Where is Brookside's Heather Huntington now? Actress Amanda Burton's glittering career revealed

Daily Mirror

11 hours ago

Amanda Burton has become a staple of our television screens over the years, featuring in dozens of popular series
Amanda Burton is one of many stars who have beloved soap Brookside to thank for launching her career.
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The series, shot in Liverpoool, is returning to our screens through a special crossover episode with Hollyoaks. It helped put the likes of Amanda on the map after she left her native Northern Ireland as a teen in hopes of pursuring an acting career.
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Since then, Burton has become a fixture on our television screens throughout the years, appearing in numerous series. She starred prominently in dramas such as Silent Witness and Waterloo Road, and has taken on roles in programmes including Midsomer Murders and more recently the crime series Marcella.
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Now 68, she has relished a diverse career and leads a peaceful existence by the seaside on England's south coast in Sussex. However, her life began with a humble start in a small town in Northern Ireland.
Born in 1956 as the youngest of four daughters, Amanda was raised in Ballougry on the south-western edges of Derry City, where her family lived adjacent to Ballougry Primary School. Her father, Arthur Burton, worked as a headmaster at the school, which she attended throughout her youth.
Her mother, of English heritage, was a descendant of Oscar Wilde. Being the youngest, she was constantly urged to embrace life's possibilities.
"I had the most wonderful parents and the most idyllic childhood," she told the Express in 2016. "Both my mum and dad had an incredible zest for life and if that's your blueprint as you grow up, it's the way you tend to live your own life, too."
At the tender age of 18, she relocated to England to pursue her studies at Manchester Polytechnic School of Film, TV and Theatre. Shortly after graduating, she joined the cast of Brookside, taking on the role of accountant Heather Huntington.
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Heather marked Amanda's debut in television, and she quickly became a fan favourite. The Northern Irish actress graced 143 episodes of the long-standing Channel 4 soap from 1982.
Following the breakdown of her marriage, Heather was involved in unforgettable storylines including the death of her second husband Nicholas Black - prompting her to revert to her character's maiden name of Haversham. She bid farewell to the soap after a four-year run in 1986.
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After making guest appearances in shows like Inspector Morse and landing a leading role in Peak Practice over a decade, she assumed the main role of Professor Sam Ryan in the popular BBC drama Silent Witness. She remained on the show until 2004, but made a comeback in 2021.
Much like her former Brookside co-star Anna Friel, Burton later featured on the detective series Marcella. The actress also played headteacher Karen Fisher in the school-based drama Waterloo Road for 28 episodes.
In 1976, Burton tied the knot with theatre technician Jonathan Hartley, whom she met whilst studying at Manchester School of Theatre. They parted ways in 1982.
In 1989, she wed professional photographer Sven Arnstein, with whom she had two daughters before their split in 2004. Burton now lives near Brighton - the filming location for her crime drama The Level.