Barry Grant is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in the defunct Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Brookside

Brookside

Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...

. He was portrayed by Paul Usher

Paul Usher

Paul Usher is an English actor.He was educated at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, and is best known for playing Barry Grant in Brookside, from the first episode until the last , and PC Des Taviner in The Bill from 2001 to 2004.He has also appeared in Liverpool...

 and was in the series from episode one in 1982 until 1995 with several sporadic guest appearances in 1997, 1998 and the final episode in 2003.

Barry Grant is arguably the most dislikeable and feared soap villain of all time. Because of the rawness of Brookside, Grant would take things a step further than his counterparts in other UK soaps, once shoving a gun up the behind of Calum Finnegan as he attempted to rape his girlfriend (Lindsay Corkhill). Finnegan was eventually locked in a container and ended up in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 and subsequently had to have a kidney transplant.

Background

Bobby

Bobby Grant

Bobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988...

 and Sheila Grant

Sheila Grant

Sheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...

 raised their three children Barry, Karen

Karen Grant

Karen Grant is a character in Brookside portrayed by Shelagh O'Hara from 1982 until 1987.-Grant Family:The Grant family consisted of Bobby Grant, Sheila Grant, Barry Grant, Karen Grant and Damon Grant...

 and Damon

Damon Grant

Damon Grant is a fictional character in the defunct British soap opera Brookside, played by Simon O'Brien. The character was part of the initial cast, appearing from episode one in 1982 until 1987...

 on a run-down Liverpool council estate. Barry, the eldest, was always the black sheep of the family. Barry was expelled from school at age 15 for attacking a group of bullies who constantly picked on and bullied his best friend Terry Sullivan.

Bobby Grant grafted for years in an effort to move away from the rough council estate flats. In 1982 Bobby and Shelia’s dream came true and they were able to buy their first home and the family moved into Brookside Close.

In 1988 it is revealed that Barry Grant's real father is in fact Matty Nolan

Matty Nolan

Matty Nolan is a character in Brookside portrated by Tony Scoggo between 1982 and 1992.-Friend of Bobby Grant:Matty was a longtime friend of Bobby Grant and the two worked together at Fairbanks Engineering. The two fell out in 1982 when Bobby refused to misuse his influence as shop steward to get...

, a family friend of the Grants.

Barry Grant was considerably older than his siblings. At the start of the series he was 23, compared to 15 year old Karen and 14 year old Damon.

Petty Scally

Barry started out as a young 'scally' who, together with an often reluctant best friend Terry, was always looking for easy ways to make money. Such scams consisted of torching his Jaguar

Jaguar (car)

Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....

 in order to claim off the insurance, stealing copper from building sites, and buying and selling stolen items. Barry was always the apple of his mother Sheila's

Sheila Grant

Sheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...

 eye but had a less sturdy relationship with his father Bobby

Bobby Grant

Bobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988...

 who was eventually revealed to be his stepfather.

Although Barry was usually on the wrong side of the law, he was shown to be the more respectable of the Grant brothers in early episodes. In contrast to Damon's hot-headed recklessness, Barry was calm and responsible and made amends with the Collins after Damon vandalised their house. Barry was hard-working and smart in contrast to Damon. After Barry was stabbed in December 1982 the doctor told him to stay off work, however shortly after Bobby was out-on-strike and the Grants struggled to pay their mortgate. Despite doctors advice Barry went back to work so that his father would not have to suffer the indignity of crossing his own picket line.

Relationship with Petra Taylor

In the early episodes Barry strikes up a friendship with the recently widowed Petra Taylor

Petra Taylor

Petra Taylor is a fictional character portrayed by Alexandra Pigg in the soap Brookside from 1982 until 1983.-Background:...

. The two run away for a holiday in the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 together where Petra miscarries. Barry becomes irritated by Petra's depression after the loss of her husband and unborn baby and steals charity money from Sheila before heading to London. Petra later commits suicide and Marie Jackson blames Barry for her suicide.

Trouble with Tommy

After losing his building job after being caught stealing materials Barry and Terry got involved with shady gangster character Tommy McArdle. Under instructions from Tommy McArdle the two provide an alibi for the perpertrators of an armed robbery. Neighbour George Jackson is convicted for this crime instead. Barry and Terry also enter in a pirate video deal with McCardle. This particular scam ended in the beating of Barry and Terry within an inch of their lives. Following this event and sensing he has no friends or future in Liverpool, Barry takes a job as a shop fitter, a job that will take him all around the country.

Return home

Barry returns following the rape of his mother. This event finally splits up his parents, and Shelia is on the verge of being repossessed. Barry moved back in with his mother to try to keep up with the mortgage payments.

Descent into crime

Barry got involved with a gangster called Sizzler, he would do various odd jobs for him, such as when Sizzler wanted to buy a chain of amusement arcades, but the current lady owner refused to sell. Sizzler wanted Barry to kidnap her dog, cut of its head and send it to her in an effort to get her to change her mind. (The episode which ended with Barry on the verge of cutting of the dogs head prompted over 200 complaints to Channel 4). However it was revealed in the next episode that Barry couldn’t go through with it.

Barry envied the lifestyles of Tommy McArdle and Sizzler and realised that crime, does indeed, pay.

Repossession and departure

Sheila and Barry were eventually evicted from the family home, and the house was repossessed by the bank. Sheila moved in with Billy Corkhill

Billy Corkhill

William "Billy" Corkhill is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside played by John McArdle from 1985 to 1990.-Arrival:The Corkhills family arrive at No.10 in 1985 replacing the Jackson family...

 (and later they started a relationship together) while Barry lived rough in a Volkswagen camper van for a while. While he is homeless he and Sinbad

Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney

Thomas Henry Edward Sweeney , commonly known as Sinbad is a character in Brookside from 1984 to 2000 played by Michael Starke.-Character:...

 sell toy seals as presents for Christmas 1988. They later however find them to be poisonous and spend Christmas Day trying to steal them back from children to whom they have been sold.

At the end of 1989 Barry left the area once again for some work in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

.

Return

Barry returned in August 1990 for the wedding of Terry and Sue. Terry and Sue allowed Barry to lodge in their house during this time. Whilst Barry had been away he had been running a series of illegal warehouse raves. This turned out to be a real money-spinner and he planned to do the same thing in Liverpool. Following a couple of successful warehouse raves in the city (and calling the police half way through the night to generate publicity for the next one) Barry planned the biggest rave yet, which required financial backing which came in the form of two cockney brothers. Together they organised a big rave night which didn’t go according to plan when Barry discovered one of the brothers dealing drugs to kids in the toilets. Barry, never a fan of drugs, decided this meant the brothers should forfeit their share of the profits and made a quick escape with the bag full of notes. The brothers were soon on Barry trail, and after seeing Barry with Sue and her little boy Danny, they assumed it was Barry’s son and so kidnapped him demanding the money back for his safe return. Barry successfully negotiated his release, but the brothers exacted further revenge by locking Barry in an industrial freezer on Christmas Day 1990. Barry made an ‘igloo’ out of frozen turkey boxes and was pulled out semi-conscious by Terry. After a few days in hospital Barry discharged himself, drove to London and planted a shotgun in one of the brothers cars before tipping off the police. Barry returned to Liverpool in high sprits to see in the new year.

Defence of the Corkhills

Amidst all this Barry still found time to sort out Joey Goddon. Goddon had just been released from prison for the murder of Jimmy

Jimmy Corkhill

James 'Jimmy' Corkhill is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Dean Sullivan. He joined the series in 1986, originally arriving in a recurring basis appearing along side his on-screen brother, Billy Corkhill, he then became a regular, remaining in the...

 and Billy Corkhill’s

Billy Corkhill

William "Billy" Corkhill is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside played by John McArdle from 1985 to 1990.-Arrival:The Corkhills family arrive at No.10 in 1985 replacing the Jackson family...

 brother, Frankie. Goddon was hell-bent on giving the Corkhill family grief, threatening them, and dishing out general abuse. As the weeks and months went on, the war between the two families was escalating out of control but Goddon’s big mistake was to threaten Barry’s mother, Sheila. Barry drove to Goddon’s house, smashed through his back door and shoved a shotgun in his face, threatening to blow his brains out if he ever went anywhere near the Corkhill family again.

Brookside Parade

During 1991 Barry made friends with a millionaire property developer, and Barry ended up 'acquiring' a new development being built near the Close. The development would consist of 4 shop units and 4 flats above. This was Barry’s big chance to 'go legit'.

Murder of Sue Sullivan

Barry was unable to sustain a long-term relationship with women. He could gets girls into bed, but when they found out his true character they soon left him. Barry was jealous of the relationship Terry had with Sue. Barry was adamant that Terry could do better than Sue, and so he sets out to destroy her. After months of being deeply unpleasant to her, Barry turns on the charm and sleeps with her. Sue was wracked with guilt and threatened to tell Terry the truth. So, in October 1991, Barry pushed Sue and her young child Danny from the scaffolding on Brookside parade resulting in both their deaths. Barry has always maintained this event was an accident and he was only trying to put the ‘frighteners’ on her to stop her telling Terry their secret.

Letting Graeme take the blame

Nevertheless, Barry made sure the finger of guilt was firmly pointed towards lawyer Graeme Curtis, a work colleague of Sue’s who had an unhealthy infatuation with her. Graeme was charged and found guilty of the double murder and while in prison either took his own life or was himself murdered for being a child killer. Barry later confessed his crime to a priest.

Guilt and remorse

Meanwhile Barry rented out his shops and flats. One of the flats was rented to a mysterious Asian man who paid well above the market rate for the flat in return for Barry not asking any questions and not keeping records about the tenants. With strong metal doors applied the flat and coming and goings throughout the night, curiosity soon got the better of him and Barry broke in to discover the printing of counterfeit bank notes.

By February 1992 Barry was getting tired of Fran, especially when she began to turn the screw and realised it was Barry who murdered Sue and Danny and not Graham. A desperate Barry took Fran hostage at gunpoint. Knowing he was going on the run, Barry broke into the upstairs flat and helped himself to £25,000 of counterfeit money. Barry was wracked with guilt over what he had done to Sue and Danny, and let Fran go. He took Terry to a deserted beech and revealed that he had slept with Sue and murdered her and Danny. Barry gave Terry a loaded shotgun with the command “Do your own justice”

Terry couldn’t bring himself to kill Barry, and wanted him alive so he would have to live every day knowing what he did and Barry fled to Spain.

Return to the Close

In December 1992, a young lady named Jo Halsaw was opening a nightclub on the parade with Barry Grant as her business partner. Jo gave Terry a package, which contained two flight tickets to Spain and a fist full of pesetas. Terry took Sinbad along for the ride. When they arrived in Spain he met up with Barry, who wanted to know if it was safe for him to return home as he was opening a night club with Jo Halsaw.

Arson

After getting the nod from Terry, Barry returned to Liverpool a few days later. The first thing Barry did upon returning was to torch Jimmy Corkhill’s shop, Kowboy Kutz. Jimmy had been squatting in one of Barry’s shop units and could not come up with the back-rent. Jimmy refused to vacate the premises, knowing he had time on his hands for the matter to be resolved in the courts. However Barry decided to smoke him out and destroy his stock. Barry set fire to his stock and immediately called the fire brigade. However, the heating had been cut off in the shop and Jimmy was heating the place via gas bottles, which exploded the entire front of the shop out, much to Barry’s horror.

With Jimmy out of business, Barry felt slightly guilty he had destroyed his living so sent him on a course and gave him a job on the doors of the new nightclub, La Luz.

Discovery of his son

Terry asked Barry for £500, and while Barry was trying to question him what is was for Terry just demanded the money. Barry followed him to a house, and was just about to drive off when he discovered Fran emerge carrying Barry’s offspring. Barry demanded access to his son, but Fran wanted to make sure that the boy was never to find out whom his dad was. Terry gave Fran the entire proceeds of Sue’s life insurance policy allowing her to completely disappear. Barry has never been able to track down his son, which was the ultimate revenge from Terry.

La Luz

Meanwhile Jo Halsaw allowed the La Luz nightclub to become notorious for all the wrong reasons, allowing drugs and prostitution to operate out of the club and therefore the partnership between Barry and Jo never ran smoothly.

Wanting Barry out the partnership, Jo got her hired heavies to force Barry to sign the club completely over to her. Barry planned to torch the club for the insurance payout but was attacked by Jimmy Corkhill when he revealed to him that he had done it before to his shop.

Jo wanted Barry out of her way for good and so invited him to the club to talk about the future. Meanwhile Jo’s hired heavy, wearing Barry’s coat and stealing his car, runs down Jimmy Corkhill. Barry is arrested for attempted murder of Jimmy. Just when it looks like it's all over for Barry, the charges are dropped and he cautiously returns to the club, only to find his friend from Spain, Oscar Dean sitting behind the desk. Oscar has ousted Jo and bought the club himself. He immediately offers Barry a 60-40 partnership and hands the day-to-day management over to him.

Sham marriage

Terry finds happiness again with a young Polish woman named Anna Wolska. Anna was an illegal immigrant and worked as a prostitute out of La Luz when Jo had control of the club. Anna was desperate to stay in the UK and was willing to pay a man to marry her. Anna and Terry became very close and Terry offered to marry her to ensure she could remain in the UK, however Anna didn’t want to ruin her good friendship with Terry and so declined. Barry got wind of this arrangement and offered his own deal to Anna – he would marry her if she would have his baby. (Barry was very desperate for a child of his own). Although she agreed the deal initially, it wasn’t long before she regretted it and had generally fallen in love with Terry. Terry and Anna plan a secret wedding and a new life away from Liverpool and she double crosses Barry by pretending the deal is still on but secretly taking the pill. Barry is not a man to cross and when he discovers the pills in her bag he hits her across the face and phones immigration. She was arrested and returned to Poland just before she and Terry could marry.

Feud over No. 5

This event particularly broke Terry which led to his involvement with a religious cult headed by Simon Howe. The cult were squatting in number 5 Brookside Close (The Grants former residence) which Simon would call his ‘church’ and would hold regular meetings. Terry gets deeper and deeper into the cult as Barry tries to get him to see sense. Simon wanted Terry to buy the house so they could have a permanent place of worship, but before this happens Barry Grant buys the house.

Barry soon becomes impatient with Simon as he wants him out of his house, and to make things worse Simon and his followers start preaching about the perils of drinking and partying while handing out leaflets outside Barry’s night club. Barry decides to stop Simon once and for all, and with gun in hand, breaks into the house but is over powered, gagged, tied up and held hostage in one of the bedrooms. Terry starts preaching to him from the bible, but Barry doesn’t want to know. Nobody realises Barry is missing, thinking he has probably gone away on one of his many and mysterious trips ‘down south’.

The bomb

Eventually Simon decides that since they can't have the house then no one can, and he builds a home-made bomb to destroy the house. They release Barry but the bomb goes off with all three still in the house. Barry and Terry are not seriously injured, but Simon ends up in hospital fighting for his life.

Terry keeps his faith and stays by Simons bedside as his injures heal. When Simon recovers he moves into a flat with Terry. Barry, not happy that Simon has not been charged with causing the explosion, breaks into the flats and attacks Simon, saying “I’ve killed before, and if you don’t disappear you'll be next”. With this Simon goes into hiding behind the Close using a few cardboard boxes for his home.

Suicide pact

Later Simon tells Terry that their work is complete and its time to join the other side. They steal Barry’s car and drive into the woods, attaching a hose from the exhaust into the car, so that with both doors and windows shut the fumes will kill them both. However Barry arrives just in time to pull Terry from the fume filled car but leaves Simon behind to die.

Breaking Terry out of the psychiatric institution

Terry ends up with a serious mental disorder and is sectioned under the mental health act and taken to a psychiatric hospital. Barry refuses to let his mate waste away in an institution and illegally smuggles him abroard to have him nursed back to health by Oscar Dean's wife in Spain.

Departure

Barry didn’t return to Liverpool, and he gave his shops, flats and nightclub to Terry. Terry then went on to sell the complex to commercial developers. Barry eventually settled in Blaydon

Blaydon

Blaydon-on-Tyne is a town in the North East of England in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The former urban district, however, extends much further, its fourteen and a half square miles constituting the largest administrative district, after Newcastle, on Tyneside...

, Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

 off screen.

Relationship with Lindsay

Barry returned in 1997 and began a relationship with his step-cousin, Jimmy's daughter Lindsay Corkhill, who herself was involved in the same crime circles as Barry.

Agenda with Callum Finnegan

He stepped in when Jacqui Dixon, who now owned Barry's old nightclub, was the victim of a protection racket by the Finnegan brothers. Barry demanded a share of the club in return (Something which would later cause strain between the two).

Lindsay was then kidnapped by the Finnegans which led to Barry locking Callum Finnegan in a container.

Departure

Barry and Lindsay split up when it was revealed that Barry had married in his absence and had two children. Lindsay went on to marry Peter Phelan but sometimes regretted splitting with Barry.

Return

Barry returned for Brookside's final episode in 2003 when it was revealed that he and Lindsay were to marry. Barry is now living off the proceeds of years of crime and lived in a large mansion near Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

. He returned to Brookside Close with Jimmy for a while for nostalgia. Barry became concerned about Jack Michaelson

Jack Michaelson

Jack Michaelson is a character in Channel 4 soap Brookside played by Paul Duckworth for the final three episodes in October and November 2003...

 and tried to talk Tim O'Leary

Tim O'Leary

Timothy "Tinhead" O'Leary is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Philip Olivier from 1996 until the final episode of the series in 2003. Tim subsequently appeared in a video spin-off, Brookside: Unfinished Business.-Introduction:Tinhead made his...

 into killing him, Michaelson was later lynched from his bedroom window by unspecified Brookside Close residents.

Revenge for Damon

During his brief stay, Barry has a private talk with Jimmy, telling him his brother's murderers have been released after fifteen years. Barry then leaves the close telling Jimmy confidentially he is going to kill them, something he has said he would do ever since Damon was murdered.

Departure with Jimmy and Lindsay

Jimmy went to live with Barry and Lindsay in a mansion near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Trivia

Throughout the series, Barry liked to drive an upmarket car. In the first episode he drives a Jaguar

Jaguar (car)

Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....

 in contrast to Bobby's Austin Princess

Austin Princess

The Princess was a distinctive series of large luxury cars made by Austin and its subsidiary Vanden Plas from 1947 to 1968. However:The Princess name was later also used as follows:...

 and by the last episode is seen to drive a BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

. Barry also owned a Volkswagen camper, a Jeep Wrangler

Jeep Wrangler

The Jeep Wrangler is a subcompact four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle and an off-road vehicle manufactured by American automaker Chrysler, under its Jeep marque – and now in its fourth generation. It is a successor to the famous World War II 'Jeep' vehicle by way of the Willys civilian...

 and a Vauxhall Frontera throughout the years.

Paul Usher

Paul Usher

Paul Usher is an English actor.He was educated at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, and is best known for playing Barry Grant in Brookside, from the first episode until the last , and PC Des Taviner in The Bill from 2001 to 2004.He has also appeared in Liverpool...

 was a Bluecoat at Pontins prior to taking his role in Brookside.

When Paul Usher left the programme in 1993, scripts had to be hastily rewritten. Most of his dialogue was given to Mick Johnson

Mick Johnson

Michael 'Mick' Johnson is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Louis Emerick from 1989 until 2001.-Storylines:Mick first appears as a friend of Terry Sullivan and they go into partnership as taxi drivers...

, while a disembodied hand was seen packing a suitcase.