Brookside heartthrobs now – career U-turns, co-star wife and pop career

Brookside fans are revisiting the beloved soap all over again after classic episodes landed on streaming service STV.

Throughout its two decades on-screen, there were plenty of explosive and heartbreaking moments – but there were plenty of heartthrobs too.

Beginning with The Grants in the early eighties and moving through the nineties with Jerome Johnson and Timothy ‘Tinhead’ O’Leary, lots of the cast became pin-ups.

READ NEXT: Brookside Close set now – £735k worth, major transformation and cast laying carpets

The TV show was beloved among many fans all over the UK and here, Daily Star takes a look at where some of the Brookside heartthrobs are now.

Paul Usher (Barry Grant)

Paul Usher was one of the original Brookside heartthrobs, after he took on the role on Barry Grant between 1982 to 2003, as well as spin-off, Brookside: The Lost Weekend.

However, his character Barry soon 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.

Simon O’Brien (Damon Grant)

Simon O’Brien played Barry and Karen’s younger brother Damon Grant in Brookside from 1982 to 1987 – and followed in on-screen brother Barry’s footsteps as a heartthrob too.

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.

Steven Pinder (Max Farnham)

Blonde bombshell Steven Pinder stepped onto Brookside Close in 1990 as Max Farnham – but it was not long before his character was involved in a long running feud with Ron Dixon, the exposure of a long-running affair and many more shocking storylines.

Brookside wasn’t Steven’s first soap role though, as he previously appeared in Crossroads as Roy Lambert between 1985 to 1987.

Along with roles in C.A.T.S Eyes and Foxy Lady, he led a successful theatre career too in productions such as Abigail’s Party.

Since then, he has appeared as Donald Marr in Emmerdale, Paul Merchant in Holby City and more recently, Malcolm Bowen in Casualty.

That’s not all, as it was recently announced that Steven is returning to play the role of The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond in the hit musical Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Steven is not the only famous star in his family either, as he married to wife Stephanie Chambers who played Gabby Parr in Brookside – along with appearing in New Tricks, Doctors and Emmerdale.

Together the couple have a daughter called Scarlett.

However not much is known about the actor’s life away from the limelight.

Phillip Olivier (Tim ‘Tinhead’ O’Leary)

The nineties saw Tim ‘Tinhead’ arrive on Brookside – soon catching the eye of fellow residents and viewers in the process.

After appearing in Brookside from 1996 to 2003, Philip continued to act in TV series including Benidorm, as well as in theatre productions.

That’s not all, as he revealed exclusively to Daily Star that he is involved with promoting the heritage of his home town of Liverpool.

He said: “I fell into promoting the city quite a lot more. I love this place. The history, the heritage, the culture. I fell into the Tourism and Attraction and I’m an ambassador for Liverpool, but I’ve still got that itch where I love the arts. I love performing. Watch this space.”

Phillip also revealed he would return to Brookside “in a heartbeat” if the soap were to return too, adding: “They were the best years of my life.

“If it wasn’t for Phil Redmond, if it wasn’t for Brookside, I wouldn’t have had the career I’ve carved for myself.

“In a heartbeat I would go back.”

He continued: “When I’m going around the city and around the world, people are still calling me Tinhead. When I started when I was 15, I never would have thought I’d be 42 and people still call me Tinhead.”

In his personal life, Phillip is in a relationship with his partner Amy and together the couple have five children.

Leon Lopez (Jerome Johnson)

Leon Lopez made his TV debut as Jerome Johnson in 1999, remaining on the soap until it ended in 2003.

Since then Leon has not left our screens, appearing in The Bill, Holby City, The Quiet One, Dark Heart and most recently, short film Where’s Steve?

He also had a rival soap role in EastEnders as Linford Short in 2016 too.

That’s not all, as Leon is also a talented singer and has performed in musicals across the UK including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, A Little Night Music and We Will Rock You.

He impressed viewers with his singing voice on Soapstar Superstar in 2007 too and from there worked with Take That star Gary Barlow on his debut album Movin’ On.

The star has turned his skills to directing too, working on series such as Death In Paradise, telling The Guide Liverpool: “Most days I pinch myself and I’m just grateful to be working on amazing shows with amazing people and people have been really kind and positive about what I’m contributing.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk