Heather Haversham (also Huntington and Black) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Amanda Burton.
Heather and her husband, Roger Huntington (Rob Spendlove) assume the roles of the show's young professional characters.
She transformed into an unlucky-in-love character with a failed marriage to Roger and hopeless relationships with Stuart Griffiths (Danny McCarthy), Don Summerhill (Jonathan Barlow) and Tom Curzon (Brian Stephens).
Burton described her time on the show as "wonderful training" and stated that she "absolutely loved" the fame she achieved via the role.
However, critic Paula Young writing for Soaps, bemoaned Heather's characterisation stating that she "falls in and out of love like there's no tomorrow."
"[1] "In 1982, one of the central characters was Heather Haversham, played by Amanda Burton, who introduced the soap viewer to the world of the yuppies.
"[3] When the series begins, Heather lives at number nine Brookside Close, alongside her husband, Roger Huntington (Rob Spendlove).
[5] In the book, Brookside: The Official Companion, show creator Phil Redmond profiled Heather as a "accountancy undergraduate with a smile that could buy her the world.
[3] In a character profile published in TVTimes, Heather was described a career woman and together with Roger, they look to improve their social standing.
[6] Roger often goes away on business trips, which he is able to use as a cover story when he begins an affair with Diane McAllister (Rosy Clayton).
His business trips become longer and Roger's boss Derek Hobbs (Norman Gregory) becomes interested in Heather.
[6] When Heather buys a used Volkswagen Scirocco, she meets car salesman Don Summerhill (Jonathan Barlow).
Other residents on Brookside Close fail to notice anything is wrong with Heather because of her tendency to keep her personal life a secret from them.
Nick had previously been married to Barbara Black (Brenda Elder), but their marriage ends when she comes out as a lesbian.
They have three children together, Ruth (Joanne Sidwell), Scott (Philip Glancy) and Adam Black (Toby King).
Nick is found dead on a bench in Sefton Park, and it is determined that he fell asleep having smoked heroin and died from hypothermia.
She gives Barry her house keys, gets into her car and leaves late at night with just a couple of suitcases on the back seat.
[13] In the 1994 book, Phil Redmond's Brookside - Life in the Close, it was revealed that Heather spent three years in Ireland and then moved to Derbyshire.
[14] In the programme, however, Heather's possessions are auctioned off by a solicitor in March 1987, after she moved to London and asked Paul (Jim Wiggins) and Annabelle Collins (Doreen Sloane) to send on only her clothes and some photographs.
Later discussing her time in Brookside, Burton told Emily Bearn from The Daily Telegraph that "It was a wonderful training, I was still quite naïve when I joined the programme but I learned so much from it.
"[16] A writer from Soap magazine profiled the character, stating "Heather Haversham was the lovely accountant who constantly raised the temperature of all the male members of Brookside.
"[17] An Inside Soap reporter wrote that "it looked like Heather and Roger Huntington's marriage was made in heaven.
"[18] A writer from the magazine Soaps branded her "Brookside's most eligible bachelor girl, Heather Haversham".
[19] Their colleague Paula Young criticised the show stating, "this year, the plot's been a bit of a damp squib as far as I can see.
[21] An Inside Soap columnist agreed with Hayward, writing "the only woman who could make accountancy seem sexy, she went from one romantic disaster to another.
"[22] The Independent's Brian Viner similarly opined that Burton "managed the near-impossible, by making an accountant both interesting and sexy.
[13] A writer from The Northern Echo described Burton's time on the show, stating "no one would expect her to do anything but suffer in a soap, so her four years as accountant Heather Haversham in Channel 4's Brookside were an emotional rollercoaster, low on fun.
[27] Sophie McCoid and James Rodger (Birmingham Mail) stated that Heather "soon became one of the show's most popular residents.
"[2] A writer for The Guide Liverpool branded Heather a "high flying, urban professional" who "endured a lot of heart ache in her four years on the close including cheating hubby's, car accidents and drug abuse.
[29] James Moore and Clare Goldwin from the Daily Mirror said that Heather's "top storyline" was "discovering her husband had cheated on her.