Annabelle Collins (Brookside)
| Annabelle Collins | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Doreen Sloane | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1982–90 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 2 November 1982 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 9 May 1990 | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Phil Redmond | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Magistrate | ||||||||||||
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| Mother | Mona Fallon |
|---|---|
| Stepfather | Gerald Fallon |
| Brothers | Teddy Harvey |
| Husband | Paul Collins |
| Sons | Gordon Collins |
| Daughters | Lucy Collins |
Annabelle Collins (née Harvey) is a character in Brookside played by Doreen Sloane between November 1982 and May 1990.
The Collins family moved into Brookside Close during the first episode, having bought Number 8. From the start, there was conflict between the middle-class Collins family and the working-class Grants; in fact, the conflict between the families provided much of the early storylines. Upon arrival at Number 8, they found house had been vandalised by Damon Grant (Simon O'Brien) and his friends, and somebody had stolen the toilet. Whilst her husband, Paul, confronted the Grants, accusing Damon of being the toilet thief, Annabelle made an effort to befriend his mother Sheila (Sue Johnston).
Unlike the Grant family, who had moved from a run-down council estate to live on Brookside Close, the Collins family had previously lived in a large, comfortable house on The Wirral, but were forced to downsize to something much smaller after Paul was made redundant. Initially, Annabelle found it difficult to adjust to life in her new, more modest surroundings and for a while she suffered from mild depression. She considered returning to her previous career as a French teacher to help support the family but Paul was against the idea. However, in 1983, after Paul had found another job and the family's financial situation improved, she began to throw herself more into life in the Close, even helping to form a 'rate-payers' association. In 1985, she set up an 'at home' catering business, which was moderately successful until some of her clients came down with food poisoning, at which point Annabelle decided to give up the catering business and train to become a magistrate.
Although at times coming across as a bit of a snob, Annabelle was a polite and considerate woman, who made an effort to get on with her neighbours, often finding herself apologising for Paul's brisk and pompous manner. However, like Paul, she struggled to come to terms with Gordon's (Nigel Crowley, later Mark Burgess) sexuality as well as Lucy's (Katrin Cartlidge, later Maggie Saunders) promiscuity. After becoming concerned about her mother's increasingly erratic and eccentric behaviour, she invited Mona (Margaret Clifton) to move in with the Collins family at Number 8. Eventually, however, it became clear that Mona was suffering from early stages dementia and she had to be moved into a Home. In 1988, Annabelle had a brief affair with Brian Lawrence.
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