Brookside Grant family now – heartbreaking loss, antiques dealer and EastEnders

The Grant family was one of the first fictional clans to step onto Brookside in 1982 – but do you know where the stars who played them are now?

The fan-favourites included Royle Family stars Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston as the heads of the family, alongside newcomers including Paul Usher as eldest Barry Grant, as well as Shelegh O'Hara and Simon O'Brien as Karen and Damon.

From being propelled to new levels of fame, landing major soap roles in EastEnders and career u-turns, the stars have all taken different paths since their time on Brookside.

READ MORE: Brookside original stars now – dying during show, tragic septicaemia battle and prison

Here, Daily Star takes a closer look at where the Grant family cast are now.

Sue Johnston (Sheila Grant)

Sue Johnston OBE is a TV icon who has appeared in many hit series including Brookside as Sheila Grant – the wife of Bobby Grant.

After making her debut in Coronation Street as Mrs Chadwick in 1982, Sue went on to play Sheila Grant in Brookside until 1990, with her character becoming involved in some of the soap's biggest storylines.

This included a harrowing storyline where her character was raped, which Sue revealed had been influenced by her own experience of sexual assault at the age of 27 years old.

Speaking in her auto-biography Things I Wouldn't Tell My Mother, she said: "Everything went into slow motion. ‘I’m going to die now,’ I thought. I heard screaming, it seemed to be coming from far away but then I realised it was me. I was screaming for my life. I suddenly began to fight back with every bit of strength in me. I was kicking and clawing at him."

She continued: "I’m not sure if he heard something that disturbed him or was deterred by the fight I’d put up, but he ran off. I picked my bag up and ran. He’d punched me everywhere but I didn’t feel any pain. I was too terrified he might be waiting around the corner."

After leaving Brookside in 1990, Sue found fame on TV series including Inspector Morse, Full Stretch, Medics, Crime Traveller and My Uncle Silas.

However, she is just as famous for her role in The Royle Family as Barbara as she is for Brookside, with the actress reuniting with her former on-screen soap husband Ricky Tomlinson in the comedy programme.

Since then, she has appeared in as Gloria Price in Coronation Street, in The Good Karma Hospital and most recently, Downton Abbey: A New Era.

With such a stellar career, it is no surprise that the star was made an OBE in the 2009 Birthday Honours, as well as being awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Chester.

In her personal life, it is reported that she is a supporter of Liverpool FC and St Helens RFC.

The star has been married twice – first to Neil Johnston in 1967.

The actress revealed in her autobiography that she was pregnant following her marriage to first husband Neil, but sadly suffered a miscarriage.

Following their divorce, Sue later married David Pammenter, with whom she has one son called Joel.

Sue paid tribute to the NHS at the NHS Heroes Awards 2018, after she revealed how in 2012, they had saved her life following an emergency partial bowel removal following abdominal pains.

Ricky Tomlinson (Bobby Grant)

Ricky Tomlinson became a soap legend when he appeared as Bobby Grant in the first ever episode of Brookside in 1982, lasting on the soap until 1990.

However, acting was not always on the cards, with Ricky working as a plasterer.

In 1972, it is reported that he joined the picket lines for the builder worker's dispute in Shrewsbury, where he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for "conspiracy to intimidate", with Ricky always protesting his innocence.

In 2020, it was announced that the Criminal Cases Review Commission had referred a number of convictions relating to the Shrewsbury dispute to the Court of Appeals, which overturned the convictions in 2021.

The star was released from prison in 1975, but after reportedly being blacklisted from the building trade, he set up a series of businesses, including an actor's agency.

It was the agency that led him to land one of his first roles in Play For Today, and since then, Ricky has not left our screens, appearing in Cracker with the late Robbie Coltrane, Playing The Field and, of course, The Royle Family.

He landed a Hollywood role when he appeared in the 51st state alongside Samuel L Jackson and, most recently, appeared in films including Grimsby, and TV series The Witchfinder.

He is due to star in Dirty Truckers and Our Kid, which are both in post-production.

Away from our screens, Ricky has been married twice – first to wife Marlene in 1962, with whom he had three children called Clifton, Gareth and Kate.

The couple split in 1986, and Ricky later married Rita Cummiskey in 2003, who it is reported now works as his manager.

Ricky revealed to Daily Express that in 2013 he also underwent heart surgery after having a quadruple heart bypass, after a routine visit to the doctors about a skin condition.

He said: "My wife Rita told the doctor I had been a bit short of breath but I would not have mentioned it if she had not been there.

"I was sent to hospital for a scan and saw a wonderful cardiologist, who told me I had blocked arteries."

The star has since made a full recovery.

Paul Usher (Barry Grant)

Paul Usher became an Brookside icon, after he took on the role on Barry Grant in Brookside between 1982 to 2003, as well as spin-off, Brookside: The Lost Weekend.

Barry become embroiled in some of Brookside's biggest and most shocking storylines – from flings to murder and returning for the final ever episode of the soap.

Barry actor Paul has since had a long and successful acting career in a variety of TV series, including Liverpool 1, Z-Cars, Doctors and as PC Des Taviner in The Bill between 2001 and 2004.

However, away from our screens, Paul prefers to keep his personal life private and revealed he does not like the fame side of his career, telling The Liverpool Echo: "I enjoyed acting but not the fame side of it. I don’t want to play that game. I never really did any interviews when I was on the telly.

"I’m proud of my acting work, including dramas like Liverpool 1, but I get really annoyed about celebrity culture.

"When I first started in 1982, no one was interested in you. It was the programme.

"Now there are all these reality shows and TV personalities who will do anything to keep in the limelight. I just think it’s embarrassing."

He revealed that he had originally planned a career in music before acting however, playing bass in a band that performed in schools in America, before returning to the UK and turning his talents to the screen instead.

However, Paul has faced heartache in his life, after his son James (from his marriage to his first wife) tragically died at the age of 24 years old in 2014.

According to The Daily Record, James was taken ill on a supply vessel in Aberdeen, after he was working there as a trainee rigger and later died in hospital.

In the years since, Paul has made a return to our TV screens and recently appeared as Danny Hardcastle in rival soap EastEnders.

The actor is married to wife Charlotte Usher, with whom he has a son called Lucas.

Shelagh O'Hara (Karen Grant)

Shelagh O'Hara joined Brookside as Karen Grant in 1982, where she was involved in a number of storylines until her departure in 1986.

This included Karen's boyfriend stabbing her older brother Barry and Karen bringing a number of celebrities to the close including the late TV presenter Paula Yates, when the character went to study media at university.

Shelagh departed the soap in 1986 and later appeared in TV series Hold Tight, as well as Radio 5 drama Lunch Hour Rush.

However, the star appears to have left behind acting all together and no further roles are listed for her on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

The Liverpool Echo did report though that Shelagh has made a career u-turn and is now working in the antiques industry.

She appears to keep her personal life away from the public eye, and it is not known if she is single or in a relationship.

Simon O'Brien (Damon Grant)

Simon O'Brien played Barry and Karen's younger brother Damon Grant in Brookside from 1982 to 1987.

He became a fan-favourite on the soap, often seen alongside his two school friends as they got into mischief, before falling in love with character Debbie.

Damon and Debbie were one of the first soap couples to land their own spin-off series – named Damon and Debbie – which saw the couple settle in York, before Damon was tragically killed and died in Debbie's arms.

Since then Damon actor Simon has not left our screens, appearing in the UK version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, Grange Hill and, most recently, as Frank Bardsley in ITV soap Coronation Street.

He had a stint presenting programmes including Standing Room Only and To Buy Or Not To Buy for the BBC, as well as presenting reality TV series My Dream Derelict Home in 2014.

Simon currently hosts Channel 4's Find It, Fix It, Flog It.

That's not all, as he presented BBC Radio Merseyside's Breakfast Show with Lucinda Moore between 2006 and 2007.

It is reported that away from acting, he has a career in property development, and set up the Liverpool Cycle Centre, which combines a vegetarian café, cycle shop and cycle parking.

Simon was appointed chair of the Green strategy group in Liverpool in 2014, according to The Liverpool Echo.

Not much is known about the star's personal life, but it is reported that Simon is married to wife Elizabeth O'Brien.

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