[8] Tomlinson was called back for a second audition and this time was given a new scene partner, Sue Johnston, who would eventually be cast as Bobby's wife, Sheila Grant.

[29] Redmond stated that Bobby "makes a meal" of the job and always brings his work life problems home and bothers his family with his career issues.

[17] In an introductory character profile published in TVTimes, Bobby was described by writer Alan Kennaugh as being a "militant trade unionist" who is "affable and fair-minded".

Additional scenes explored Sheila's reaction to Stan's illness and her worries that the HIV virus could possibly be transmitted to her daughter Claire.

Tomlinson told Maureen Cozens from Sunday Sun that he recalled the struggle for his wife to get pregnant and meeting his own first child, helped him become emotional during filming.

[51] The baby storyline generated press interest, Peter Reece from The People wrote a news article including photographs of the Grants with Claire filming her Christening.

[59] To conclude the storyline, producers created special episodes filmed in Rome and The Vatican, featuring Sheila attempting to reconnect with her Catholic faith.

[62] A Catholic priest, Kevin McNamara joined the crew on filming to document the trip and offer advice on portraying authentic Catholicism in scenes.

[67] They meet Stephen (Steve Halliwell) and Greg (Ian Liston) while out drinking and when they return to the Corkhill's, they find Billy asleep on the sofa.

O'Hara and O'Brien had both left their roles as Karen and Damon, leaving Bobby and Sheila as an ageing couple with their youngest child, Claire.

[83][86] A Brookside storyline featuring Bobby's daughter Karen moving in with her boyfriend whilst at university caused a major disagreement between Tomlinson and the writers.

"[44] Redmond later revealed in his autobiography titled "Midterm Report" that tension had been building between Tomlinson and production over the direction Bobby's characterisation was being developed.

[98] In 2023, Tomlinson returned to Brookside Close to film a scene in character as Bobby for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which was being held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine.

[101] Jess Molyneux from Liverpool Echo wrote that Tomlinson was "loved" for playing Bobby and that the Grant family were included in many of the show's most memorable storylines.

[102] The Daily Mirror's Jane Lavender and Sophie McCoid opined that Tomlinson was one of the show's "stars" and his character's "antics kept viewers gripped."

[105] A writer from The Northern Echo averred that Tomlinson had "made audiences laugh and cry with his portrayal of working class characters" such as "bolshie shop steward Bobby".

[108] David Stuckey and Len Capeling from Daily Post quipped that when Bobby faces trouble on the picket line, it was "an irony presumably not lost on Tomlinson".

"[111] Ken Irwin (Daily Mirror) stated that Bobby and Sheila as one of the show's longstanding successful couples and opined they were "the stuff that made Britain great.

The Guardian's Paul Flynn believed that "Sheila and Bobby Grant embodied enough of a new national mum and dad archetype" to see the actors receive honour castings.

In The Who's Who of Soap Operas, author Anthony Hayward opined that Tomlinson "was perfect for the role of Bobby Grant" given his connections to construction site pickets.

[116] Kay Nicholls, author of the book Real Soap: Brookside likened Bobby to a "big bear father figure" and was "generally angry about something."

"[119] Author of Making Sense of Suburbia through Popular Culture, Rupa Huq stated that via Bobby, Brookside writers explored the "1980s in spirit for dealing with the crises of deindustrialisation and emasculated trade union power.

[122] In a positive critique, Hilary Kingsley, author of Soapbox wrote that Bobby was the "first hero" of a soap opera to care about things other than his family.

[123] Cynthia Carter and Linda Steiner (Critical Readings: Media And Gender) wrote that both Tomlinson and Bobby appeared to be aligned with Militant, an extreme left-wing branch of the Labour party.

[124] In his book, Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them television producer John Yorke believed that Brookside was a "bastion of old Labour values, largely conveyed through" Bobby and Sheila.

"[126] Jonathan Bignell and Stephen Lacey, who wrote British Television Drama: Past, Present and Future assessed that Brookside chose characters to reflect the 1980s social tensions of the United Kingdom.

They stated that Bobby and Sheila played the role of a "aspirational Catholic working-class couple wanting to lift their children out of the council estate background and own their own home.

Coppock believed that subsequent characters similar to Bobby with trade unionist characteristics were, Frank Rogers (Peter Christian) and Eddie Banks (Paul Broughton).

He judged that "his incipient male chauvinism surfaced in his inadequate response to Sheila's rape, his disapproval of her taking on an Open University degree course and his accusations over her supposed affair with a lecturer.

"[43] The Daily Mirror's Irwin opined that the "militant shop steward" Bobby was a predictable role for Tomlinson to take on, given his past in political affairs.