South (miniseries)
It stars Justine Kerrigan as Tracy Corkhill and Sean McKee as Jamie Henderson, whose characters feature in the Brookside series.
[3] Another Brookside spin-off series titled Damon and Debbie had finished airing on Channel 4 three days prior to the announcement.
[4] South was pitched by Brookside's creator Phil Redmond, who thought it would be a good story to explore the north–south divide in England.
West revealed that South would focus on Brookside's established characters Tracy Corkhill (Justine Kerrigan) and Jamie Henderson (Sean McKee).
Tracy and Jamie's South plot corresponds from the point they leave Liverpool in an episode of Brookside and later resumes upon their return.
Redmond previously had to defend Tracy and Jamie's safe-sex storyline featured in Brookside, to the British regulatory body, Independent Broadcasting Authority.
[7] In 1988, Ken Irwin (Daily Mirror) publicised details about South, announcing that Tracy and Jamie would take on the role of "two unemployed youngsters looking for work and adventure" in London.
[2] McKee told Irwin that "Jamie and Tracy come to London in search of a new life together, thinking the streets are paved with gold.
[2] McKee worked shifts pot washing and on a building site with poor safety, which Jamie experiences in South.
[4] He also hoped South would not deter viewers from similar lifestyle changes like Jamie does, but wanted them to make a more informed decision.
[1] Also added was a job agency worker, Vinny (Frank Vincent) whose character was used to accentuate the lack of employment opportunities for young people.
[9] McKee revealed that Tracy would strike up a friendship with Louanne while visiting nightclubs, but Jamie would struggle to adapt to the London lifestyle.
Kerrigan said the production of South received a bigger financial budget compared to Brookside and a "real glimpse" of working for a "big television company".
[6] Author Graham Kibble-White later assessed that early morning time-slots prevented the episodes from gaining high ratings that could be achieved during primetime viewing.
He opined that "fans will need to encouragement to abandon Gaybo on Monday morning and tune into episode one of this spin-off featuring Jamie and the unlovely but ever-so-believable Tracy".
[18] A critic from the Herts and Essex Observer described it as a "hard-hitting drama" exploring the "more urgent social issues of contemporary teenagers.
"[19] Tim Oglethorpe from Birmingham Mail branded the series a "powerful hard-hitting drama" which "aims to explore some of the issues today's teenagers face.
"[20] Their colleague Graham Young included South in his "TV Highlights" feature but criticised it for being in the same "mould as the disappointingly thin Damon and Debbie.
"[22] A writer from the Reading Post called it a "gritty and realistic look at what happens when two youngsters leave depressed Liverpool and head for the horn of plenty.
