Sherry Baines

Lucy Nolan is the golden girl. The only daughter of local grocers, Sally and Mike Nolan, she's grown up in a home of total love and security. The one thing her heart desires is that Jack Hanson might ask her to marry him, and when he does eventually propose, Lucy is prepared to give up everything to be with him - even though it means leaving her beloved parents to live abroad where Jack has been offered an exciting business opportunity. But then,...

Emma Grady, transported to Australia for a crime she did not commit, believes the child she bore as she left England is dead. However, the baby is still alive and growing up as an alley urchin in the streets of Blackburn.

Despite her beloved mother's deathbed warning, Phoebe Mulligan has no choice but to throw herself on the mercy of her uncle, Edward. Her natural warmth and cheerfulness win her many friends and although she must endure horror and heartbreak, all the riches a woman can have come within her reach.

While they could not be more different, Beth and Megan have a genuine friendship built on years of laugher, tears and true understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses. Because that's what friends do, isn't it? But when Beth's daughter reveals a surprising secret, a wedge is driven between them. What begins as mild recrimination and misunderstanding develops into a full-blown row and then a simmering feud. As the two women square up to do...

Queenie seemed born to suffer. Her mam died giving birth to her, her drunken father George Kenney ignored her unless he was cursing her, and only beloved Auntie Biddy provided an anchor for her. Now Auntie Biddy has passed away, and Queenie must support herself.

Robert Sullivan has been left to raise three-year-old Nancy and her seven-year-old brother Jack by himself. Unable to cope, Robert is driven to abandon his children to those he believes can provide them with a better life. However, he quickly has a change of heart and decides to go back for them. But on the way there, he is involved in a horrific accident. Jack and Nancy are placed in the brutal regime of the Galloway Children's Home, where Jack's...

Beth Ward and Tyler Blacklock share a love they know will last forever. But Beth's mother, Esther, is jealous of the girl and seizes an opportunity to be rid of her daughter. Banished in disgrace from the family home, Beth takes the northbound train and alights at Blackburn, friendless and alone. On this day, fortune smiles, for Beth is taken in by warm-hearted Maisie Armstrong, a widow with two children. Money is scarce, but love abounds in the cosy...