Soap villain Barry Grant to join Brookside return

Actor Paul Usher is to reprise his role as one of soap opera's great villains, Barry Grant, as part of Brookside's one-off return to television.

Camera crews are set to descend on the fictional Liverpool cul-de-sac as part of Channel 4's one-off special episode to mark fellow soap Hollyoaks's 30th anniversary.

Usher played Grant in Brookside's first episode in 1982 and his character grew into the soap's hard man, notoriously becoming part of the criminal underworld and killing his best friend's wife and child as part of a storyline that marked its 1000th episode in 1991.

He said he was "looking forward to seeing all of the old faces".

The show's producers previously announced the return of Sue Johnston, who played Usher's on-screen mother Sheila Grant.

Joining them will be John McArdle, who played Sheila's second husband Billy Corkhill.

He said it was "going to be a nostalgic visit back to the famous close", but admitted stepping back into the role might not be straightforward.

"I've got to try and find the character of Billy Corkhill again as I haven't played him for 35 years," he said.

Conceived by Sir Philip Redmond, who had already created school drama Grange Hill and went on to create Hollyoaks, Brookside drew in audiences of nine million viewers at its peak before it finished on 4 November 2003.

The show, set in Liverpool, was known for its hard-hitting storylines and took on issues like rape, bullying and incest.

Both Usher and McArdle's characters were involved in such stories across their tenures on the show.

Billy Corkhill's struggle with mental health shed light on the issue and he was shown spiralling into a breakdown, leading to his first marriage ending in divorce, while Barry Grant grew from a cheeky youngster to a charismatic businessman before becoming the show's villain.

The show's return in Hollyoaks will be the first time that Brookside Close has been on air since it ended in 2003.

The series famously concluded with Jimmy Corkhill, played by the late Dean Sullivan, daubing a "d" on to the sign, leaving it as "Brookside Closed" before driving out of the cul-de-sac.

Filming is set take place in September on the close which is based in the West Derby area of Liverpool.