![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Sue-Johnston-to-reprise-her-role-in-soap-Brookside-when-it-returns-to-screens-in-October.jpg\")
Sue Johnston is to reprise her role in soap Brookside when it returns to screens in October(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\nA special Hollyoaks crossover episode will air on Channel 4Sue Johnston is to reprise her role in soap Brookside when it returns to screens in October(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n
Sue Johnston will reprise her role as Shelia Grant as Brookside is set to return to our TV screens in October. Channel 4 <\/a>has confirmed that a special crossover episode with Hollyoaks will air to mark the show\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Hollyoaks<\/a> took over as Channel 4\u2019s flagship continuing drama when the Liverpool-based soap ended on November 4 2003.<\/p>\n It started filming on part of the former set of Brookside and many actors have crossed to Hollyoaks over the years.<\/p>\n Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here<\/a><\/p>\n Sue\u2019s trailblazing storylines as Liverpudlian matriarch Shelia Grant, later Corkhill, helped establish Brookside\u2019s reputation for tackling hard-hitting, socially relevant issues, a type of issue-based storytelling that Hollyoaks continued.<\/p>\n The special anniversary episode will honour Hollyoaks’s predecessor and the shows\u2019 creator Sir Phil Redmond.<\/p>\n Sue is the first cast member to be announced as returning for the Brookside story arc, which will be filmed on Brookside Close.<\/p>\n Sue said: \u201cIt’ll be so lovely to go back and be Sheila for a day as it was such big, enjoyable part of my life.”<\/p>\n Appointed OBE in the 2009 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity, Sue rose to fame in 1982 as Sheila and become a household name.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Truelove.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n Executive Producer Hannah Cheers said of the crossover: \u201cThis episode is a love letter to both Hollyoaks and Brookside.<\/p>\n \u201cBrookside gave birth to Hollyoaks \u2014 it grew up on the same site and eventually took over its sets.<\/p>\n \u201cFor everyone at Lime Pictures (originally Mersey TV), Hollyoaks\u2019 history is deeply rooted in Brookside, and its legacy lives on through our crew and, of course, some of our cast.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThese iconic Brookside characters are soap archetypes that helped define British TV; soap archetypes that new generations are still discovering now through Hollyoaks.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a lifelong soap fan who grew up watching with my mum, I was passionate about revisiting Brookside for the anniversary. With Sir Phil\u2019s blessing \u2014 after I had the privilege of pitching the idea to him \u2014 and the support of Channel 4, we\u2019re able to make it happen.<\/p>\n \u201cWriter 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Brookside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Brookside-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Brookside was the forerunner to Hollyoaks (Image: Channel 4)<\/p>\n![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_GettyImages-639316916.jpg\")
Sue Johnston as Sheila Grant of Brookside, 5th October 1982(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n