and other countries, ''cul-de-sac'' is often not an exact synonym for ''dead end'' and refers to dead ends with a circular end, allowing for easy turning at the end of the road. In Australia and Canada, they are usually referred to as a ''court'' when they have a bulbous end. Dead ends are added to road layouts in urban planning to limit through-traffic in residential areas. While some dead ends provide no possible passage except in and out of their road entry, others allow cyclists, pedestrians or other non-automotive traffic to pass through connecting easements or paths, an example of filtered permeability. The Internatio ...
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Metropolitan Borough Of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of Liverpool faces the northeastern side of Wirral over the Mersey. Geography Bordering is the River Mersey to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and the River Dee to the west; the borough of Cheshire West and Chester occupies the remainder of the Wirral Peninsula and borders the borough of Wirral to the south. The borough of Wirral has greater proportions of rural areas than the Liverpool part of Merseyside. History The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the county boroughs of Birkenhead and Wallasey, along with the municipal borough of Bebington and the urban districts of Hoylake and Wirral. Economy This is a chart of tre ...
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Jim Wiggins (actor)
Jim Wiggins (13 March 1922 – 1999) was an English actor, best known for his role as Paul Collins in the long-running television soap '' Brookside''. Wiggins was born in Birkenhead. An amateur actor for many years, he finally turned professional in 1978, having had careers in the Army, civil service as a teacher and later a Deputy Headmaster. As well as his role in ''Brookside'' (from 1982 to 1990), he appeared in a number of other television series. These include '' The Gentle Touch'', ''The Bill'', '' Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime'', '' Emmerdale Farm'' and ''The Professionals A professional is someone who is skilled in a profession. Professional or professionals may also refer to: * Professional sports Music *The Professionals (band), a British punk rock band formed in 1979 * ''The Professionals'' (The Professionals ...''. He died in London. External links * * 1922 births 1999 deaths English male television actors People from Birkenhead 20th-centur ...
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Paul Collins (Brookside)
Paul Collins is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'', played by Jim Wiggins. One of the show's original characters, Paul debuted during the episode broadcast on 2 November 1982. Wiggins was cast by ''Brookside'' creator Phil Redmond and Janet Goddard. Paul is introduced as the husband of Annabelle Collins ( Doreen Sloane) and father to Gordon Collins (Nigel Crowley) and Lucy Collins ( Katrin Cartlidge). Paul is characterised as an unlucky character who has been made redundant from a lucrative management role. He is forced to move to a small house on Brookside Close and change his lifestyle. Writers made him appear as a product of a different generation and an ex-army officer who had a sense of discipline instilled in him. Wiggins has described Paul as "aloof" and "conservative", which made viewers unsympathetic to his plight. Paul's stories include dealing with unemployment, depression and his son's homosexuality. He also contends with L ...
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Doreen Sloane
Doreen Sloane (24 February 1934, in Birkenhead – 8 April 1990, in Liverpool) was an English actress, best known for playing Annabelle Collins, one of the original characters in the soap opera ''Brookside'' on Channel 4 between 1982 and 1990. She trained at the Elliott Clarke Theatre School in Liverpool and appeared in repertory theatres before being cast in the first of four roles in ''Coronation Street''. Sloane also appeared in the films ''Yanks'' and ''Chariots of Fire''. Other TV appearances include ''Nearest and Dearest'', ''Last of the Summer Wine'' , '' How We Used To Live'' and in the soap opera ''Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...''. She died of cancer at the age of only 56. The final scenes she recorded for ''Brookside'' went to air after he ...
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Annabelle Collins (Brookside)
Annabelle Collins is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'', played by Doreen Sloane. One of the show's original characters, Annabelle debuted during the episode broadcast on 2 November 1982. Annabelle is characterised as an intelligent woman who is used to a luxurious lifestyle. She is married to Paul Collins ( Jim Wiggins) and they move into Brookside Close during the show's first episode. The move is a downsize from a big house after Paul loses a lucrative management role. Annabelle struggles to adjust to her new lifestyle but eventually becomes active in her new community. She is portrayed as generous and neighbourly, but also displays characteristics of snobbery. Writers created a difficult marriage for Annabelle and Paul. Annabelle stories were often centric to the problems of her children, Gordon Collins (Nigel Crowley) and Lucy Collins (Katrin Cartlidge). Annabelle struggles to accept her son's homosexuality and her daughter's wayward ...
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Council Estate
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. Houses and flats built for public or social housing use are built by or for local authorities and known as council houses, though since the 1980s the role of non-profit housing associations became more important and subsequently the term "social housing" became more widely used, as technically council housing only refers to housing owned by a local authority, though the terms are largely used interchangeably. Before 1865, housing for the poor was provided solely by the private sector. Council houses were built on council estates, known as schemes in Scotland, where other amenities, like schools and shops, were often also provided. From the 1950s, blocks of flats and three-or-four-storey blocks of maisonettes were widely bui ...
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Middle-class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Common definitions for the middle class range from the middle fifth of individuals on a nation's income ladder, to everyone but the poorest and wealthiest 20%. Theories like "Paradox of Interest" use decile groups and wealth distribution data to determine the size and wealth share of the middle class. From a Marxist standpoint, middle class initially referred to the ' bourgeoisie,' as distinct from nobility. With the development of capitalist societies and further inclusion of the bourgeoisie into the ruling class, middle class has been more closely identified by Marxist scholars with the term ' petite bourgeoisie.' There has been significant global middle-class growth over time. In February 2009, ''The Economist'' asserted that over half ...
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Ricky Tomlinson
Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular character in the film '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' (2001). Early life Eric Tomlinson was born on 26 September 1939 at Burleigh House in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, and has lived in Liverpool nearly all his life. His father was a baker and he was born in Bispham, near Blackpool, because, just after the outbreak of World War II, his mother Peggy was evacuated there over concerns that Liverpool would be bombed. He attended Walton Technical College in Walton, after passing an exam when he was 13. His favourite subject was English. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Tomlinson played banjo in bands known as the Guitanjos, Hobo Rick & The City Slickers, and Hobo Rick and the Hi-Free Three. For a time, the band's pianist was John "Du ...
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Bobby Grant (Brookside)
This is a comprehensive list of characters from the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' in alphabetical order by the character's surnames. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T V W Y {{Brookside * Brookside Brookside Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...
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Sue Johnston
Susan Johnston OBE (née Wright; born 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2000, 2006–2012), Grace Foley in the BBC drama '' Waking the Dead'' (2000–2011), Gloria Price in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2012–2014) and Miss Denker in the ITV drama ''Downton Abbey'' (2014–2015). She won the 2000 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress and was nominated for the 2000 BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance for ''The Royle Family''. Early life Johnston was born on 7 December 1943 in Warrington, Cheshire, and grew up in Prescot, also in Lancashire. She is the daughter of Fred and Margaret Jane Wright (née Cowan). After working as a Higher Grade tax inspector, when her boyfriend was one of the pop group The Swinging Blue Jeans, she worked for Brian Epstein. From the age of 21, Johnston ...
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