Bobby Grant
Encyclopedia
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. Bobby was the first character in the series to have a spoken line after a milkman and then Annabelle Collins had silent appearances.
, Barry Grant
, Karen Grant
and Damon Grant
. The whole family appeared in the first episode and were the first to move into the new houses on Brookside Close, moving into No. 5.
Prior to moving onto Brookside Close, the Grant family were from a run-down inner-city council estate, however through Bobby and Sheila's thrift and hard work had managed to move to the 'middle class' Brookside Close.
A fourth child, Claire, was born on 8 January 1985 - the very first baby to be born in the series, more than two years after its inception.
Bobby Grant could be a domineering man over his family, and throughout the series was shown to regularly hit his son Damon for minor misdemeanours. Bobby Grant's role as patriarch of the Grant family was tested in 1986 when wife Sheila was raped. The character was a longtime friend of Matty Nolan
and also endured a difficult relationship with neighbour, Paul Collins
.
activist and the story lines reflected this. The stories of trade union activity were on the Zeitgeist of the early 1980s when unemployment was high and there was considerable industrial unrest at the time. In the opening episodes, Bobby is asked to take a pay cut and from here the political beliefs of the character are set out.
Despite being an ardent socialist
, Bobby is also a realist and a moderate. As a shop-steward he is seen to liase with his members, often defending management against false accusations. Many of Bobby's co-workers are somewhat more militant than he is but given Bobby's realistic appraisal of the world he realises that Fairbanks management look for any excuse to rid themselves of militants and so he refrains from making ill-considered accusations.
. In the course of his duties he was accused of abusing his position as a shop steward with regards to the allocation of overtime, in the belief that he was using his power to ensure his shift had all of the overtime. Bobby calls in the Health and Safety inspectors at Billinge Chemicals after he discovers many of the staff suffer from asbestosis
. During a strike over unsafe working conditions in February 1987, Bobby loses authority of union members after he refuses to answer whether he is in the Militant Tendency
.
, she also made several one-off appearances in the soap, the final one being in 1998.
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...
played by Ricky Tomlinson
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988. Bobby was the first character in the series to have a spoken line after a milkman and then Annabelle Collins had silent appearances.
Character
The Grant family originally consisted of Bobby Grant, Sheila GrantSheila 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:...
, Barry Grant
Barry Grant
Barry Grant is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Paul Usher 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....
, Karen Grant
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 Grant
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...
. The whole family appeared in the first episode and were the first to move into the new houses on Brookside Close, moving into No. 5.
Prior to moving onto Brookside Close, the Grant family were from a run-down inner-city council estate, however through Bobby and Sheila's thrift and hard work had managed to move to the 'middle class' Brookside Close.
A fourth child, Claire, was born on 8 January 1985 - the very first baby to be born in the series, more than two years after its inception.
Bobby Grant could be a domineering man over his family, and throughout the series was shown to regularly hit his son Damon for minor misdemeanours. Bobby Grant's role as patriarch of the Grant family was tested in 1986 when wife Sheila was raped. The character was a longtime friend of 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...
and also endured a difficult relationship with neighbour, Paul Collins
Paul Collins (Brookside)
Paul Collins was a character in Brookside played by Jim Wiggins between 1982 and 1990.-The Collins family:The Collins family moved into Brookside Close during the first episode, having bought Number 8...
.
Politics
Bobby Grant was a politicised character, and throughout the early years of the soap was a committed socialist and trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activist and the story lines reflected this. The stories of trade union activity were on the Zeitgeist of the early 1980s when unemployment was high and there was considerable industrial unrest at the time. In the opening episodes, Bobby is asked to take a pay cut and from here the political beliefs of the character are set out.
Despite being an ardent socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Bobby is also a realist and a moderate. As a shop-steward he is seen to liase with his members, often defending management against false accusations. Many of Bobby's co-workers are somewhat more militant than he is but given Bobby's realistic appraisal of the world he realises that Fairbanks management look for any excuse to rid themselves of militants and so he refrains from making ill-considered accusations.
Trade union activities
Bobby Grant was the trade union shop steward at the factory where he worked, and he was largely involved in the orchestrating of industrial actionIndustrial action
Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...
. In the course of his duties he was accused of abusing his position as a shop steward with regards to the allocation of overtime, in the belief that he was using his power to ensure his shift had all of the overtime. Bobby calls in the Health and Safety inspectors at Billinge Chemicals after he discovers many of the staff suffer from asbestosis
Asbestosis
Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers...
. During a strike over unsafe working conditions in February 1987, Bobby loses authority of union members after he refuses to answer whether he is in the Militant Tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
.
Breakdown of marriage with Sheila
After Sheila was raped in 1986 and the death of son Damon in 1987, Bobby and Sheila's marriage began to falter. The two started to attend marriage guidance and Sheila sought advice from her priest. The pair finally split in May 1988 with Bobby taking the decision to leave Sheila. Bobby left the soap, although Sheila remained in it until September 1990 later marrying Billy CorkhillBilly 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...
, she also made several one-off appearances in the soap, the final one being in 1998.