BBC drops Grange Hill after 30 dramatic years

Feb 7 2008 by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post

GRANGE Hill, the school drama created by Liverpool’s Phil Redmond, was axed by the BBC yesterday after 30 years.

It spells the end of an era for generations of teenagers who have grown up on the mould-breaking series of life in a gritty inner city comprehensive.

Series 31, to be aired later this year, will end three decades of the hard-hitting drama which found a home in Liverpool.

The announcement means a contract with Childwall-based Lime Pictures, who have produced the show for the past six years, will not be renewed.

Sean Marley, managing director of Lime Pictures, said the news was “disappointing” but the company was proud of all the episodes they had filmed.

He said: “We’re really disappointed but we have made it a fantastic 31st series.

“We have 500 people who work on Hollyoaks and Grange Hill so it’s too early to assess the impact, but we are busy on other productions and the BBC have commissioned us for a new drama being developed with Jeanette Winterson.”

The show’s creator, now Liverpool Culture Company’s deputy chairman, who established himself firmly with Liverpool soap Brookside and Chester-based Hollyoaks, pre-empted the news, blaming a shift in thinking at the BBC.

Mr Redmond said all programmes on an afternoon children’s slot on BBC1 must now cater for ages of six to 12 years.

Last month, he said the show, famed for tackling issues of drugs, racism, child abuse and teenage pregnancy, aimed at a core 12-16 audience range which was not suitable for younger viewers.

Anne Gilchrist, CBBC controller, said: “Part of the CBBC’s reputation for reflecting contemporary Britain back to UK children has been built upon Phil Redmond’s brilliantly realised idea, and of course it’s sad to say goodbye to such a much-loved institution.

“The lives of children have changed a great deal since Grange Hill began, and we owe it our audience to reflect this.

“We’re actively seeking out new and exciting ways of bringing social realism to the CBBC audience through drama and other genres.”

Todd Carty, perhaps the show’s most famous character as Tucker Jenkins, said of Grange Hill’s heyday: “The kids took to it, they ran home and talked about it. For me as an actor, playing the role of Tucker Jenkins was a dream. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Tucker. I have got an awful lot to thank him for. Grange Hill is a British institution. It may be a children’s drama, but it’s up there with Coronation Street.”

Grange Hill has been a launch pad for many actors, including Liverpool-born George Christopher, who played cheeky Scouser Ziggy Greave and joined the cast in 1986. He later went on to star as Little Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside and into theatre.

He was involved in the most famous storyline which saw school mate Zammo McGuire became addicted to heroin.

This led to many parents banning their children from watching the show and launched the pop song “Just Say No”, which made number five in the charts.

Lee MacDonald, who played Zammo, said: “It is sad because society has overtaken Grange Hill. If you go into a comprehensive school in inner London, the behaviour that goes on is dreadful.I do not think Grange Hill, going out at five minutes past five in the evening, can compete with that and it can’t show what goes on.”

The filming moved from London’s Elstree studios to Liverpool in 2003, although the school’s location remained in the capital.

Phil Redmond’s company Mersey TV, took over production from BBC productions.

He sold Mersey TV to All3Media in 2005, which has since been renamed Lime Pictures.

READ Phil Redmond’s exclusive reaction to the news in his column in the Daily Post tomorrow.

laurasharpe@dailypost.co.uk