GRANGE HILL...A POTTED HISTORY
Grange Hill has been on our screens now for 25 years. With so many issue-related teen dramas currently on television, it seems hard to believe that Grange Hill broke the mould when it launched. But how did Britain's favourite school come into being?

PHIL REDMOND - THE MAN WHO CHANGED CHILDREN'S TV
Phil RedmondSoap supremo Phil Redmond is the brainchild behind the show. In the late 1970s Phil felt that children's TV was too safe and didn't tackle the issues affecting young people. "We wanted to get away from Enid Blyton", he said. So in 1976 he came up with an idea for a docu-drama set in a comprehensive school. Phil took it to all 15 ITV companies but they rejected the idea. However, the BBC had faith in him and commissioned a nine-part series. Phil Redmond wanted his series to be set in his native Liverpool, but the BBC were in London so that is where it would be made.

The name of this series? Grange Hill. And a legend was born. Originally it was to have been called "Grange Park" but the name was changed because there were several schools by that name in London.

PUPILS' CHAMPION, PARENTS' NIGHTMARE!
The first episode of Grange Hill was broadcast on Wednesday 8th February 1978, and the young audience loved it. Tucker Jenkins, aka Todd Carty, became the first heart-throb who wasn't a pop star. Stories of bullying, playground hi-jinks, homework and uniform rebellion were watched by almost 9 million children at its peak. "He's a nut job", "Flippin' Eck Tucker!" were national catchphrases. But parents were positively shocked and the BBC was inundated with complaints. A branch of the Womens' Institute in Somerset called for Grange Hill to be banned.

Several celebrities banned their children from watching, including newsreader Anna Ford. But looking back, that first series seems pretty tame. It wasn't until Series 2, and a change to a twice-weekly format, that Phil Redmond fulfilled his desire to make Grange Hill an issue-led show. This was what the young audience wanted, but to the parents Grange Hill was a bad influence. The canteen desktop protest caused particular fury. But other issues, such as dyslexia, were praised. As the late 80s moved into the 1990s, society was more liberal and therefore less shockable. But Grange Hill maintained its notoriety, uncovering more taboo subjects. In the last few years, there have been playground knifings (1998), a gay teacher (1993) and AIDS awareness classes (1995).

You can read about the stories that shocked in I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

ALWAYS ON THE MOVE...
For the first few series, exterior scenes were filmed at Willesden High School in north London. So popular was Grange Hill that crowds of screaming fans disrupted filming, forcing the show to move to other locations. Eventually production moved to Elstree centre in Hertfordshire, the old ATV studios which the BBC purchased in 1983. From 2003, Grange Hill will be made in Liverpool. On screen the move to Elstree was phased in over two years, with an elaborate storyline of Grange Hill merging with rivals Rodney Bennett and Brookdale. The current Grange Hill school is the old Rodney Bennett building.

In 1982 Tucker Jenkins was written out of Grange Hill, much to the disappointment of his legions of fans. But Tucker, Alan and Tommy Watson were to remain on screen for a further three years, in their own show Tucker's Luck, Grange Hill's only spin-off to date.

Grange Hill reached the height of its popularity in the mid 1980s. Ben Elton parodied the show in an episode of "The Young Ones" and in 1986 "Grange Hill The Album" - featuring specially written songs and covers performed by the cast - hit the shops.

 

JUST SAY NO! REMAINS SYNONYMOUS
Without doubt Grange Hill's most controversial storyline was that of Zammo's heroin addiction in 1986. When plans for a "junkie" character were first announced there was outrage. But the series did much to discourage its audience from falling into the same trap as Zammo. A single, "Just Say No!", was released in April 1986 and it peaked at No. 5 in the charts. Then the cast jetted off to the White House for a meeting with Nancy Reagan and to promote the anti-drugs message.

Sadly the credibility of "Just Say No!" has been tarnished in recent years. In 1998 Erkan Mustafa, who played Roland Browning, claimed the cast were on drugs themselves. The storyline has never been repeated although the issue of tranquiliser addiction was dealt with in 1999.

 

INTO THE 90s - AND STIFF COMPETITION
Until 1989, Grange Hill was the only children's issue based drama. In February that year, ITV launched Phoenix Hall, an issue-led drama set in a boarding school. It ran for just one series and remains largely forgotten. ITV's more successful attempt at teenage drama, Children's Ward, first aired in March 1989; despite launching the careers of many young actors it was axed in 2000. Grange Hill's most formidable rival came in the form of Byker Grove, the Newcastle youth club series first shown on the BBC in September 1989. Meanwhile the replacement for Children's Ward, 24:Seven, began in 2001.

Grange Hill now pulls in just a third of the viewers it had in the 1980s, this may seem like a drastic decline but this is very good in today's multi-channel age. Until 2002, Phil Redmond's involvement with the show was limited to one meeting a year with the production crew. But a new generation is enjoying Grange Hill, and hard-hitting storylines in 2001 saw a resurgence in popularity for the series.

 

THE FUTURE
Twenty-five years on, Grange Hill faces its most radical changes ever. Phil Redmond's company Mersey TV will make the series from 2003 and production has moved from Elstree to Liverpool. The new Grange Hill will be set in an unspecified city, although claims that the show would have more of an appeal towards younger children have been denied. Phil Redmond sees "no reason why Grange Hill won't continue for as long as people are at school".

Fashions and musical tastes may change with time, but schools still have their bullies, demonic teachers and bike sheds. Grange Hill reflects this brilliantly while remaining fresh. There are many issues the series is yet to deal with, and long may it continue!

Find out more about Phil Redmond at the Mersey Television web site

 
 

Read some of the complaints made against Grange Hill in recent years