EX-BROOKSIDE actors marked the soap's last ever episode by urging fans to celebrate its successes rather than mourning its demise.

Actor John McArdle, who formerly lived in Burnley, won millions of fans as Billy Corkhill in the soap and yesterday he joined millions of fans celebrating the show's 21-year run.

He now plays Inspector Jim Oulton in the BBC1 police drama Merseybeat, in which actress wife Kathy Jameson also plays his on-screen wife Dawn.

Now living in the Ribble Valley, John is also well-known to television viewers from his hard-man role in Prime Suspect and period drama The Cazalets.

Whalley-born Stephen Pinder, who played love rat Max Farnham before leaving the show in April, had his own memories of the show.

The Liverpool-based soap went out with a bang as hard man Barry Grant (Paul Usher) and Lindsay Corkhill (Claire Sweeney) returned to the famous Close.

Stephen, who grew up in Great Harwood, spent 10 years playing restaurant owner Max, between 1990 and 2003. During that time his character was married three times, lost two of his children in a car crash, had a surrogate baby, was arrested for soliciting, had numerous affairs, and rowed with second wife Susanna which resulted in her falling down a staircase and eventually dying.

Stephen said: "We should be celebrating the past of the programme in a positive way rather than a negative one because offall the things that Brookside has achieved over the past 20 years.

"I started off on the programme in 1990 and spent about 10 years playing Max, so I was there for a fair bit of time and I went through a lot of storylines.

"I had already left the programme when it was announced that the show was going to end but there had been a lot of speculation up until that point so it didn't come as a big surprise.

"It was a difficult time. They didn't really know what was happening with the storyline and it was quite sad when the programme moved to a different slot. Some of the actors complained, asking how the audience were expected to see the programme when the actors didn't even know when it was on.

"But I had a great time working on the programme and still keep in touch with a lot of the present and past actors, such as Louis Emerick, who played Mick Johnson, and all three of my wives - Gabby Glaister (Patricia), Karen Drury (Susanna) and Alex Fletcher (Jacqui).

"When I made my decision to leave the writing was on the wall. My part had diminished to virtually nothing. But during my time I loved working with Mick Starkey (Sinbad) and loved filming the bust-up scenes between the Farnhams and the Dixons."

Stephen is on tour with stage play Murder by Misadventure, which is being shown at the Oldham Coliseum.

He added: "I haven't really watched any episodes of Brookside since I left because I have been working. But it was great working with so many people over such a long period of time.

"It was hard work but we had a lot of fun and it was a happy time."