Can You Help?

Donna is delighted that Grange Hill's most famous old boy is returning: "Some brill news for all you oldie Grange Hill fans (probably just the girls though...including me) - Tucker Jenkins (Todd Carty) is going back to Grange Hill. Great Eh! And if popular with viewers he could make more regular appearances. Lets hope so. Better get fan mail sending again. EastEnders should have sacked him ages ago - we would have got to see him in Grange Hill again a long time ago. Anyway I think the site is great. Keep up the good work. I thought that I had all the GH merchandise (books, annuals etc.) but now I've seen your list I'm a bit gutted cos now I know I don't have everything."

But Michael is not so happy: "Have to admit I echo your views on Tucker coming "home" as stunning as it was when I first heard - I was so shocked though to gather a realistic opinion - after all 21/22 years. I worry over wether Todd can still act as Tucker after 21/22 years away - I would have not chosen Tucker as the hero of the saviour myself. This has to be Todd's sternest test yet and it could be a bad move as well as bold on Phil's part I feel. I am warey of Todd's acting alone apart from his Tucker days too."

* So it's official - Tucker's back. Are you pleased or peeved? Either way let us know and we'll print your letters here!

Michael's back after a brief absence: "Like the Mr Griffiths shot - what was the Xmas 85 episode about ,never heard of that - is it a poor one and that's why? Would you possibly have room to create a picture for the picture/star of the week for Dominic (Jonathan Riesel: 1990-91) or Matthew Pearson (1988-1992) but a later shot of both - if you possibly please could I reckon that could look cool. Hope you dont mind me enquiring."

Hi Michael! The 1985 Christmas Special was one of two broadcast in the 1980s (the first being in 1981). It was a bit of light relief from the usual Grange Hill and a vehicle to introduce some new characters for Series 9. The setting was the school Christmas fayre; a donkey named Harriet was dumped in the school, eventually breaking free and wreaking havoc in the building. Mrs McClusky welcomed Harriet's appearance, saying she completed the school nativity scene! Other highlights were the final appearance of Gripper Stebson (throwing a wet sponge at Baxter in the stocks!) and the introduction of Mr Griffiths and Imelda Davis. The Christmas special was the first GH episode shot entirely on videotape; Harriet returned to regular Grange Hill in 1987. Glad you like the photo of Mr Griffiths; no Dominic but look out for Matthew!

A few months ago several people asked about the total number of Grange Hill episodes. Thanks to Dean, we now have a figure: "Scanning through your archives and came across a request on howmany episodes had been made. Maybe able to help:

Series 1 (1978) 9 episodes
Series 2 (1979) 18 episodes
Series 3 (1980) 16
S4 (1981) 18 plus Xmas special
S5-S8 (1982-1985) 18 each, plus Xmas special at end of 1985
S9 and 10 (1986/1987) 24 each
S11-S24 (1988-2001) 20 episodes each
S25(2002)18 episodes.

"Think that makes 481 episodes broadcast to date plus 27 episodes of Tucker's Luck. Hope I've been of help!" You certainly have Dean, thanks x1000! Of course this is also the total number of GH episodes made by the BBC; do we count Mersey TV's shows seperately or on the end of the 481? Let's wait and see!

Malcolm Neale has some ideas for future pupils: "Welcome back, great to catch up on the news. Thanks for putting my returnees on the site. If you are talking of parents why not have Chrissy Mainwaring as a mum when her son (wasn't his name Jay?) is old enough to start at GH, and how about dad Gripper with son of Gripper. If you really want to go into the realms of fantasy, Jacko and Becky are married and their children attend GH, the list is endless. I just could not resist this. Pogo Patterson as the local newsagent/sweetshop owner who gets into trouble with the police for selling top shelf magazines to GH boys (he hasn't changed a bit!).

Hi Malcolm, thanks for some more great ideas! Chrissy's son was called Jay but wasn't born until 1992, so he'd be a bit young for GH yet! As for Gripper's son, think Nick Cotton and son and you'll get the idea; Jacko and Becky would make a nice couple I think. See what you mean about Pogo - on the more serious side top shelf magazines would make a great issue-based story. Great ideas, do send us more!

Hannah from London longs to hear from her idol: "PLEASE PLEASE Lee Sparke get in touch with this web site - he was the singularly best looking person in Grange Hill and I would love to see a recent picture. Also what is he up to now?" Hi Hannah! Unfortunately Lee vanished into the wilderness after quitting GH in 1983; but he did appear in Yorkshire TV's "Behind The Bike Sheds" (a sort of musical Grange Hill) the following year. Since then, no news. We don't know if Lee reads GH Online but if you're reading this Lee, drop us a line!

Les B's been keeping his eyes peeled: "Just to let you know that Peter Morton (Wayne) was in The Bill last Thursday (18th). On seeing an old episode, Sharon Duncan Brewster (from Bad Girls), played one of the girls that bought the supply of cheap trainers from Richard and Marie in 1992. Also in the programme was a character called Spanner, played by Z (can't remember rest of name)Ward. Was he later in Hollyoaks?" Hi Les; Zander Ward was the actor who played Spanner (aka Andy Walker). Zander appeared in Hollyoaks for a time, playing Paul Millington. We'll watch out for Peter in The Bill - the second time he's been in the show!

Nikki asks: "Could you help me? I was wondering if you know the character or if at all the real name of a person who started in Grange Hill? I don't know if you remember but around 1997 -1999 a character was introduced - he was a bully and loved Judi Jeffreys. i remember at the time Judi was going out with Wayne. The bully I'm looking for attacked Judi with a knife and left a scar down her face. What was his name? If it helps he recently starred in the new Coca-cola advert; I would appreciate any information you could give me."

No problem Nikki! The Scots bully who slashed Judi was Sean Pearce, played conviningly by Iain Robertson. Sean arrived at Grange Hill in 1998 and became friends with fellow bully Alec (Thomas Carey); though it was Alec who fancied Judi. Wayne realised Sean was a nasty piece of work and stood up to him; Sean set out to knife Wayne but mistakenly attacked Judi (who was wearing Wayne's coat). At the end of this compelling series Sean was exposed as the attacker. Hope this helps!

Maz asks: "Do you have any up to date information on the actor John Holmes or indeed his whereabouts as I was a fellow child star and would like to get in touch. Thanks." Hi Maz! John graduated from Sussex University around 1998 and then toured Australia. Unfortunately we've lost track of him since, there are reports of a sighting in a Brighton pub! Sorry we can't be of more help but good luck in your search for John!

Kerr Avon's had a memory block: "Who was Becky Stevens again? I just cannot remember this character for the life of me !!!!, And did you know that a GH actor appeared in the second season of the EXCELLENT series Roswell now in its third and SADLY final season on Sky. I don't know his name but he played the curator of the UFO museum in it." Hi Kerr. Becky was the younger sister of twins Natalie and Natasha and best mate of Alice Rowe. Becky was involved in bullying Julie Corrigan in 1991; the following year she found herself in the middle of her sister's feuding. By 1996 (when she left Grange Hill) Becky was dating Jacko Morgan.

Malcolm Neale contemplates some old faces returning: "Now he's leaving EastEnders, it would be great if Todd Carty could return to GH. He could be Mr Jenkins, the new Art teacher, or maybe the caretaker. Actually there are loads of pupils who could return as teachers. Gonch would make a great economics/business studies teacher: Justine Dean could teach English, and how about a reformed Gripper Stebson coming back to take charge of Religious Studies and Pastoral Care. Wishful thinking!!A few more suggestions: Roland Browning to teach French Fred Mainwaring to teach Games and PE Robyn Stone to teach Maths, Imelda Davis as a cleaner ( she could get her revenge by starting another fire) Janet St Clair as the school nurse, Julie Corrigan as Head Teacher, and Mauler McCaul as school cook (remember his work experience?) I'm sure there are loads more if you think about it."

Great suggestions Malcolm! Tucker would make a great caretaker; just think, the pupils would drag him into their scams and he wouldn't need much persuasion! We love the idea of Gonch as an economics teacher; GH has never had a regular school nurse so why not introduce Janet as its first. Current viewers might not know these old characters but not to worry; as you say there are plenty more ideas!

* Which old GH character would you like to see return? Would they now be a teacher, parent or the same old whoever? Send your suggestions now!

Steve Brown has spotted a mistake: "Great website; really brings back some wonderful memories for me! Noticed one small mistake though; Alison Bettles' Starfile has her date of birth as 1986. That would make her a little young for the show! I'm assuming that it should be either 1966 or 1968." Well spotted Steve! Alison was in fact born in 1968 and we've corrected the mistake. Of course if Alison had been born in 1986, Fay Lucas would be in today's Grange Hill!

Nicola Mackie seeks our advice: "Our family disagree whether or not Lisa West 'stars' in an anti-drink advert for HEBS in Scotland. Can you please restore peace to the tea-time table?" I wish I could Nicola, unfortunately I don't live in Scotland and so haven't seen the ad in question. So here's one for our Scottish readers - does Charlie appear in this advertisement? Drop us a line if you have an answer for Nicola.

Hello to Thomas Sheils of The Samaritans: "An excellent website. You might want to update the national Samaritans number as it is now 08457 90 90 90. Keep the good work up." Thanks Thomas; we've amended our Helplines page accordingly. Thanks for your kind comments!

Ange asks: "Has Daniella Westbrook (ex-EastEnder Sam Mitchell) ever starred in Grange Hill? If so could you tell me for what period she starred in the series Thanks." Yes Ange! Daniella appeared as an extra at Ronnie Birtles' birthday party in Series 12 of Grange Hill. She did not speak and we believe this was her only appearance.

Kerr Avon is not a happy bunny: "I have to admit that I am not VERY impressed by the so-called official Phil Redmond GH site as it seems to concentrate on the Tucker/Zammo eras. The last 3 years of GH deserve as much RECOGNITION as well. I just had to comment on a few things, especially the ANNOYING public bias towards early GH plus the acting now is far SUPERIOR now and I HOPE that one day Sally Morton, Charlie McDonagh, Jess S-Taylor and Oliver Elmidoro etc. get the RECOGNITION they really DESERVE for their acting talent. It's not fair that they get IGNORED for the great work that they do."

Couldn't agree with you more Kerr! That's not to say of course the acting in early Grange Hill wasn't good; there were some great characters in Tucker, Ziggy Greaves to name but a few. As you say the current actors do a great job - their storylines are far more demanding than anything Todd Carty had! It's a shame they're not as talked about as earlier actors but their rewards will come! Sorry you don't like Phil Redmond's site; stick with us for total GH coverage!

David Yuill asks: "Do you know what happened to Jonathan Lambeth who played Danny Kendall?" We certainly do David! Jonathan is now a financial journalist writing for the Financial Times. Look up their web site to see Jonathan in action; perhaps if Danny had lived, he'd be writing for an art magazine!

Move over Speaking Wall - here's the Speaking Tree! 03/7/02

Michael has just been to Devon: "Just got back from Torquay and Totnes; I noticed a pub called The Speaking Tree and got a photo-thought you might be interested, as it reminds me of Danny and The Speaking Wall. Have you heard of the Speaking Tree?" Actually I haven't heard of it Michael - there's one to look out for!

Let's now cross to the other side of the Atlantic: "Hello! My name is Erin Case and I live in the States. I have recently heard about Grange Hill and, believe it or not, information about it is hard to find over here. If you could please help me out, I would very much appreciate it. I am looking for info on a character who was on in the 80s called Mike Jones played by a Jolyon James Barclay. Does this character even exist? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again." Hi Erin! Having double-checked we're certain there was no such character as Mike Jones. There was an Ant Jones (1986-87) and Mike Bentley (1990-91) but never a Mike Jones. As for the actor, the only Jolyon ever to appear in Grange Hill was Jolyon Stevenson, who played a drunken partygoer in 1994. Obviously you have been misinformed, but we're delighted to set the record straight!

Matt Mills has been catching up with Becky Stevens: "I was searching for information on some ex-GH actors at the weekend, I've often wondered what Natalie Poyser is doing now (she was one of my favourite nineties GH actresses) and I got a result from the RADA site. Natalie has just graduated from the RADA and all her stage experience is on the site, this is obviously why she hasn't been seen in anything for a while. The website's address is www.rada.org/profiles.html" Hi Matt - nice to have some news on Natalie. And let's hope now she has graduated we will be seeing her on TV again - we'll be waiting!

Jade's back on our screens! 01/7/02

Katie Higgins updates us on Jade Williams: "Just thought I'd let you know that Jade Williams is in Being April on BBC 1 on Thursday 4th July at 9pm. she's playing Martha, the girlfriend of Jake, April's eldest son. Her parents are previewed in the radio times as snooty." Hi Katie! Nice to know Grange Hill has produced another star - she might not have made EastEnders yet but Jade's getting about! Bad Girls, Hope And Glory, Casualty; where will we see her next? Well deserved success for a talented actress.