George Edward Jackson 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 British 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...

, played by Cliff Howells.

Introduction

George first appeared on Brookside Close in Episode 28, the same episode in which resident Gavin Taylor died. Later when Gavin's wife Petra

Petra Taylor

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

 died the Jackson family moved into No. 10.

Family

George, his wife Marie, and their twin sons Gary and Little George later moved into number 10. The Jackson family's tenure on the close was short lived as George was wrongly convicted for a Warehouse Robbery. George was incarcerated and Marie began an appeal to get him out of prison.

However, George's appeal proved fruitless and he remained in prison, forcing Marie and the boys to leave the close in 1985. 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...

 then bought the house and moved in with his family.

Cultural impact

• UK Music group Blazin' Saddles released a single "Free George Jackson" around Christmas 1983.
• George's storyline would later be echoed in Brookside's main rivals Eastenders
  EastEnders
  EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
  
  and Coronation Street
  Coronation Street
  Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
  
  with Who Shot Phil?
  Who Shot Phil?
  "Who Shot Phil?" was a storyline of the BBC soap opera EastEnders which evolved during 2001.-Background:The storyline centred around one of EastEnders longest running characters, Phil Mitchell . The build up to the storyline occurred throughout 2000-2001. The character became darker and a more...
  
  and ""Free Deirdre Rachid", respectively.