Terry Sullivan (Brookside)

Terry Sullivan
Terry Sullivan in 1986
Brookside character
Portrayed by	Brian Regan
Duration	1982–94, 1995–97
First appearance	17 November 1982
Last appearance	12 February 1997
Created by	Phil Redmond
Wife Sue Harper (1989-1991)

Terry Sullivan is a fictional character in the British soap opera Brookside, played by Brian Regan.

Terry first appeared a few episodes after the series began in 1982, making his debut in episode six. Originally living off the close at home with his father (with whom he had an uneasy relationship), Terry was initially depicted as being a promising football player, playing as a goalkeeper and with a real chance of becoming a professional. However, his dedication to going along with the scams of friend Barry (and notably the beating at the hands of villain Tommy McArdle) eventually curtailed his footballing career. He was the best friend of Barry Grant having grown up with him, and in many ways Barry's mother Sheila was the mother that Terry never had. Barry and Terry worked together in the building industry and supplemented their wages by stealing materials from their company. In the early days Barry and Terry got up to numerous scams, including selling dodgy video recorders and driving Barry's car into the sea to claim the insurance. In an interview the actor Brian Regan described the duo as the "likely lads of the 80s".

In 1984 he is engaged to Michelle - sister of close resident Marie Jackson. Marie has suspicions that Terry is only with her good looking sister for sex and is never fully convinced that he actually loves her. However, despite being engaged, the relationship ends when Terry comes home to find Michelle in bed with her aerobics instructor, who is revealed by a shocked Terry to actually be a former building site labourer. Terry takes the situation pretty badly and throws out Michelle and her belongings, including the mattress, stabbing it with a kitchen knife outside the front of the house on the lawn, where he is restrained by other close residents. The incident is a first glimpse of how Terry is eventually depicted as being prone to mental breakdowns.

In the same year in what was a big storyline, Terry and Barry got involved with the Liverpool gangster Tommy McArdle, who later had them viciously beaten up. Terry took many months to recover and after this time Barry did one of his numerous disappearances from the close. Terry then moved in with Pat Hancock, a former hospital porter originally from London, and his girlfriend, nurse Sandra Maghie. Terry and Pat embarked on a new venture - a van-hire business - but the business falls foul of dirty tricks from competitors the Cleary brothers. It gets taken to a new level when Barry Grant attacks the brothers after they made the mistake of threatening his sister Karen at knifepoint whilst attempting to vandalise Terry and Pat's van. Nevertheless, all of this doesn't prevent Terry from dating the Cleary's sister Vicki.