A special Hollyoaks crossover episode will air on Channel 4
Sue Johnston is to reprise her role in soap Brookside when it returns to screens in October(Image: Supplied)
Sue Johnston will reprise her role as Shelia Grant as Brookside is set to return to our TV screens in October. Channel 4 has confirmed that a special crossover episode with Hollyoaks will air to mark the show’s 30th anniversary.
Filming will begin in September with the original West Derby street being used thanks to permission granted by the owner and the Liverpool Film Office.
Hollyoaks took over as Channel 4’s flagship continuing drama when the Liverpool-based soap ended on November 4 2003.
It started filming on part of the former set of Brookside and many actors have crossed to Hollyoaks over the years.
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Sue’s trailblazing storylines as Liverpudlian matriarch Shelia Grant, later Corkhill, helped establish Brookside’s reputation for tackling hard-hitting, socially relevant issues, a type of issue-based storytelling that Hollyoaks continued.
Brookside was the forerunner to Hollyoaks (Image: Channel 4)
The special anniversary episode will honour Hollyoaks’s predecessor and the shows’ creator Sir Phil Redmond.
Sue is the first cast member to be announced as returning for the Brookside story arc, which will be filmed on Brookside Close.
Sue said: “It’ll be so lovely to go back and be Sheila for a day as it was such big, enjoyable part of my life.”
Appointed OBE in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity, Sue rose to fame in 1982 as Sheila and become a household name.
Sue is best known for her iconic role in The Royle Family and was BAFTA-nominated in 2025 for Best Supporting Actress for her moving performance in Channel 4’s Truelove.
It was her Brookside performance as a mother beset by hardship, who would do anything for her family regardless of their struggles, that turned her into a national treasure and soap matriarch for the ages.
Sheila Grant and her family launched Brookside, when it began on the first night of Channel 4 in 1982. Viewers loved Sheila and sided with her as she battled with the family finances and her husband Bobby (Ricky Tomlinson).
Executive Producer Hannah Cheers said of the crossover: “This episode is a love letter to both Hollyoaks and Brookside.
Sue Johnston as Sheila Grant of Brookside, 5th October 1982(Image: Getty Images)
“Brookside gave birth to Hollyoaks — it grew up on the same site and eventually took over its sets.
“For everyone at Lime Pictures (originally Mersey TV), Hollyoaks’ history is deeply rooted in Brookside, and its legacy lives on through our crew and, of course, some of our cast.
“This special feels like both a moving and fitting tribute to our origin story and a chance for fans to revisit much-loved Brookside characters in honour of that legacy.
“These iconic Brookside characters are soap archetypes that helped define British TV; soap archetypes that new generations are still discovering now through Hollyoaks.
“As a lifelong soap fan who grew up watching with my mum, I was passionate about revisiting Brookside for the anniversary. With Sir Phil’s blessing — after I had the privilege of pitching the idea to him — and the support of Channel 4, we’re able to make it happen.
“Writer Steve Hughes, who began his career on Brookside, has reimagined where these characters are more than twenty years on. We hope audiences will enjoy welcoming these old friends back into their homes once again.”
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Sir Phil said: “It is always bitter sweet thinking back to Brookie, the reminders of its success and impact, but the thoughts of many, like Dean Sullivan and Bill Dean, who are no longer with us.
“But it is great that Lime Pictures are paying homage in their Hollyoaks anniversary cross over episodes.
“I can’t wait to see how all the gardens are coping in the heatwave and, who knows, what might pop up if someone decides to re-lay their patio. I know we left something else down there.”
It will be the first time that Brookside Close has been on air, since it ended with Jimmy Corkhill (played by the late Dean Sullivan) daubing a ‘d’ onto the sign, leaving it as ‘Brookside Closed’ before driving out of the cul-de-sac.
Brookside episodes are available from the start on STV player, after they were digitally restored in a joint project between Lime Pictures and All3Media International.