Damon and Debbie .. Brookside spin-off

Brookside spin-off series Damon and Debbie is set to return to screens 37 years after it first aired.

STV Player has announced that a rerun of the three-part "soap bubble," which first aired back in 1987, will return on New Year's Day 2025.

Written by current Children?s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the mini-series follows teen sweethearts Damon Grant (Simon O?Brien) and Debbie McGrath (Gillian Kearney) as they abscond to York to get away from their disapproving parents who object to the union because of the class divide between them.

O?Brien, who plays Damon, said: "I'm so chuffed that Damon and Debbie has been found, dusted off and is now going to be aired on STV Player. It was an absolutely groundbreaking format, being the original 'soap bubble', and I fondly remember wandering around the north of England with the lovely Gillian Kearney and the rest of the talented team. The nation can get their hankies ready once more for the airing of this rediscovered seminal moment in TV history."

Kearney, who plays Debbie, added: "Being asked at the age of 14 to join a soap as groundbreaking as Brookside was a dream come true for me, and I was delighted when we were told that the wonderful Frank Cottrell-Boyce was writing a 'soap bubble' involving Damon and Debbie eloping from Brookside Close on a romantic adventure.

"We shot for six weeks in Leeds, Bradford and York, and I will always remember our producer, Colin McKeown, taking the time to visit my school and reassure my teachers that I would continue my studies regardless of the shoot! We were like a family, and the atmosphere on set was always full of fun and laughter ? largely because of cheeky chappy, Simon O?Brien! I think we all knew we were making something very special, and I will forever be grateful to Mersey TV [now Lime Pictures] for such an amazing opportunity 37 years ago."

The first hourlong episode of Damon and Debbie will air on Wednesday, January 1, with the remaining two following on Wednesday, January 8. STV Player will also drop five extra episodes of Brookside on Christmas Day.

Damon and Debbie lands on STV Player on January 1. Classic episodes of Brookside drop every Wednesday on STV Player.