Debbie McGrath | |||||||||
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Brookside character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Gillian Kearney | ||||||||
Duration | 1986–1989 | ||||||||
First appearance | 30 December 1986 | ||||||||
Last appearance | 25 September 1989 | ||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
Spin-off appearances | Damon and Debbie (1987) | ||||||||
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Debbie McGrath is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by teenager Gillian Kearney, from 1986 to 1989. [1] The character was Kearney's first television role, and featured in a plot line which launched both actress and character into the national consciousness. [2] [3]
Debbie McGrath was introduced into the soap as Damon Grant's ( Simon O'Brien) girlfriend. She was both younger than Damon and under the age of consent, two facts which caused friction between the parents of both characters, a plot-line which saw one critic refer to it as like " Romeo and Juliet in trackies". [2] When their parents objected to them dating, the couple decided to elope in a story shown in the first UK 'soap bubble', Damon and Debbie. [4] According to Annie Leask of The Sunday Mirror, the spin-off was a result of the characters' popularity with the viewing public. [5] The events of the spin-off show saw Damon murdered, and Debbie returning briefly to the show, where it was revealed she was carrying Grant's baby. After the birth of her son, Simon, she made a brief return to the Close to introduce her child to his grandmother, Sheila ( Sue Johnston), before departing for university.
Francesca Babb from All About Soap stated that Damon and Debbie were "star-crossed young lovers" whose storyline took a "Romeo & Juliet style twist" as they ran away to York. [6]
Debbie McGrath | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brookside character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Gillian Kearney | ||||||||
Duration | 1986–1989 | ||||||||
First appearance | 30 December 1986 | ||||||||
Last appearance | 25 September 1989 | ||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
Spin-off appearances | Damon and Debbie (1987) | ||||||||
|
Debbie McGrath is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by teenager Gillian Kearney, from 1986 to 1989. [1] The character was Kearney's first television role, and featured in a plot line which launched both actress and character into the national consciousness. [2] [3]
Debbie McGrath was introduced into the soap as Damon Grant's ( Simon O'Brien) girlfriend. She was both younger than Damon and under the age of consent, two facts which caused friction between the parents of both characters, a plot-line which saw one critic refer to it as like " Romeo and Juliet in trackies". [2] When their parents objected to them dating, the couple decided to elope in a story shown in the first UK 'soap bubble', Damon and Debbie. [4] According to Annie Leask of The Sunday Mirror, the spin-off was a result of the characters' popularity with the viewing public. [5] The events of the spin-off show saw Damon murdered, and Debbie returning briefly to the show, where it was revealed she was carrying Grant's baby. After the birth of her son, Simon, she made a brief return to the Close to introduce her child to his grandmother, Sheila ( Sue Johnston), before departing for university.
Francesca Babb from All About Soap stated that Damon and Debbie were "star-crossed young lovers" whose storyline took a "Romeo & Juliet style twist" as they ran away to York. [6]