Frank Rogers (Brookside)
| Frank Rogers | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Peter Christian | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1987–93 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 1 December 1987 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 5 November 1993 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Frank Rogers is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Peter Christian. The character made his first on-screen appearance during the episode broadcast 1 December 1987 and remained in the show for six years, being killed off in the episode aired on 5 November 1993.
Development
Frank, a lorry driver, had been promised a desk-job but failed to gain the promotion.[1] The breakdown of their marriage deeply effects their youngest daughter Katie Rogers (Diane Burke). Burke told the Liverpool Echo's Peter Grant that "as the youngest daughter of Frank and Chrissy Rogers, [Katie] had a lot on her plate."[2]
Frank later enters a relationship with Lyn McLoughlin (Sharon Power). He has to fight off unwanted advances from Lyn's sister Bev McLoughlin (Sarah White).[3] Frank's departure storyline saw him killed in a car crash caused by a "drug-crazed" Jimmy Corkhill (Dean Sullivan).[4] The accident happens as Frank tries to make it to his wedding reception to Lyn McLoughlin (Sharon Power). Frank dies just after reaching hospital, and his other passenger Tony Dixon (Mark Lennock) is in a coma for three months before dying in hospital.[4]
Storylines
The Rogers family arrive and rent number 7 Brookside Close from Harry Cross (Bill Dean). Frank is promised a desk job at his lorry firm but they do not offer him the position. He travels to London to sort the problem out but his lorry is stolen and he faces disciplinary action. Frank decides to upscale and buys the more spacious number 5 and the family move-in. Frank attends a funeral where he meets Lyn. The pair form a close bond and begin a relationship.
After Lyn becomes pregnant and the pair marry, Frank drives to his wedding reception with Tony as a passenger, with Frank having offered Tony a lift to get him away from his feuding separated parents, Ron and DD. Jimmy drives his car while under the influence of cocaine and causes a car crash. Lyn, who was sitting in the back of Frank's Rolls Royce car, escapes uninjured. But those in the front of the car took the brunt of the impact. Frank dies shortly after reaching hospital, and Tony is left in a coma. After Frank's funeral, it is revealed that the post mortem of his body showed him to be above the drink-drive limit.
Tony dies three months later, having never regained consciousness, and at his funeral Jimmy finally confesses that he was the driver of the other car.
Reception
Just before Brookside's demise in 2003, Frances Traynor from the Daily Record named the crash that caused Frank's death one of the show's "most controversial plotlines".[5]
References
- ^ Kibble-White 2002, p.55.
- ^ Grant, Peter (13 November 2002). "What Katie Did Next - Stayed in Brookie; Peter Grant Meets a Very Young and Very Happy Soap Veteran". Liverpool Echo. (Trinity Mirror via Highbeam Research). Retrieved 30 March 2014.(subscription required)
- ^ Bevron, Casa (2 September 2003). "Happy Ending for Couple from Hell?". Liverpool Echo. (Trinity Mirror via Highbeam Research). Retrieved 30 March 2014.(subscription required)
- ^ a b Gould, Phil (28 February 2001). "Bells Ring in Potential Disaster for Soap Stars; It Is Highly Unlikely That Steve and Mel Will Live Happy Ever; in the World of Soap, Happy Couples Equals Boring Drama GMTV Soap Expert Tina Baker". The News Letter. (Johnston Publishing (NI) via Highbeam Research). Retrieved 30 March 2014.(subscription required)
- ^ Traynor, Frances (31 October 2003). "Close encounters; as Brookside Prepares for Its Final Episode after 21 Years, TV Editor Frances Traynor Takes a Look at the Soap's Most Controversial Plotlines". Daily Record. (Trinity Mirror via Highbeam Research). Retrieved 30 March 2014.(subscription required)
- Kibble-White, Graham (2002). 20 Years of Brookside. Carlton Publishing Group. ISBN 1-8422-2764-5.