Jimmy Corkhills Family Continued.........

The atmosphere in the Corkhill house became decidedly frosty as Jimmy and Jackie argued about their rights, and what would happen after they were divorced. Jimmy maintained that he should not only have custody of William but also possession of the house as part of the divorce settlement. Jackie retaliated by saying Jimmy would never be granted custody of their son because of his history of metal illness. Jimmy further upset Jackie by labeling all the cupboards that contained his food, and inviting customers from Bev's Bar back for a drink after the bar had closed.

At one point Jackie decided to move out but changed her mind when she discovered Lindsey wanted to buy her share of the house. Jimmy was determined to make life as difficult as possible for Jackie, and with this in mind decided to partition the house in two, with Jackie being confined to upstairs. Eventually Jackie found living at No 10 too much of a strain and agreed to move out but not before making her peace with Lindsey.

Despite his own marital problems Jimmy was soon offering advice to Anthea after she and Ron had a difference of opinion on what happened the night Clint was shot. Later Jimmy offered to help out Tim and Emily by allowing them to stay at No 10 after they were no longer welcome at Mick's house. Lindsey was not impressed by this arrangement but agreed to put up with the new lodgers. However when Jackie moved back in an attempt to reconcile with Jimmy, she made it clear to Tim that she wanted them out. When Jimmy learned of her interference, it was Jackie that was forced to leave instead.

Jimmy got on particularly well with Tim and tried to help him keep on the right side of the law. Despite Jimmy's good advice Tim was soon in trouble as a result of supplying Ron with the gun that killed Clint. After learning of his plight Jimmy persuaded Ron to lie in court about where he got the gun.

In the following weeks other neighbours turned to Jimmy for advice and help, first was Mick Johnson who was contemplating suicide. Jimmy managed to convince him that instead of ending it all, he should start a new life away from Brookside Close Soon after, Jimmy helped Lindsey and Tim discover the whereabouts of Harry after he was abducted by Robbie Moffat. Later Jimmy was only too pleased to help Nikki Shadwick when she asked for his assistance on her project about mental illness.

Meanwhile Jimmy received his divorce papers, and although at first he wanted to contest the decision over Jackie's right to have custody of William they later parted on good terms, with Jackie leaving the close for good on Jimmy's 50th birthday. Lindsey stayed on for a while, but when she had a chance of a good job in Newcastle, Jimmy convinced her that he could manage on his own, and told her to take the job.

Jimmy now only had Tim and Emily, so when he decided to try and stop taking his medication, he asked them to help him through this difficult time.

Meanwhile Bev had returned from Brazil, and was shocked to find her Bar closed, after Leanne and Lance had more or less destroyed her business while she was away. Jimmy was feeling lonely after Lindsey left and later got chatting to Bev as he helped her get the Bar ready for it's reopening. Bev was feeling depressed and so as they comforted each other over a few drinks, they ended up getting very passionate on the pool table. The next day Jimmy was hopeful that maybe he and Bev would continue their relationship, but his hopes were dashed after she made it clear that the night before was best forgotten.

Now that he was off his medication, Jimmy' behavior was becoming more irrational and so when he decided to join Lindsey in Newcastle, he thought he would hitch a lift with Tim and Steve. However they were on their way to rob a warehouse, but undeterred Jimmy wanted to give them the benefit of his experience. The robbery seemed to be going to plan, but when the owners of the warehouse turned up, Jimmy almost run them over in a JCB before driving off into the night.

They all managed to escape capture, but the next morning Tim was horrified to see Jimmy writing a detailed account of the heist on his computer. When Tim confronted him about it Jimmy became hostile. Realising that Jimmy was going through a manic phase Tim locked him in the extension hoping he would calm down, but instead he only became more unstable. Nikki believed she might be able to help and went into the extension to try and reason with Jimmy and persuade him to go to hospital. However as she was about to leave Jimmy changed his mind about seeing a doctor and frightened her as he made a run for it.

Later he was arrested after being spotted by the police walking along the Mersey Tunnel, apparently on his way to Newcastle. His strange behaviour prompted the police to have his mental state accessed at the hospital. He was kept there and put back on medication until his condition improved. The doctors were willing to allow Jimmy to return home providing he had someone there to look after him and make sure he took his medication. However Jimmy was adamant he wouldn't ask either Lindsey or Jackie, while Tim and Emily were equally determined they didn't want the responsibility either.
Nikki showed a little more compassion and agreed that she would care for him, despite what her friends and family thought of the idea. At times she found it very difficult to cope and wondered if she made the right decision after all.

Jimmy's condition did improve though, and soon he had a new love interest, Helen who had arrived on the close looking for her father Ray.

When Nikki tried to intervene Jimmy was puzzled by her apparent jealousy but decided to see Helen again anyway. Helen obviously liked Jimmy and he wanted to tell her about his mental illness, but was worried what her reaction would be.
As they enjoyed a drink together, with Jimmy keeping to orange juice Helen assumed that he was once an alcoholic and that was the reason his marriage to Jackie broke up. Jimmy told her this wasn't’t the cause but decided against giving the real reason.
Jimmy was confident that his relationship with Helen was strong enough to withstand her knowing the truth about his illness. However after he plucked up courage to tell her, Jimmy was disappointed when she disappeared without a word. Later Helen returned and having decided to give their relationship another go, even canceled a trip to Iceland where she had hoped to find her real mother.

Despite his friendship with Helen, Jimmy was still very fond of Nikki, and so when she decided to go on holiday with Jerome, he missed her company. Jimmy was left feeling alone and a little depressed, so to cheer himself up he asked Helen to call round. Just as they were enjoying their time alone together, they had an unexpected visitor when a woman knocked at the door. Helen was shocked when this woman announced that she was Sylvia her mother, but her shock turned to anger when her mother refused to explain why she deserted her. Before she left, Sylvia told Helen she did'nt’t want to stay in contact, something Helen found difficult to accept.

Later Jimmy and Helen split up, but Nikki who had returned from holiday cheered him up by asking him to give her away when she married Jerome.
There was more good news for Jimmy when he was invited by Lindsey, to join her on holiday in Florida. Jerome resented Nikki's friendship with Jimmy, and so he could hardly disguise his delight that Jimmy would'nt’t be around for the wedding. Nikki soon wiped the smile off his face when she suggested they delay the wedding until Jimmy returned, so he could give her away. Jerome was appalled by the idea, and suspected Nikki thought more of Jimmy than she did him.

Jerome was quite relieved when Jimmy left for Florida, but became consumed with jealousy when he discovered Nikki had been keeping in touch with Jimmy by email. Nikki was completely oblivious to the fact that Jerome knew about them and eagerly awaited Jimmy’s next e-mail, while Jerome was just as keen to find out what Jimmy had to say. In an effort to find out how he felt about Nikki, Jerome sent an false email from her account to Jimmy, declaring how fond she was of him.

Jimmy returned from his holiday in Florida accompanied by Lindsey, who had decided to visit the close before going home. Jerome wasn't the only one who had suspicions about Nikki's relationship with Jimmy, as Lindsey also believed that Nikki may want more than just friendship. Nikki was left in no doubt about Lindsey's suspicions after a violent confrontation where Lindsey demanded some answers.
Nikki was confused by Jimmy's attitude towards her since his return, while Jerome was worried that Nikki could be about to find out about the bogus e-mail he sent Jimmy.

They soon had more important things to worry about when an armed gang drove into the close pursued by the police. Several of the gang jumped from the car looking for a means of escape, and two entered the Corkhill house, where Jimmy, Lindsey, Nikki, Jerome, Tim and Emily were all held hostage.
Jimmy in particular was finding it difficult to cope with all the pressure, and seemed to be teetering on the edge of breakdown.
Jerome also made a confession, when he revealed to Nikki that he sent Jimmy an e-mail, that would have given him the impression that she was in love with him.

Towards the end of the siege, Emily was badly hurt when she fell from an upstairs window. She was in a coma for some time, before she died of her injuries. Nikki was distraught and turned to Jimmy for comfort. Jerome was also there to offer his support, but he wasn't too impressed when he saw Nikki being comforted by Jimmy and decided to end his relationship her.

After her break up with Jerome, Nikki was finding living at the bungalow very lonely, and found herself having flashbacks to when she was held hostage. Unable to cope Nikki ran to Jimmy's, where he soon managed to calm her down and reassure her it was safe to return to the bungalow. Nikki still didn't feel safe there and wanted to see Jimmy again. He was surprised when she called round , and began to think that maybe she wanted more than a platonic relationship.
After Emily's funeral Jimmy comforted Nikki, but when Margi saw them together she accused Jimmy of taking advantage of her daughter saying he wanted more than just friendship, something he strenuously denied.

A few days later Nikki phoned Jimmy, clearly distressed and asked him if she could stay the night. After listening to Nikki explain, how alone she felt on her own in the bungalow, Jimmy told her she was welcome to spend the night there.
When Nikki arrived at Jimmy's he soon made her feel at ease and showed her to a spare room. Haunted by bad memories Nikki was unable to sleep, and went to Jimmy's room where she asked him if she could sleep in his bed. Jimmy felt a little uneasy about the situation but agreed to her strange request. Nikki was soon fast asleep, while Jimmy hardly slept at all.

The next day Nikki appeared very unconcerned about spending the night with Jimmy, while he was worried about what the neighbours would say. He tried to explain to Nikki that while she was welcome to stay as long as she liked, if she intended sleeping in his bed it could prove very awkward for him.
As the day progressed Nikki tried to persuade Jimmy that she wanted to be more than just friends with him, and although he tried to reason with her that it was not a good idea, Nikki was not to be put off.
Nikki's persistence paid off and eventually she and Jimmy kissed before spending the night together. The next day, Jimmy appeared far from happy about having a relationship with Nikki, but she managed to reassure him that it would be ok.

While talking to Marty in the kitchen Tim saw Nikki and Jimmy outside kissing in the garden. Tim was furious and rushed off to confront them. Nikki was quick to defend their relationship, but Tim and Jimmy ended up having a heated argument ,which ended when Tim accuses Jimmy of taking advantage of Nikki while she was feeling low.
Later Jimmy explained to Nikki, that he just couldn't continue having a relationship with her, but when she started to pack her bags, intending to return to the bungalow, Jimmy persuaded her to stay.

When Nikki later started seeing Sean, she kept her relationship with Jimmy a secret, while Jimmy found it very difficult to accept the situation. Realising that Jimmy was jealous of Sean, Nikki decided it would be best to move back to the bungalow, despite him pleading with her to stay.

With Nikki gone, Jimmy decided to try looking for work, but when he did eventually find a job in a pizza parlour, he omitted to tell his employer about his mental illness. Jimmy got on well at work, and was likely to be offered promotion to manager, but all this changed when Ron Dixon took Josh there for a meal. When he mentioned to Jimmy's boss about Jimmy's history of mental illness, Jimmy was promptly sacked.

Annoyed by his employers attitude Jimmy plotted revenge, and so decided to rob his former boss. While the manager was out, Jimmy managed to dupe a young employee into giving him all the takings from the till.
Despite making easy money from robbing the pizza parlour, Jimmy decided to set himself up in a legal gardening business, using the money from the robbery.

Jimmy was keen to make an honest living, but his resolve was short lived after he received a letter from Jackie saying she wanted to remarry and sell the house. Determined to buy the house himself, Jimmy soon found a way of raising the money, even though it meant stealing again. His first gardening job was for a wealthy customer, a Mr. Wilson who owned some very valuable fish. Jimmy managed to steal one of the fish undetected, then got Mr. Wilson to pay out thousands of pounds for it's return. The money he received was enough to buy his share of the house from Jackie.

Jimmy hoped that he now had the security of owing No10, but a building development in the woods behind the close threatened his peace of mind. After a bit of snooping, Jimmy discovered an incinerator was being built by a company called Cinerco. He tried to drum up support from his neighbours to prevent the development going ahead, but both Ron Dixon and Jessie Hilton decided to sell their homes to Cinerco. Jimmy even resorted to sabotaging the building equipment, but only succeeded in getting a visit from the owner of Cinerco, who warned him to stay away from the site.

Jimmy found an unlikely ally in Margi, who supplied him with information to use against Cinerco. When she came over from Brussels for the court case against the drug dealers, Nikki ( who had by this time split up with Sean ) asked Jimmy to let Margi stay with him. At first Margi was far from pleased with the arrangement, but later she and Jimmy became intimate friends. Nikki was shocked when she discovered them together, but after listening to Margi's explanation of how much she cared for Jimmy, Nikki accepted the situation. At one point it seemed that Jimmy was going to ask Margi to marry him, but instead he called off the relationship, after discovering he might have lung cancer.

After Ron changed his mind about selling, there was hope of victory against Cinerco, but these were dashed after a new neighbour moved in to the Farnhams old house. His name was Jack Michaelson, a drug dealer. Before long he had caused trouble in the close, by putting three of the residents in hospital, Christie after a viscous beating, and both Tony Murray and Luke as a result of drug overdose. After Ron married Bev they had planned to continue living on the close, but Bev insisted on moving away from Jack Michaelson. The Murray's and the Gordon family also decided to move house as a result of Jack's drug dealing activities.

An unexpected turn of events led to Jack Michaelson being killed in mysterious circumstances. Jimmy was on his way across the close, when he was forcibly bundled into a car and driven to Newcastle. He was shocked to discover Barry Grant was behind his abduction, even though he had not intended to frighten Jimmy, as he just wanted his blessing to marry Lindsey.

Although shaken by Barry's methods, Jimmy soon realised that Lindsey was in love with Barry, and gave his approval. When Barry learnt about Jack Michaelson terrorising Jimmy and his neighbours, he returned to the close with Jimmy and Lindsey to see Jack for himself. After talking to Tim, he advised him on the best way of dealing with Michaelson.

Later that night after Barry had returned to Newcastle, Jack Michaelson could be seen through his house windows receiving a beating, before being hung from an upstairs window. Although the police investigated his death, they soon discovered that no one on the close had seen his murderers.

With the Incinerator development still going ahead, all the residents including Jimmy decided to move away. Jimmy had decided to move to Newcastle, to be near Lindsey, and was the last to leave the close. Before he left, in a defiant act Jimmy painted the words " Game Over " across the boarded up houses, and left all the taps running inside the empty properties

Suggestions/comments to brookside.soapbox@btinternet.com

Brookside is produced by Mersey Television, and is Copyright Mersey Television 1982 -1998.

Brookside Soap Box is a privately run site and has no connections to Mersey Television or Channel 4 Comments regarding the production of Brookside should be directed to: Brookside, Mersey TV, Chidwall Abbey Road, Liverpool L16 0JP.

Information is sourced mainly from various TV listings magazines and no infringement of any copyright is intended.