Dean Sullivan, a Brookside star, died at the age of 68. The actor gained most recognition for his 1986–2003 portrayal of Jimmy Corkhill.
Despite having only been scheduled for six episodes, he ended up becoming the cast member with the longest run on the venerable Channel 4 program. According to Dean’s representative, he died quietly after a brief illness.
According to the statement, “To family and friends, he was ‘Dino,’ but to millions of people, he was and is still remembered as ‘Jimmy.'” The family of Dean wishes to express gratitude to Arrowe Park Hospital for their continuous and steadfast assistance. In their time of bereavement, we kindly ask that you respect their privacy.”
For his portrayal of Jimmy, Dean was honored with the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2003. Following the conclusion of Brookside, he starred in Terry Across the Mersey, a sitcom, and had a radio show every day until May 2009.
In 2011, he indicated interest in returning to the show or playing his recognizable role in other serial operas. Along with Doctors on the BBC, he also starred in Crime Stories and The Royal on ITV.
In the Netflix short film Wings from 2022, he played his most recent part. Despite receiving the all-clear, Dean was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018.
At the time, the only symptom of prostate cancer he had was reduced flow. After a doctor told him to keep an eye on it, he knew something wasn’t right and got a second opinion from another doctor.
He said: “If I’d have listened to the first doctor, it might have been a different story so always trust your gut, 11 times out of 10, you’re right, we’ve still got that fight or flight instinct.” The early detection of his cancer meant his radiotherapy treatment was successful.
In August, the Liverpool born star looked back on his battle with the disease, admitting how he just wanted to continue with life as normal after his diagnosis. He told the Liverpool Echo: ‘The way I dealt with it was that I just sort of put myself in the hands of fate.
“If this was my time, then this was my time so I was quite philosophical about it really. I know that people would worry themselves into an early grave as it were but I’m not that sort of person, I try to keep positive about things and I just got on with my life.”
Dean was set to appear in a Southport production of Jack And The Beanstalk from December 7, but was forced to pull out on November 17 due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The Atkinson Theatre, where he was expected to transform into baddie Fleshcreep, confirmed his departure after his withdrawal.
They wrote: “There has been a change to the line-up for this year’s Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime. Dean Sullivan will no longer be performing in the role of Fleshcreep, as previously advertised and the role will now be played by Mark Paterson.”
