Brookside fans launch campaign to release ‘lost’ 100 Greatest Moments documentary

Brookside fans have launched a new campaign calling on STV Player, Lime Pictures and All3Media to finally release the long-unseen Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments documentary. Campaigners Lee Brady and Kieran Mahoney also want any eventual release to be expanded with a new tribute celebrating the late Dean Sullivan.

Brookside was a groundbreaking British television soap which launched on Channel 4 in 1982 and followed the residents of Brookside Close, a real cul-de-sac in Liverpool. Created by Phil Redmond, the soap became famous for tackling difficult social issues and producing storylines which pushed the boundaries of what television drama was prepared to show at the time.

The soap remained on Channel 4 until 2003 and produced some of British television’s most memorable characters and storylines during its 21-year run. Its legacy has continued long after the final episode, and the arrival of classic Brookside on STV Player has given existing fans the opportunity to revisit the Close while introducing the programme to viewers who may have missed it the first time around.

That streaming revival has been a major success. STV revealed in November 2025 that Brookside had achieved an enormous 33 million streams since arriving on STV Player in January 2023, making it one of the platform’s most-watched titles.

The success led to a new three-year agreement with All3Media International which will keep Brookside on STV Player into 2029. Five further classic episodes are released every Wednesday, while STV has said the soap regularly appears among the platform’s most-watched programmes.

It is against that backdrop that Lee and Kieran believe the time is right to rescue another piece of Brookside history. Their campaign focuses on Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments, a feature-length documentary which fans have known about for years but have never been able to watch in full.

A trailer for the programme appeared as a bonus feature on the Unfinished Business DVD, giving fans a glimpse of a countdown celebrating some of Brookside’s biggest and most memorable moments. The documentary itself was subsequently shelved, leaving viewers with the unusual situation of knowing the finished programme exists while having no way to watch it.

Speaking exclusively to SoapLandTV, Lee explained why the huge resurgence surrounding Brookside makes this the right moment to campaign for its release. “Because the repeats are so successful on STV player there has been a massive resurgence in the interest of Brookside. And people want more Brookside. This would be perfect time to release the documentary.”

Lee runs the popular Brookside Close @brooksidefans Instagram account, which currently has more than 11,700 followers. The sizeable community surrounding the page provides another indication that interest in Brookside remains strong more than two decades after the television soap originally ended.

For Lee, the most frustrating aspect is knowing that Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments was actually created and that fans have already been given a taste of it through the trailer. “It's something thats been created that we now know about and we can't watch it. It's a collaboration of the best bits that we would love to watch. We have seen the trailer for it and it looks fantastic.”

There is also history behind the campaigners’ belief that Brookside fans can make themselves heard. Lee was previously involved in a successful campaign for a Brookside DVD release, giving him confidence that another organised push could produce results.

“Yes we have done it before and thats gave us great confidence we can do it again.” Lee said. The response to the new campaign has strengthened that confidence, with supporters signing considerably faster than during their previous effort.

Lee told SoapLandTV: “It's been fantastic. The amount of fans who have signed this fast is amazing and the petition has gone it faster than the last one we did years ago.” Former Brookside cast members Louis Emerick, Suzanne Collins and Leon Lopez are among those Lee says have already backed the petition.

Lee explained that he has not had detailed conversations with former cast members about the campaign, but those who were approached and were happy to sign were supportive of what the fans are trying to achieve. He is hopeful that more people connected to Brookside will add their support as awareness of the petition grows.

The way viewers consume television has also changed considerably since the original campaign for a physical release. Lee believes streaming provides a much more realistic opportunity to finally make the documentary available without relying on the costs involved in producing a new DVD or Blu-ray release.

“Because we dont think it could go out on DVD or Blueray as thats too much of a gamble as it costs alot to do. So therefore its better to stream as alot of people stream now. With STV player being the home for Brookside fans as they have the rights, it would be the perfect place to watch it on,” Lee explained.

The argument is strengthened by Brookside already having a successful digital home. STV Player is available free across the UK, has committed to streaming the classic soap into 2029 and has already attracted tens of millions of Brookside streams since bringing the programme back.

Lee and Kieran are not simply asking for the existing documentary to be uploaded unchanged either. Following Dean Sullivan’s death in 2023, they would like the release to be expanded with a dedicated tribute celebrating the actor who became one of Brookside’s most recognisable and loved stars as Jimmy Corkhill.

Their petition suggests new retrospective interviews with people connected to Dean and Brookside, potentially including former cast members, family and fans. It also proposes using archive material from across his career to create a wider celebration of his life and work.

Lee told SoapLandTV he would like to see “Upto date cast member interviews with maybe family and fans too inbetween clips of Dean weather thats in Brookside, other TV shows, theatre or video clips growing up.” The petition mentions Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson, Claire Sweeney and Suzanne Collins among possible former cast contributors, although the proposed tribute remains an idea from the campaign rather than a confirmed production.

The campaign is ultimately asking STV Player, Lime Pictures and All3Media to work together and explore what would be required to bring Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments out of the archives. For Lee, confirmation that the documentary will finally be released would be the response supporters have been hoping to hear.

“To confirm they will release it would be just the perfect reply for us all. It makes no sense to have it shelved. It's fully produced and its in the fans best interest to get it released and its in the interest of Lime Pictures as they will generate revenue from it too,” Lee said. The campaigners do not currently have a fixed number of signatures they intend to reach and instead plan to continue building support.

Lee’s message to anyone who remembers Brookside, has rediscovered it through STV Player or simply wants to help get another part of the soap’s history released is clear.

“Please sign our petition let's make this happen again and be successful for us to all watch something we have never seen before. And please share it too 😁”

If you’re a Brookside fan, you can support Lee Brady and Kieran Mahoney by signing the Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments petition and following Brookside Close @brooksidefans on Instagram for updates from the campaign and fan community.

You can also show there is still an audience for Brookside by heading to STV Player to watch the classic episodes, with five more episodes continuing to arrive every Wednesday.

Image credits- Lee Brady/AI