Annabelle Collins is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Doreen Sloane.

She is married to Paul Collins (Jim Wiggins) and they move into Brookside Close during the show's first episode.

Producers created an affair storyline between Annabelle and Brian Lawrence (Vincent Maguire), which nearly ruined her marriage.

Other stories include training to be a magistrate and her problematic relationship with her mother, Mona Harvey (Margaret Clifton).

[4] They were introduced into the series an as upper class family who are forced to move into Brookside Close, after Paul is made redundant from a lucrative management role at the firm Petrochem.

Paul is forced to take benefits and Lucy is removed from private schooling to support their new financial situation.

Unable to cope with their new lives, she and Paul spiral into a depression and Annabelle starts a local ratepayers association.

"[7] In the book Phil Redmond's Brookside - Life in the Close, author Geoff Tibballs wrote that Annabelle was completely different to Paul.

He compared her to a horse keeper as she is constantly clearing up issues Paul causes with other Brookside Close characters.

[8] Annabelle likes being involved with the community, even though her support for the Conservative Party prevented her from participating in strikes.

Show creator Phil Redmond revealed that the Brookside press office received many letters complimenting her on "nice" fashion.

Annabelle grows bored of Paul's constant reminiscing of industrial warfare and decides to start an at-home catering business.

[11] When Gordon returns from France, Carol discovers he is gay and refuses to clean if fear of contracting AIDS.

He and Christopher steal a car to escape a gang of men and accidentally run over and kill Annabelle's dog, Lucky.

Christopher responds by renting out Mona's home to make money, but his scam is discovered by Annabelle and Paul.

Gordon and Christopher then make an unannounced visit to the care home and finds evidence that Mona is being abused.

[11] Annabelle worries that she will not be accepted as a magistrate because of Paul's involvement with a road safety pressure group.

[3] In 1988, writers decided to create an affair storyline between Annabelle and her colleague Brian Lawrence (Vincent Maguire).

Tibballs assessed that this was the "perfect setting for a spot of extra-marital nookie" and that they carried on like "sex-starved rabbits".

[22] Mona had married her friend Gerald Fallon (Bryan Matheson) and already moved to the Lake District one year previously.

[23] In 1994, it was revealed that Annabelle, Paul and Mona were still living in the Lake District and were running a small guest house.

[24] A reporter from Inside Soap stated that "Doreen made an impact on viewers as snooty Annabelle who was never short of advice for her family and neighbours and found her true vocation as a magistrate.

"[23] Another Inside Soap reporter described her as a "well-to-do Hyacinth Bucket type who endured countless problems with her children.

He wrote "a drearily pretentious pair from the Wirral in early episodes, they seem to have won sympathy lately and Doreen Sloane who plays Annabelle, is even flowering as some kind of middle-aged fashion queen.

"[9] In 1985, Eleanor Levy from the Record Mirror branded Annabelle and Paul the "upper middle class slummers" and that the character has "expensive problems with her thyroid".

[26] Dee disliked Annabelle's affair with Brian because it was "completely out of character" but called it a "memorable moment".

[26] James Moore and Clare Goldwin from the Daily Mirror described Annabelle's best storyline as being her affair with Brian.

"[28] Matt Wolf from The Sacramento Bee branded Annabelle and Paul the show's "right-wing social climbers" and opined that characters such as these represent the British working class and their problems.

Soap Operas Around the World, Christine Geraghty wrote that Annabelle was an example of one of Brookside's early authentic female characters.

Geraghty claimed that Annabelle was a "strong mother [...] who controlled and negotiated family life within the home."