Barry Grant
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| Barry Grant | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Paul Usher | ||||||||
| First appearance | 2 November 1982 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 4 November 2003 | ||||||||
| Created by | Phil Redmond | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||
| Date of birth | 4th June 1959 | ||||||||
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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 1994 with several sporadic guest appearances in 1997, 1998 and the final episode in 2003.
Barry Grant was arguably the hardest and most 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 an enemy as he attempted to rape his girlfriend (Lindsay Corkhill). The enemy was eventually locked in a container and ended up in Kenya and subsequently had to have a kidney transplant.
[edit] Early Life
Barry started out as a young 'scally' who, together with his best friend Terry, was always looking for easy ways to make money. He was the apple of his mother Sheila's eye but didn't get on with his father Bobby who was eventually revealed to be his stepfather. After Sheila's rape and Barry's brother Damon's murder, Barry developed into a much more violent character and a successful businessman, opening Brookside Parade. When Sheila married Billy Corkhill and got caught up in the feud between the Corkhills and the man who had killed Billy's brother Frankie, it was Barry who stepped in to sort the situation out by issuing a few threats. After Billy and Sheila departed, Barry came into conflict with Billy's brother Jimmy who was squatting in one of Barry's shops. Barry set fire to the shop and later offered Jimmy a job at his new nightclub, supposedly because of Jimmy being 'family'. Barry planned to torch the club for the insurance, but Jimmy caught him in the act and Barry told him about setting fire to his shop previously. Jimmy attacked Barry leading to Barry becoming a suspect when Jimmy was run over. However the real culprit was revealed to be Barry's business partner, and Barry and Jimmy became friends of a sort.
In his personal life Barry had relationships with his stepsister Tracy Corkhill, who aborted Barry's baby, and with his best friend Terry's wife who Barry later confessed to murdering. Barry left in 1994.
[edit] The return of Barry
Barry returned to Brookside in 1997 and began a relationship with his step-cousin, Jimmy's daughter Lindsay Corkhill. He stepped in when his old flame 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. Lindsay was then kidnapped by the Finnegans which led to Barry locking Callum Finnegan in a container. Barry and Lindsay split up when it was revealed that Barry had married in his absence and had two children.
[edit] Final appearance
Barry returned for Brookside's final episode in 2003 when it was revealed that he and Lindsay had married offscreen. Jimmy went to live with them in the country.
