Bobby Grant (Brookside)

Bobby Grant
Bobby Grant as he appeared in the first episode in 1982
Brookside character
Portrayed by	Ricky Tomlinson
Duration	1982–1988
First appearance	2 November 1982
Last appearance	16 May 1988
Created by	Phil Redmond
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Factory craftsman (until May 1983) Factory foreman (from May 1983)
Wife Sheila Grant (until 1989) Sons Damon Grant Daughters Karen Grant Claire Grant Adoptive sons Barry Grant Grandsons Simon Grant

Bobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988. Bobby was the first main character in the series to have a spoken line after recurring actor John Whitehall (who played the milkman on and off for ten years) had said the first ever line on the show.

The Grant family originally consisted of Bobby Grant, Sheila Grant, Barry Grant, Karen Grant and Damon Grant. The whole family appeared in the first episode and were the first to move into the new houses on Brookside Close, moving into No. 5.

Prior to moving onto Brookside Close, the Grant family were from a run-down inner-city council estate, however through Bobby and Sheila's thrift and hard work had managed to move to the 'middle class' Brookside Close.

A fourth child, Claire, was born on 8 January 1985 - the very first baby to be born in the series, more than two years after its inception.

Bobby Grant could be a domineering man over his family, and throughout the series was shown to regularly hit his son Damon for minor misdemeanours. Bobby Grant's role as patriarch of the Grant family was tested in 1986 when wife Sheila was raped. The character was a longtime friend of Matty Nolan and also endured a difficult relationship with neighbour, Paul Collins.

Bobby Grant was a politicised character, and throughout the early years of the soap was a committed socialist and trade union activist (mirroring Tomlinson's real life prior to his acting career) and the story lines reflected this. The stories of trade union activity were on the Zeitgeist of the early 1980s when unemployment was high - particularly in Liverpool - and there was considerable industrial unrest at the time. In the opening episodes, Bobby is asked to take a pay cut and from here the political beliefs of the character are set out.

Despite being an ardent socialist, Bobby is also a realist and a moderate. As a shop-steward he is seen to liaise with his members, often defending management against false accusations. Many of Bobby's co-workers are somewhat more militant than he is but given Bobby's realistic appraisal of the world he realises that Fairbanks management look for any excuse to rid themselves of militants and so he refrains from making ill-considered accusations.