A former soap star who admitted driving the getaway car in a gangland shooting has been cleared of murder, it can be reported today.
Brian Regan (53) who played Terry Sullivan in Channel 4's Brookside, was found not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court over his role in the killing of nightclub doorman Bahman Faraji (44).
He was convicted of two counts of perverting the course of justice by lying to police in the early stages of the murder investigation and disposing of a pair of gloves he wore on the night.
With his curly hair and shell suit, Brian Regan’s Terry Sullivan helped define the stereotype of a generation of Liverpool men.
Regan joined Brookside from episode six in November 1982, and his character was at the centre of some of the soap's most dramatic storylines until his final appearance 14 years later.
Regan's character was a key player in the dramatic storyline to mark Brookside's 1,000th episode when his wife Sue and baby Daniel were pushed to their deaths from a scaffold.
Meanwhile, behind the cameras, a real-life drama was unfolding for the actor.
He told the jury in his trial he began taking cocaine in the early 1990s, but never used the drug while he was filming.
After he left the soap in 1997 and acting work dried up, it had a “dramatic” effect on his life and income, he said.
Regan spent 18 months as an out-of-work actor before he was briefly employed by Sky Sports, appearing on Soccer AM as the goalkeeper in the Can He Kick It? slot.
But that came to an end when he suffered a heart attack shortly after his 45th birthday, he told the jury.
Regan continued using cocaine as his savings dwindled and eventually became a supplier and a courier to pay off his drug debts and fund the addiction.
Regan, who was on bail for supplying cocaine when the murder took place, was jailed on January 25th for a total of four years and 10 months.
The facts surrounding the latest case can now be revealed after Mrs Justice Nicola Davies lifted reporting restrictions put in place to avoid prejudicing the trial of another defendant, Jason Gabbana.
Gabbana (29) was found guilty of murder by an 11 to one majority at Liverpool Crown Court today after standing trial accused of ordering the execution of the father-of-one.