Hollyoaks has lined up more Brookside favourites for its crossover episode as part of the soap’s upcoming 30th anniversary celebrations.
Ricky Tomlinson is set to reprise his role as Bobby Grant, reuniting with his The Royle Family co-star Sue Johnston, who was previously confirmed to be reprising her role as Liverpudlian matriarch Sheila Grant.
“It will be lovely to take part in Brookside again, especially to work alongside Sue Johnston,” Tomlinson said. “I’m looking forward to being on the close again after all these years.”
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Along with Tomlinson, Michael Starke, who played Brookside’s Thomas ‘Sinbad’ Sweeney, has been pictured on set reuniting with the previously announced cast, which includes Paul Usher as Barry Grant, John McArdle as Billy Corkhill, Philip Olivier as Timothy ‘Tinhead’ O’Leary, and Suzanne Collins as Nikki Shadwick.
In recent years, Starke has made a number of appearances in Hollyoaks as an unnamed taxi driver and it’s unclear whether that was Sinbad all along or if the star is playing two separate characters.
Mersey Television / STV
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Created by Sir Phil Redmond, Brookside first aired in 1982, before being broadcast for a final time on 4 November 2003.
Previously speaking about the special new episode which brings back the soap after 22 years off air, Hollyoaks executive producer Hannah Cheers said: “This episode is a love letter to both Hollyoaks and Brookside.
“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.
Lime Pictures
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“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.”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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