Brookside: Actors' delight as STV Player to stream soap from start

Actors who became household names after appearing in TV soap Brookside said they are "thrilled" it will be broadcast to a new audience.

The Liverpool-based drama ended in 2003 but will be aired from the start all over again on streaming service STV Player from 1 February.

Claire Sweeney, who played Lindsay Corkhill, said it was a "game-changer".

Fellow actress Sunetra Sarker, who played Nisha Batra, said she was "thrilled" new audiences would find it.

Conceived by Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Sir Philip Redmond and starting on the opening night of Channel 4's broadcasts in 1982, the show drew in audiences of nine million viewers at its peak before finishing on 4 November 2003.

The show, set on a fictional street in Liverpool, was known for its hard-hitting storylines and took on issues like rape, bullying and incest.