Jennifer Ellison played Emily Shadwick from 1998 until 2003, when her character died from a head injury after a fall.
She made her film debut a year after leaving the soap, playing Meg Giry in Phantom of the Opera in 2004. She also released two chart hit singles, as well as appearing in stage shows including Chicago, Calendar Girls and War of the Worlds.
Ray Quinn played bullied school child Anthony Murray from 2000 to 2003. His time on the show saw his character kill his bully after years of torture, notably being one of the most shocking and controversial storylines on a British soap.
Ray took part in the 2006 series of the X Factor, going on to pursue a solo career after coming in second place to Leona Lewis. In 2014, he won Dancing on Ice and has since appeared on stage in shows ranging from Peter Pan to Cinderella.
Anna Friel played Beth Jordache in 1992 and made history when her character's pre-watershed kiss with Margaret Clemence became the first lesbian kiss to be showcased on British television.
Most recently, the star appeared as lead character Detective Sergent Marcella Backland in Marcella. Anna has also made a name for herself in the USA, appearing in ABC's Pushing Daisies as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, as well as starring in films such as Land Girls and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Claire Sweeney starred in Brookside as Lindsey Corkhill from 1991 until 2003. Storylines included being wrongly arrested for drug smuggling, and escaping an explosion at a nightclub.
Claire's career after the soap has seen her appear on stage in productions including Guys and Dolls and Legally Blonde: The Musical. Also proving her talents behind the scenes, she wrote comedy musical Sex and the Suburbs, which was staged in 2014.
Sue Johnston played Sheila Grant in the soap, from 1982 - 1990 - during the same time as her future Royle Family co-star, Ricky Tomlinson.
Her character was nominated as one of the "top 100 British soap characters" by What's On TV, with her most notable moment seeing Sheila attacked in a 'whodunit' storyline.
Sue's career has gone from strength-to-strength since leaving Brookside, and in 2009 she received an OBE. Most famous for playing long suffering Barbara in The Royle Family, she has also starred in films such as New Years Day, and TV dramas including Waking the Dead, Cutting It and Downton Abbey.
Ricky Tomlinson played Bobby Grant from the show's first episode in 1982, until leaving in 1988. His character, a trade union activist, was one of the first main characters to say a line in the soap.
After Brookside, Ricky went on to have a successful television career, and is best known for starring in The Royle Family as the cynical Jim Royle.
Lisa Faulkner's early acting days saw her appear in Brookside as Louise Hope, from 1997 - 1998.
Since Brookside, Lisa has appeared in many a popular series, including Holby City, Spooks and Murder in Suburbia. In 2010, she proved her talents in the kitchen, coming first in Celebrity Masterchef and now has three cookbooks under her belt.