Characters played by more than one performer....
by the Brookside Expert "
In twenty years of "Brookside", it appears that there have only been thirteen adult (or eventually approaching adult) characters who were played by two different credited performers:
1 LUCY COLLINS - Katrin Cartlidge in episodes 1 to 122, and in episodes 785 to 797 / Maggie Saunders in episodes 309 to 366.
2 GORDON COLLINS - Nigel Crowley in episodes 1 to 210, Mark Burgess in episodes 399 to 798 (And a stand-in in episode 467 !).
3 MARIE JACKSON - Antonia Mallen, stand-in in episode 29, Anna Keaveney, episodes 36 to 1103.
4 FATHER DALEY, Sheila Grant's local priest - Frank Crompton in episodes 31 and 153, Henry Moxon in episodes 254, 531, 532 and 672.
5 JACK HAVERSHAM, Heather's father - Kevin Flood in episode 99, Liam O'Callaghan in episode 383.
6 KATIE ROGERS - Debbie Reynolds in episodes 533 to 643, Diane Burke in episodes 656 to 2900.
7 GEOFF / GROWLER ROGERS - Kevin Carson in episodes 533 to 971, Stephen Walters in episodes 1310 to 1346.
8 LEO JOHNSON - Leeon Sawyer in episodes 776 to 1782, Steven Cole in episodes 1821 to 2513.
9 GEMMA JOHNSON - Naomi Kamanga in episodes 776 to 2082, Carla Jarratt in episodes 2110 to 2491.
10 TONY DIXON - Gerrard Bostock in episodes 843 to 1020, Mark Lennock in episodes 1089 to 1368.
11 LISA MORRISEY, Susannah's sister - Amanda Nolan in episodes 1875 to 2280, Nina Marc in episodes 2450 to 2577.
12 VONNIE / YVONNE JOHNSON, Jerome's mother - Nicola Gardiner in episodes 2173 and 2183, Suzette Llewellyn in episodes 2455 to 2469.
13 MRS JEAN CLOUGH, Imelda's mother - Annie Tyson in episodes 2627 and 2671, Meryl Hampton in episodes 2795 to 2800.
But there were also twenty-two adult characters who were played by a stand-in
on rare occasions when the main performer was unavailable or not really required
(eg if the character would only be seen from a distance, or was unconscious
or dead!):
George Williams (ep 74); Rose Thurley (ep 99); Nicholas Black (ep 430); Damon Grant (ep 530); Jonathan Gordon-Davies, Gang Leader and Gang Member (ep 597); Ron Dixon (ep 842); Susannah Farnham/Morrisey (eps 940, 2453, 2454); Gary Stanlow (ep 1028); Cyril Dixon (ep 1038); Clive Crosbie MP (ep 1325); Terry Sullivan (ep 1441); Simon Howe (eps 1443, 1482); Barry Grant (ep 1544); Beth Jordache (ep 1601); Tom Evans [DD's fiance] (ep 1736); Dick Ronson (ep 1912); Ben O'Leary (ep 2050); Bernie Connor (ep 2109); Kitty Hilton (ep 2540) and Robbie Moffatt (ep 2602).
At least twelve recurring younger characters have been played by more than one child over the years, especially those seen in the series since birth: Thomas Farnham, Daniel Sullivan, Fiona Lambert, Jenny Lambert, Louise Daniels/Rogers, Josh McLoughlin, Kylie Stanlow/Corkhill, William Corkhill, Ruth Sweeney, Harry Farnham, Emma Farnham and Beth Dixon. Some of the young performers have been named in the credits, but others have not, at the discretion of their parents/guardians.
Four adult characters were also played by younger
stand-ins for "flashback" sequences: Stephen Nolan (Matty's son)
was played as an adult by Ian Puleston-Smith in episode 395, after being heard
as a boy in his mother's disturbed mind in episode 394; Susannah Morrisey
was seen as a child on videotape in episodes 2444 to 2449; Lisa Morrisey was
also seen as a child in another part of the same video in episodes 2447 and
2448; and Daphne Morrisey was seen as a young mother in the same video in
episodes 2447 and 2448, then heard in episode 2449 and seen in episode 2450,
played by Daphne Oxenford.
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Opening and closing sequences...by the Brookside Expert "
In twenty-one years and 2,915 episodes of "Brookside", thirteen different sets of opening credits have been used:
1 Episodes 1 (Tue 02-11-82 "B-------") to 499 (Mon 10-08-87 "Nearly There") - various views of the Close only, with parked cars including Bobby Grant's Princess [499 episodes]
2 Episodes 500 (Tue 11-08-87 "Ready") to 1001 (Fri 04-10-91 "Over The Edge") - still just the Close, but the parked cars are different! [502 episodes]
3 Episodes 1002 (Mon 27-10-91 "Lovely Person" to 1154 (Fri 25-09-92 "Bleeding") - views of the Parade, including the Trading Post, now feature as well [153 episodes]
4 Episodes 1155 (Mon 28-09-92 "Coping") to 1190 (Fri 18-12-92 "Looking Good") - the petrol station now appears too, along with some cyclists [only 36 episodes]
5 Episodes 1191 (Mon 21-12-92 "Parental Advice") to 1850 (Fri 14-02-97 "Bar Brookie") - Similar to the previous one, but the parade and petrol station images are different, and there are now some skateboarders [Longest running sequence - 660 episodes]
6 Episodes 1851 (Tue 18-02-97 "The Morning After") to 1894 (Fri 23-05-97 "Lascivious") - the bar is added, and there are several cyclists [only 44 episodes]
7 Episodes 1895 (Tue 27-05-97 "You've Had It") to 2100 (Fri 28-08-98 "Beyond A Joke") - VERY similar to the previous one, but a walking male can now be seen from two angles instead of some of the cyclists [206 episodes]
8 Episodes 2101 (Mon 31-08-98 "Too Weak To Resist") to 2232 (Fri 25-06-99 "Luring" - again not very much change, but it's now a walking female seen from two angles (and at two speeds!) [132 episodes]
9 Episodes 2233 (Tue 29-06-99 "The Truth") to 2346 (Fri 17-03-00 "St Pat's Day") - the first completely re-worked two-screen sequence [114 episodes]
10 Episodes 2347 (Tue 21-03-00 "Breakables") to 2364 (Fri 28-04-00 "Can't Let This Go On"), episodes 2368 (Tue 09-05-00 "Feeling Guilty" to 2670 (Thu 11-04-02 "Trauma Therapy") and [by mistake] episode 2712 (Wed 17-07-02 "In The Frame") - "Bev's Bar" now features prominently in the middle of an otherwise similar sequence to the previous one[322 episodes]
11 Episodes 2365 (Tue 02-05-00 "Hens")
to 2367 (Fri 05-05-00 "Adios") - these special episodes were set
entirely in Benidorm and an entirely different set of images of this location
replaced all the ones of Liverpool
[3 episodes]
12 Episodes 2671 (Fri 12-04-02 "Second Fiddle") to 2758 (Th 31-10-02 "Fireworks"), apart from episode 2712 (see above) - the sign "Bev's Bar" has now been taken down, although there is not much change otherwise! [87 episodes].
13 Episodes 2759 (Wed 06-11-02 "Men With Guns") to 2915 (Tue 04-11-03 "Close") [157 episodes - mostly artificial triples].
The third and thirteenth sequences are the only ones in which ALL of the images
are new - all other versions retain at least a few parts of earlier ones.
The closing credits are rolled over a light blue background for the first
104 episodes - with a slightly different layout being used for episodes 35
to 42 - then over an image of the close (periodically updated, on similar
dates to the changes in the opening credits) until episode 2232 - from episode
2233 onwards, "Next" pictures are incorporated.
Apart from the almost annual additions of the cast and crew waving during the closing credits of an episode or two at Christmas/New Year, there are a few other noteworthy exceptions:
- In episode 96 (Tue 28-09-83 "Memory Lane") the action continued AFTER the end credits, but before the "Mersey Television Production" caption - rather like the old version of "Crossroads" always used to do!! In this episode, it is Bobby and Sheila Grant's wedding anniversary, and the post-credits action is of them collapsing into bed, drunk and laughing, after the celebrations.
- In episode 155 (Mon 24-04-84 "Take The Money") the action continues THROUGHOUT the rolling of the closing credits, as Alan Partridge bashes his head repeatedly on the road, until his horrible friend Liz takes him into the house.
- Episode 208 (Wed 24-10-84 "New Evidence") ends with George Jackson being led into a prison cell - there is a long freeze-frame of him, and the picture suddenly turns black with the accompanying sound effect of a slamming cell door - the credits begin on this black background, then the normal image of the Close gradually fades back in.
- Episode 232 (Tue 15-01-85 "Allegations") ends with a moving aerial view of Liverpool, starting from the tower on the inside of the windows of which the Hughes lads have painted letters that spell out "FREE GEORGe JACKSON". This then fades into the normal closing image of the Close.
- In episode 1275 (Mon -5-07-93 "Is There A Future?) Max Farnham is taken ill - in a somewhat "Basil Fawlty" kind of way - and the final scene is of the ambulance taking him away. The view of the Close after the ambulance has gone remains throughout the closing credits, instead of the usual one.
- A significant proportion of the closing credits of episode 1788 (Wed 02-10-96 "Urgency") are rolled over the closing images of Patricia Farnham and Eric Brunet slowly wandering through a French vineyard. Eventually, though, the usual image of the Close is faded back in.
- Finally, to accomodate late schedule changes, all the closing credits except for "A Mersey Television Production" were removed from Channel Four's broadcast of episode 2033 (Tue 31-03-98 "Birth Partner").
Other unusual variations from the norm include:
- The first half of episode 750 (W 27-12-89 'Contradictions') ends with a giant Christmas tree falling over outside number 10 and blocking the road. As the tree falls, the picture cuts to a long shot of the Close, from a similar angle to the standard interval caption, but showing a "current" shot of the Close with the tree blocking the road, over which the "End of Part One" caption appears, accompanied by the normal music.
In episode 1250 ( F 07-05-93 "No Turning Back"), the last view of the Close from the normal opening sequence, with the "Brookside Close" sign in the foreground on the left and Frank's Cortina in the background on the right, is replaced by one taken from a very similar angle, but with noticeably different lighting. It then becomes clear that this is the actually the first scene of the episode proper, as a postman walks past the sign and on into the Close to make his deliveries!
- The first half of episode 2581 (F 14-09-01 "Wedding")
closes with END OF PART ONE (or, for viewers not watching in widescreen, END
OF PART O ) superimposed over the action instead of the usual graphic of the
Close.
More from the Brookside Expert "............