Brookside

Nat & Georgia had one of the best slowburn tragic romances in UK soap history. The backstory was vague - we never did find out who seduced who initially, or why the affair continued on so long - but in spite of that the saga was captivating and perfectly plausible besides. Helen Grace & John Sandford were both very sympathetic and well-fleshed-out in their roles, more than just pretty posh faces in a seedy plot. I was rooting for them all the way back then, and still wonder what became of the pair of them on the lam..

In an impressive record for soaps, the entire two-year arc made only one misstep with that weird chilling two-parter where Nat raped Georgia (fans like to pretend this episode never happened). Almost every other Nat/Georgia moment was nuanced and realistic. The build to Georgia’s debut is particularly excellen with the finer details; the way Nat pores over old birthday cards, how both their marriage collapse in the exact same time frames, the way Bel goes on and on about how close they are and how nice it is...

Snobs Max & Susannah had a bloody cheek looking down their noses at the loving couple, as well, serial adulterers & manslaughterers that they were.

Bumping for Brookie.

OMG, I adored Brookside as a kid/teen. I was far too young to be watching it. When I was eight, I knew what incest was because of Nat and Georgia.

I watched from 1995 until about early 2002. It went rapidly downhill towards the end. When the early episodes from the 90s were repeated on Living, I finally got to see the body-under-the-patio storyline from the beginning and loved it. Beth Jordache was such a great character. It's cool that Anna Friel has gone on to have such a successful career.

Callum Finnegan (played by the late Gerard Kelly) was hilarious. I still remember when Lindsey & Jimmy sent a hitman nicknamed Victor the Vicar to kill him, and then they received a package in the post containing a vicar's dog collar and a note in Callum's handwriting. Brookie used to go in pretty heavily for that kind of camp drama.

I once met the actress who played Niamh Musgrove (who is probably best remembered for her excruciating attempt at a Northern Irish accent). She was extremely posh in real life. I remember hating the Musgrove family at first, but by the time they were axed they were starting to grow on me.

That theme!

[quote] I was far too young to be watching it. When I was eight, I knew what incest was because of Nat and Georgia.

Same R3! I have no idea what my Moms was thinking letting me watch it at like 6years old. My earliest formative tv experiences were the kidnappings, affairs, incest, rapes, murders, on Brookie....

Worse, I had a crush on my cousin as a little kid and so watching Nat & Georgia was extra-romantic & thrilling for me - although it also scared me off making a move in case I faced the same fate they did...

Apparently the actor John Kerr (originally Sandford) who played pretty Nat Simpson is also one of the several creative minds responsible for the last decade of Corrie and the mid-‘00s years of Emmerdale. As far as one can tell he no longer acts.

There aren’t many photos of him. Here’a one from several years ago (he’s on the left) and I have to say he looks in quite good nick for a white British man well into his ‘40s. That’s a nice tan and a zesty shirt, too...