Brookside’s Vince Earl Seriously Ill

Brookside actor and sixties singer Vince Earl is seriously ill in hospital.

He arrived as mobile shop owner Ron Dixon on the Brookside Close in 1990 and soon had the neighbours tongues wagging. The on-screen Dixon family were at the centre of distaste and confrontations for being ‘common’ and ‘downmarket’ off-screen Ron and his clan were a popular arrival with viewers.

 

The Dixons were at the centre of one of the shows most memorable dramatic moments when son Tony was left in a coma and ultimately died after a car crash. Ron survived divorce, explosions and robberies in his time on Brookside, but today the actor behind the popular figure is fighting his own battle.

 

The 66-year-old performer is seriously ill in hospital with Goodpasture’s Syndrome. Friends and former co-workers have been sending messages of support to the star who began his showbusiness career aged eleven.

 

During the 1960s Vince was a ‘pop star’ performing in a number of bands, with a brief success in America. Throughout the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s Earl has been a popular regular on the cabaret circuit but became a household name in Channel 4’s serial Brookside, which he remained with until its demise in 2003.

 

Goodpastures Syndrome effects the kidneys and lungs when antibodies in the immune system cause the organs to potentially fail. Little is known the reasons behind the syndrome.