More Brookside Facts......

The first episode of Brookside was broadcast at 8:00pm on Channel 4's first night, 2 November 1982.

The first words ever spoken on Brookside were by extra John Whitehall, who portrayed the Close's milkman on and off for over 10 years.

Executive producer Phil Redmond's first taste of showbiz success came when he sold a comedy sketch to Harry Secombe.

Before joining Brookie, Dean Sullivan (Jimmy Corkhill) was a supply teacher between acting jobs. He only intended to appear for just six episodes back in 1986, but proved such a hit that he was eventually given a permanent contract.

The facial piercings sported by Louise Hope (Lisa Faulkner) were fake and had to be applied by the make-up artists.

Brookside has twice taken some of its characters into separate but related mini-series, first with Damon and Debbie in 1987, then with Tracy Corkhill running away to London in South in 1988.

The name Brookside came about because the cul-de-sac in which the series was based had a brook running next to it.

Brookie was the first ever British soap to have each week's episodes repeated in a weekend omnibus edition.

When Bobby and Sheila Grant went to Rome in 1987, scenes were filmed in St Peter's Square, some even showing the Pope on his balcony.

Claire Sweeney's (Lindsey Corkhill) first job was in her dad's butcher's shop.

The Full Monty star Paul Barber appeared in 1994 as ex-convict Greg Salter.

Mark Moraghan's (Greg Shadwick) first job was in his cousin's polythene bag factory. Two years later he won his first acting-related job, working with handicapped children at a theatre company.

Only six of the 10 houses on the Close are featured in the show. The others are used as a canteen, a make-up and wardrobe department and a production room.

Louis Emerick had to undertake an extensive weight-training programme in 1996 when his character Mick Johnson was involved in a steroid abuse storyline.

Peter Phelan's ex-girlfriend was played by actor Sam Kane's real-life wife, former model Linda Lusardi.

Brookie is a family affair for actor Paul Byatt (Mike Dixon). His brother Liam and sisters Sharon and Michelle have all had roles in the show.

Michael Starke (Sinbad) didn't start acting until he was 26, and previously worked as a chef and a roadsweeper.

In 1990, the actors playing the Rogers family went to the House of Commons to help launch the British Dyslexia Society's Awareness Week on the back of the story of Geoff Roger's learning difficulties.

When the residents of an estate in Bradford were consulted about how they wanted their estate to look after redevelopment, they opted for a copy of Brookside Close.

The most-watched episode so far went out on 31 January 1995. Some 8.96 million watched as Eddie Banks made the gruesome discovery of Trevor Jordache's body.

Over 200 viewers complained to Channel 4 when one episode ended with Barry Grant apparently on the verge of chopping off a dog's head.

In 1991, Kevin Carson asked if his character Geoff Rogers could be killed off. As Sue and Danny had already died that year, the producers decided he should leave on a happy note, and had the footballer join Torquay United.

Vince Earl (Ron Dixon) competed on New Faces in 1975 with his band. He was beaten by Roger DeCourcey and Nookie Bear.

Max Farnham wasn't actor Steven Pinder's first stab at soap stardom. Back in the early 1980's he played hapless fitness instructor and corner shop owner Roy Lambert in Crossroads.

Ricky Tomlinson, who played trade unionist Bobby Grant, was one of the 'Shrewsbury Three', who were jailed in the 1970's for their part in the building workers' strike.

Sue Jenkins (Jackie Corkhill) is one of a small band of actors to take major roles in two different soaps. Back in the mid-1980's she played barmaid Gloria Todd in Coronation Street.

Irene Marot, who played DD Dixon originally auditioned for the role of Billy Corkhill's wife Doreen.

Brookside Parade was opened in the 1000th episode on 9 October 1991 - the same day Sue and Danny Sullivan were murdered.

Alex Fletcher (Jacqui Dixon) trained under acting coach Nikki Lindsay - sister of Rachael, who played Sammy Rogers.

Tiffany Chapman (Rachel Jordache) was named after Tiffany Welles, one of the lesser known Charlies Angels.

Philip Olivier originally auditioned for the role of Lee Banks before being cast as Tim O'Leary.

Clive Moore, who played priest Derek O'Farrell, trained as a dentist before turning to acting.

Although the Parade is supposed to be a short walk from the Close, the two locations are actually five miles apart.

Brookside is filmed six weeks before transmission. It takes six 10-hour days to make three episodes.

Brookside employs three gardeners to ensure that the plants and flowers seen in episodes are correct for the time of year they are broadcast.

All the Close's houses have actual hot and cold running water, and fully-functioning central heating, fridges, cookers and washing machines.

The deaths of Matthew and Emily Farnham came about because producers wanted a surrogacy storyline.

The role of Fee Phelan, eventually taken by Jackie Downey, was meant to be played by Cheryl Murray, Corrie's Suzie Birchall.

Phil Redmond bought the original nine houses in Brookside Close for £25,000 each.

Letitia Dean and Malandra Burrows had minor roles in Brookside before finding greater soap fame in Eastenders and Emmerdale respectively.

Andrew Fillis, who played Lindsey Corkhill's abusive husband Gary Stanlow, originally auditioned for the role of Carl Banks.

Paul Usher (Barry Grant) was a Bluecoat at Pontins.

The late Gladys Ambrose, who played Julia Brogan, previously appeared in a comedy acrobatic act alongside her husband Johannes.

Three different versions of the murder of Sue and Danny Sullivan were filmed in 1991, with Barry Grant, Terry Sullivan and Graeme Curtis each seen pushing them off scaffolding.

Carol Connor who played Carmel O'Leary, is the sister of singer Sonia and sang backing vocals when she competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993.

Phil Redmond's determination to keep Brookside realistic caused uproar when early episodes had characters swearing. He eventually caved in to public opinion and toned down the language.

Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson, (Sheila and Bobby Grant) raised money for miners' families during the 1985 strike, and were honoured by the National Union of Mineworkers.

Sue Jenkins' (Jackie Corkhill) husband is actor David Fleeshman, who played Emmerdale's crooked councillor Charlie Aindow. David also made a fleeting appearance in Brookie, and was served by Jackie in Ron Dixon's shop.

The Broadcasting Standards Council forced Channel 4 to broadcast an apology in 1996 for showing brother and sister Nat and Georgia Simpson in bed together.

The swimming pool in the Health Club is the same one that is used in the college leisure centre in Hollyoaks. It is split diagonally through the middle with the Brookie Decor on one half and Hollyoaks' on the other.

Steven Pinner, who played Jonathan Gordon-Davies, now acts under his real name, Steven Finch, in order to avoid confusion with ex-Brookside actor Steven Pinder (Max Farnham).

Alan Rothwell, who played Heather Haversham's heroin-addicted husband Nicholas Black, was one of the original stars of Coronation Street, playing Ken Barlow's brother David.

It was no coincidence that Debbie McGrath named her newborn son Simon - it was after Simon O'Brien, who played his late father Damon Grant.

There was another first in Brookside in February 1999 when Susannah breastfed her baby in Bar Brookie. The scene used a real-life mother and baby for the shots and was the first time a soap had broken the taboo.

The British Meningitis Trust commended the programme in 1990 for the thoroughness of its research in the storyline where Danny Sullivan contracted the illness.

There have been two crossover plots between Brookside and fellow Mersey Television show Hollyoaks: Jacqui and Katie saw actors from the latter in Chester 1998, while Jessie Shadwick and Alec O'Brien popped into the Hollyoaks pub The Dog In The Pond for a swift half in May 1999.

Former Neighbours and Home and Away star Richard Norton appeared in 1995 as a fictional Aussie soap star called Shane Cochran, who died after taking heroin sold to him by Gary Stanlow.

When Laura Gordon-Davies was electrocuted in 1987, she was in a coma for three months - the producers' revenge on actress Jane Cunliffe, who caused them problems by quitting the show.

Bryan Murray, who was well-known for his comedy roles such as Shifty in the sitcom Bread, was deliberately cast as evil Trevor Jordache to fool people into thinking he was a nice character.

Harry Cross was originally meant to die from a heart attack after three months, but the character was so popular that he stayed for five years.

Eileen O'Brien, who played Mick's terminally ill mother-in-law Gladys Charlton, was previously punk Mary Smith's mother in Eastenders.

When Paul Usher (Barry Grant) left the show suddenly in 1993, scripts had to be hastily rewritten. Most of his dialogue was given to Mick, while a disembodied hand was seen packing a suitcase.

Award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, famous for Cracker, Hillsborough and The Lakes, wrote some of Brooksides early episodes.

Tricia Penrose, who plays barmaid Gina Ward in Heartbeat, appeared in 1988 as Emma Reid, a WPC with whom Rod Corkhill had a steamy affair.

Suzanne Packer, who played Mick Johnson's errant wife Josie, is the sister of Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson.

Ricky Tomlinson (Bobby Grant) was once in a country and western band alongside future co-star Tony Scoggo, who played Bobby's best friend Matty Nolan.

The entire Collins family had to be written out in 1990 when Doreen Sloane, who played matriarch Annabelle, tragically died of cancer.