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''Grange Hill'' is a British

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

drama series, originally produced by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

and portraying life in a typical

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, and was one of the longest-running programmes on

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

when it ended on 15 September 2008 after 31 series. It was created by

Phil Redmond Sir Philip Redmond (born 10 June 1949) is an English television producer and screenwriter from Huyton, England. He is known for creating the television series ''Grange Hill'', ''Brookside'' and ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Redmond took the 11-pl ...

, who is also responsible for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

dramas ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' and ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''; other notable production team members down the years have included producer

Colin Cant Colin Cant is a British television director, producer and scenic designer, best known for his work for the children's department of BBC Television from the 1970s to the 1990s. After beginning his career as a designer, he moved to directing and w ...

and

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

. The show was cancelled in 2008, having run every year for 30 years. It was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course."BBC to shut gates on Grange Hill"
BBC News, 6 February 2008

Overview

The drama was centred on the fictional

of Grange Hill in the equally fictitious

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

borough of Northam. As well as dealing with school-related issues such as

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

, learning difficulties, teacher-pupil relationships and conflicts, ''Grange Hill'' "broke new ground over the years, with the kind of hard-hitting storylines not usually seen in children's dramas", such as

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

(e.g. Zammo McGuire's

heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Op ...

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period bet ...

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

knife crime Knife legislation is defined as the legislation, body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, ...

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, rape/sexual assault,

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

(e.g.

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

(e.g.

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

gun crime Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable), assault with a deadly weapon, an ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. The series was originally to have been called ''Grange Park'', which would go on to be used as the name of the school in another Redmond creation, the

soap opera ''

'' (1982–2003).

Series history

''Grange Hill'' was originally conceived by ATV writer

, who first approached various television companies with the idea in 1975, unsuccessfully. In 1976, he managed to sell the idea to the

...
, and the children's drama executive Anna Home commissioned an initial series of nine episodes in a trial run, the first being broadcast on 8 February 1978. From the start, the series sparked controversy over its realistic, gritty portrayal of

school life A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commo ...

, which differed from the idealised portrayals of earlier school

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

s. Redmond has said that he was not fully able to start pushing the boundaries until later series. This led to Redmond being summoned to lunch by BBC bosses and forced to agree that there would be no further series unless he toned certain elements down. ''Grange Hills highest-profile period was undoubtedly the mid- to late 1980s. One of the most famous storylines during this time was that of Zammo McGuire (played by

Lee MacDonald Lee MacDonald (born 21 June 1968) is an English actor, who is known for his role as Zammo McGuire in the BBC drama ''Grange Hill''. Since then, he has made cameo appearances on '' Birds of a Feather'' and ''The Bill''. In 2019, he began appear ...

) and his addiction to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. This storyline ran over two series (1986–87) and focused on Zammo's descent into drugs and how it strained his relationship with girlfriend Jackie and friend Kevin. The show's other favourite characters during this period were Gonch and Hollo, played by John Holmes and Bradley Sheppard. During his time at the school (1985–89) Gonch took part in many moneymaking schemes, most of which were unsuccessful. There was a comedic element to the duo's relationship that worked well with viewers. Script editor

, who worked on the series for several years during the 1980s, later won an

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

for the film ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

'' in 1996. During the 1990s, ''Grange Hill'' did not receive the same media attention that it had had just a few years before. The teachers were now equals in the narrative, with their personal lives taking up almost as much time as those of the pupils. In 1994, two characters were introduced with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

: Denny Roberts ( Lisa Hammond), who had

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

, and Rachel Burns (

Francesca Martinez Francesca Martinez (born 1978) is an English comedian, writer and actress. She has cerebral palsy, but prefers to describe herself as "wobbly". Martinez first came to public attention in 1994, when she made her debut on the television series ' ...

), who had

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. Both characters were presented as "one of the gang" and hated being accorded any special treatment because of their circumstances. This prompted the BFI's 2002 publication ''The Hill And Beyond'' to comment that ''Grange Hill'' had perhaps become politically correct. Beginning on 4 April 1993, in celebration of the programme's 15th anniversary, the first fifteen series of ''Grange Hill'' were repeated during Children's BBC's Sunday (and later, Saturday) morning slots on BBC1 and BBC2. The repeats ended with Series 16 in 1999. In the 1990s ''Grange Hill'' was repeated in full on digital satellite and cable channel

UK Gold Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W, with clas ...

, which broadcast the late 1970s and early 80s episodes of the show. In 1998, it reappeared on sister channel UK Gold Classics, which was a digital-only channel showing programmes previously aired on UK Gold, and ''Grange Hill'' was part of its schedule. The channel lasted only six months, however, before becoming UK Gold 2 in April 1999. Interest in ''Grange Hill'' was renewed in the late 1990s and the series celebrated its 20th anniversary with the introduction of sinister Scottish bully Sean Pearce (

Iain Robertson Iain Robertson (born 27 May 1981) is a BAFTA award winning Scottish actor. He portrayed Lex in cult Glasgow gang film, ''Small Faces'', though Robertson is also known for his work in the long-running children's drama, ''Grange Hill'' and '' T ...

), who carried a knife and slashed the face of a classmate. Cast member

Laura Sadler Laura Ruth Sadler (25 December 1980 – 19 June 2003) was an English actress. She played pupil Judi Jeffreys in the children's school drama series ''Grange Hill'', and nurse Sandy Harper in the BBC One hospital drama series '' Holby City'' fo ...

, who was heavily involved in this storyline, died after falling out of a building in June 2003; four years earlier her ''Grange Hill'' character Judi Jeffreys had been killed after slipping and falling out of the window of a burning storeroom in the school. By 2001, the series was almost entirely issue-led and the decision to tackle the subject of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

upset some parents. But when Phil Redmond took over production of ''Grange Hill'' in 2003, his plan was to get the show back to its roots and the issues were toned down as Redmond skewed the show towards a younger audience. ''Grange Hill'' returned on 14 April 2008 with its final series, including a return of the original theme music. Series 31 returned to BBC1 after the 2007 series was shown exclusively on the

CBBC Channel CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

. In 2019, Redmond spoke about possibly reviving the show and dealing with current social issues.

Film

In early 2006, it was announced that a film of ''Grange Hill'' was to be released in late 2007 focusing on the lives of former pupils. There was silence on the project for 15 years, until it was announced in January 2022 that Redmond had written the script and was looking to start casting.

Production history

For its first 25 years Grange Hill was produced in-house by the

...
, then the show was made independently for the corporation by Mersey TV, the production house founded by Redmond (and later renamed as Lime Pictures), hence the reason for the production move.

Television Centre years: 1978–1985

Location external and some interior scenes in ''Grange Hill'' were originally filmed at real schools in London. The first of these would be

Kingsbury High School (''Let us be judged by our actions'') , established = 1925 , closed = , type = Academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Mr Alex Thomas , r_head_label =Head of S ...

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally ...

, which was used as the ''Grange Hill'' setting for the first two series. For series 3 (1980) exterior filming moved to Willesden High School (now Capital City Academy) in

Willesden Green Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed p ...

, which was similar in looks to Kingsbury and was also situated in a residential area of the capital. In 1981, ''Grange Hill'' moved to

Holborn College Kaplan Holborn College was a college of higher education in London, England, specialising in accounting, finance, law and business. It was originally established as Holborn Law College in 1969 to prepare young lawyers from overseas for the Univ ...

(now

Fulham Preparatory School Fulham School, originally founded as Fulham Preparatory School, is a school in Fulham, London, teaching children from the age of three up to eighteen (completing the IB). From its beginnings as a pre-prep and preparatory school, in 2017, it m ...

) in Greyhound Road, Hammersmith. This school looked very different from the two that had been used previously, and it was also in a built-up area of London. Holborn College was the longest serving of the "real schools", remaining on screen until 1985. Up to and including 1985, interior scenes were shot at the

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...

in London.

Elstree years: 1985–2002

In 1985, production shifted to the former ATV studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The BBC had purchased the studio complex the previous year. The studios, now known as

BBC Elstree Centre The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Boreh ...

, were the location for some exterior filming from Series 8 on the closed Elstree set. A 1960s office block, Neptune House in the facility now doubled as ''Hill''s "lower school". The change was explained on screen with an elaborate storyline whereby Grange Hill merged with rival schools Brookdale and Rodney Bennett to form a new school, Grange Hill. In Series 8 the merger had taken place and Grange Hill operated as a split-site school; the former Rodney Bennett building (Neptune House) being the lower school and the original Grange Hill building (still Holborn College) the upper school. In series 9, the Upper School building was condemned after a fire, allowing production of ''Grange Hill'' to fully move to Elstree including studio work. ''Grange Hill'' was, at this time, made as an

outside broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera ...

in the same way as its stablemate, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

''. New producer Diana Kyle switched filming to a single camera format from 1999 onwards. In 1990, Neptune House was replaced with a different building on the same site. This building remained in use until 2002, with cosmetic modifications along the way. However, as the 1990s progressed more use was made of real schools including the Nicholas Hawksmoor School and Bushey Meads School, and St Audrey's School in Hatfield.

Liverpool years: 2003–2008

Early in 2002, it was announced that ''Grange Hill'' creator Phil Redmond had signed a deal for his production company Mersey TV to produce the next three series of the programme. Production moved to Mersey TV's studios in

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. Overview The earli ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

from Series 26 onwards and for the first time in some years the appearance of Grange Hill School itself would change radically. On screen an explosion ripped through the school at the end of Series 25; during Series 26 tarpaulins covered most of the new "school" to mask the "fire damage". Phil Redmond originally wanted children from all over the country to participate in the relaunched ''Grange Hill'', having a variety of regional accents in the series as opposed to just the London area voices which had become associated with the programme; however, almost all new characters were exclusively cast from the north-west of England due to the logistics of the child employment laws. Real schools in the locality were also used including

Croxteth Croxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Although housing in the area is predominantly modern, the suburb has some notable history. At the United Kingdom 2011 Census it had a population of 14,561. ...

Comprehensive, Holly Lodge Girls' School and

St Hilda Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon Engla ...

's C of E High School in Liverpool. In 2005, the former

Parade set at Mersey TV was redeveloped to benefit ''Grange Hill'' and the new "Creative Learning Centre" subsequently became an integral part of the show. After ''Grange Hill'' ended in 2008, the CLC exterior set has now been turned into a skateboard park set for ''

'' while the former Grange Hill school frontage has become a permanent exterior for Hollyoaks High.

"The Grange"

In 2007, BBC Children's ordered major changes to ''Grange Hill'' so that it fitted in with the new requirement that all programmes under the CBBC banner must appeal to an audience age 12 and under – younger than the traditional age group for ''Grange Hill'', which was the same as or slightly younger than the secondary school characters. Under a deal signed in 2005, Lime Pictures was contracted to produce ''Grange Hill'' until 2008, so changes began to be made. For series 31, Lime Pictures creative director Tony Wood set about the task of meeting CBBC's new requirements. He shifted much of the action away from general school life to "The Grange", the school's multimedia learning centre, which was given a radical makeover and became as much a "hang out" as a learning resource. The emphasis was now on younger characters with a group of Year 6 pupils regularly coming to use The Grange from primary school; storylines were much lighter and fantasy sequences were introduced. One episode, "Boarderman", saw a Year 7 pupil become a masked skateboarding superhero campaigning for an end to the school's ban on skateboarding. In another, "Veggin' out", a girl and her classmates smuggled animals from a local petting farm into school, believing they were destined for slaughter. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' reported on 13 January 2008 that the BBC's intention was to shift the action away from Grange Hill School and into The Grange completely. Phil Redmond responded in the same article by calling for ''Grange Hill'' to be scrapped, saying the programme had been "robbed of its original purpose". Redmond had been planning a hard-hitting storyline to return ''Grange Hill'' to its gritty origins in series 31, and although he signed off the changes he believed it wasn't his show any more.

Cancellation

On 6 February 2008, the BBC announced ''Grange Hill'' was to be axed after exactly 30 years. The announcement was made by

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

controller Anne Gilchrist just two days before the show's official 30th birthday. ''Grange Hill'' ended on Monday 15 September 2008. In 2006, the BBC had announced big plans for the show's 30th birthday including special programming on BBC2, possible repeats and a lavish reunion of former stars during 2008. But in the event, none of these celebrations happened aside from a special

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme ''Grange Hill: Soap Pioneer'', hosted by fan and comedian

Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career. Education After ...

, broadcast on 4 September 2008. The last episode of ''Grange Hill'' was watched by 500,000 viewers. Seven months later, '' Ashes to Ashes'' paid homage to the series in its episode 2.1 (airing 20 April 2009). In that episode, the time-travelling protagonist, DI

Alex Drake Alex Drake may refer to: * Alex Drake (Ashes to Ashes) DI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama '' Ashes to Ashes''. The character is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lu ...

, sees her daughter Molly incorporated into an episode of ''Grange Hill'' on the evening of 3 or 5 April 1982 alendar indicates 3 April; the news report was from 5 April Molly (in new footage) tells headmistress Bridget McClusky (appearing as archival footage and

Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell (5 July 1946 – 8 September 2022) was an English actress. She was best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television series ''Grange Hill'' for eleven series between 1981 and 1991. Background P ...

's newly recorded audio) that she and Tucker got into a fight when Tucker said her mother Alex was dead.

Spin-offs and merchandise

The show spawned a spin-off called ''

Tucker's Luck ''Tucker's Luck'' is a British television series made by the BBC between 1983 and 1985. The series is a spin-off from the school drama ''Grange Hill (TV series), Grange Hill'' and capitalised on the popularity of one of the series' original char ...

'' (1983–1985), which ran for three series starring

Todd Carty Todd Carty also known as Todd John Jennings (born Todd Robert Carty; 31 August 1963) is an English actor and director who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage appearances have ranged from pantomime to serious dram ...

. The three series saw the two lead characters (Tucker and Alan) finding work. The 1986 cast released ''Grange Hill: The Album'', with two singles: "

Just Say No "Just Say No" was an advertising campaign prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s as a part of the U.S.-led war on drugs, aiming to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying ''no' ...

" (tying in with a character's heroin addiction) and "You Know the Teacher (Smash Head)". The album was re-released on CD on 12 November 2007, as part of the BBC's 30th Anniversary celebrations. On New Year's Day 1988, a documentary titled ''Behind The Scenes...At Grange Hill'' aired, presented by

. The documentary featured: auditions, rehearsals and filming for

series 11 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

, the child actors opinions on being tutored and chaperoned and what impact being in ''Grange Hill'' had on their schooling, as well as dealing with fame. In 1989, a musical play titled ''Tucker's Return'' based on the series was staged at

Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch The Queen's Theatre is a 507-seat mid-scale producing theatre located in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. History Hornchurch Urban District Council purchased a derelict cinema on Station Lane (the site of the present ...

. Starring Todd Carty who, as Tucker, now returned to Grange Hill as a PE teacher, it also featured several stars of the show both from Tucker's original run, and of the then-current series circa 1989. In 2005,

Justin Lee Collins Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England. Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...

reunited some of the cast members from the 1980s in the documentary '' Bring Back...Grange Hill''.

Title sequence and theme music

From the start of the series to 1989, the title sequence was in a comic book style and used " Chicken Man" by

Alan Hawkshaw William Alan Hawkshaw (27 March 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for movies and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company ...

as the theme tune. ''Grange Hill'' was the first programme to use it as a theme followed by the popular quiz show ''

Give Us a Clue ''Give Us a Clue'' is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two ...

'', whose makers used it from 1979 to 1982, despite it already being played on ''Grange Hill''. ''Give Us a Clue'' used a less dynamic custom arrangement more in keeping with the style of light entertainment programming. A new title sequence was introduced in 1988, along with an updated recording of Chicken Man. In 1990 a new title sequence was introduced which showed pupils and staff travelling into school in a slightly grainy CCTV style. This was accompanied by a new, more contemporary-sounding theme written for the series by Peter Moss. Moss had previously written some special hip-hop music for a storyline in Series 11 of ''Grange Hill''. In 1994 new titles were introduced showing pupils taking part various school subjects such as music, chemistry, PE and Food Technology, and the end theme was re-edited and re-recorded to reduce its length to just 35 seconds, the first edit in 4 years of the theme. This removed some of the various background elements and sharpened the end notes considerably. However, during this period in particular (1995–2000) several versions were used, with a variety of slightly longer edits creating different lead outs depending on the mood and theme of the episode. In 2001 a more colourful sequence was introduced, this was due to Grange Hill being broadcast in widescreen for the first time, the opening theme had been cut slightly shorter for the first time since 1990. In 2003 the titles once again changed, this was to reflect on the move to Liverpool as the previous titles featured shots of the old school building (based In Elstree), once again the titles & the theme tune had been shortened down. In 2004 the titles changed once again, these were in the style of a video game, The Moss theme tune had been edited down to around 12 seconds by this point. this was the first time since 1989 that live action footage was not used. For the 30th anniversary, and what turned out to be the final series, an abbreviated edit of the original version of "Chicken Man" was reinstated as the main theme. And for the final time, the titles had changed once again. The last four notes of the original theme song were heard when ''

'', one of Phil Redmond's other TV series, aired its final episode in November 2003.

Head teachers

Mr Starling appeared only once during Series One, and his initial, E., was shown underneath the name of the school in the first episode: the authority figure most regularly seen during this time was the Head of First Year, Mrs Monroe (Dorothea Philips). Mr Llewellyn did not appear on screen during the 1980 series: the day-to-day running of the school was left to the highly competent but much put-upon deputy head Mr Keating (

Robert Hartley Robert Hartley (1915-1998) was a British stage, film and television actor. Selected filmography Film * ''At the Stroke of Nine'' (1957) * '' Bread'' (1971) Television * ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1974) * '' The Avengers'' (1963) * ''David Copperfield ...

), who was also deputy head under Mrs McClusky up to and including Series 7 in 1984. Similarly, Mr McNab was never seen at all during the mid-1990s; the most senior authority figure being Mr Robson who at this point was deputy head. Mr Robson himself did not appear on screen during Series 27, even though he was still headmaster for the early part of the series. Mrs McClusky, perhaps Grange Hill's best known head teacher, was demoted to deputy head temporarily in 1985 having had to reapply, unsuccessfully, for her post following the merger of Grange Hill with Brookdale and Rodney Bennett. When the new head, Mr Humphries, was killed in a road accident the following year, Mrs McClusky was again acting head and her permanent headship was later confirmed. The final headmistress of Grange Hill was Miss Gayle, introduced as deputy head in the 2007 series although she did not appear in Series 31.

Cast

Books

During the 1980s, when ''Grange Hill'' merchandising was at its height and the series arguably at its most popular, a number of annuals and novels were published. Eight annuals were published from 1981 to 1988. Comic strip adventures appeared in the short-lived ''

BEEB ''BEEB'' was a weekly, children's magazine centred on the BBC's most popular programmes at the time of its publication. It was published by Polystyle Publications and was created as a competitor to ITV's Look-in magazine. It lasted 20 issues ...

'' magazine, which portrayed new stories, and the longer running ''

Fast forward To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquially ...

'' magazine which loosely followed the early 90s series. Additional comic strips occurred in ''

School Fun ''Buster'' was a British comic which began publication in 1960, originally published by IPC Magazines Ltd under the company's comics division Fleetway, then by Egmont UK Ltd under the same imprint until its closure in 2000. Despite missing is ...

'' and in the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

''. ''Grange Hill'' had its own dedicated magazine, but this only lasted two issues and a holiday special. There were 14 short story books and novels, some of which were written or co-written by series creator

, but which also involved authors such as Robert Leeson and Jan Needle. Below is a full list of Grange Hill short story books and novels: # ''Grange Hill Stories'', by Phil Redmond. First published by the

...
in 1979. Short stories. # ''Grange Hill Rules OK?'', by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. The first ''Grange Hill'' novel. # ''Grange Hill Goes Wild'', by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. Novel # ''Grange Hill for Sale'' by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1981. Novel # ''Tucker and Co.'', by Phil Redmond. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel # ''Grange Hill Home and Away'' by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel # ''Great Days at Grange Hill'', by Jan Needle. Published by Fontana Lions in 1984. Short stories that form a sort of prequel to ''Grange Hill Stories''. # ''Grange Hill After Hours'', by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel # ''Grange Hill Graffiti'', by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel # ''Grange Hill on the Run'', by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel # ''Grange Hill Heroes'', by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987. Novel # ''Grange Hill Rebels'', by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987. Novel # ''Grange Hill Partners'', by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel # ''Ziggy's Working Holiday'', by Phil Redmond and Margaret Simpson. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel ''Not in Front of the Children'', by Andy Martin, published by DNA in 2015, is an academic study of ''Grange Hill'' from Series 1 to the end of Series 16, including the 2 Christmas episodes. It also includes a brief study of the history of children's TV series and serials from 1960 to 1990.

Video game

In 1987 a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

was made for 8-bit computers including the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Sinclair ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour ...

and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

. A

text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

game based on the series was written in 1985 for the

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

and several other systems, and was mentioned as 'upcoming' in several home computer magazines of the time, with the player having to navigate through a tricky school day as the end of term approaches, solving a number of tricky situations and trying to "get your grades" after the family dog has literally eaten an entire year's homework. However the game was ultimately never released, reportedly because it used multiple names and characters from the actual television series, which would have made it difficult and costly to clear the individual Royalty payment, royalties for each one. (The later 1987 game secured three character names and images but nothing else from the series to keep royalties costs down.)

Home media

Highlights of the first and second series were released on VHS and laserdisc in the early 1980s. Both series were edited to remove some storylines and thereby shorten running times, given the duration of early videocassettes & Laserdisc's. The cover art for series 1 features a cast photograph (and small photos of specific individual characters) from series 3, as some characters pictured therein do not feature in that series. The cover art for series 2 features a similarly styled front cover, but with a cast photo from the correct year. These abridged versions of the first two series of the show were also released on Betamax and Video 2000 around the same time. To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ''Grange Hill'', 2 Entertain released two DVD box sets covering the first four series which were released on 12 November 2007. They were both rated PG by the BBFC, British Board of film classification. There are no subtitles, episodes are in 4:3 (the original format) and both box sets come with a booklet detailing each episode. Some episodes have been edited to remove pop music tracks that could not be cleared for DVD release, and studio scenes originally shot on video have been Film look, filmized. In 2018 the DVD rights were acquired by ''Eureka Entertainment''. Series five and six were released on DVD on 19 November 2018. Series seven and eight including the 1981 Christmas Special were released on DVD on 11 November 2019. Series nine and ten including the 1985 Christmas Special where released on 19 October 2020. In 2021 ''Eureka Entertainment'' confirmed there will be no further series of Grange Hill released on DVD. In January 2021, Britbox announced that the first four series of Grange Hill will be available to stream. Series 5-6 were added in July, series 7 in August, Series 8 in November 2021 Series 9 in January 2022 & Series 10 & 11 in July. Series 12 & 13 of the series will be added to BritBox & ITVX in January 2023

References

External links

Grange Hill Gold 1978–1990

Grange Hill Online

Phil Redmond's Grange Hill site

The Grange Hill Blackboard (Grange Hill Discussion Forums)
*
British Film Institute Screen Online

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