Only really known only to British audiences was the BAFTA award winning Children’s TV drama Grange Hill. Set in a North London school it followed a number of the pupils in a variety of sometimes groundbreaking story lines including the most famous being where Zammo got addicted to drugs. It drew much acclaim and the cast recorded a song, ‘Just Say No!! and frozen faced presidential first lady Nancy Reagan invited the cast over to the US as pert of her own anti drugs campaign although allegedly some of the cast were doing things in the toilets that were in direct contravention to the reason for them being there! But the series also dealt with racism, mental health and many other issues and its only departure from reality was that the characters were the only schoolkids in Britain not to use the word, ‘F**k!’ Anyway news is in that the series, which ended a 30 year run in 2008, is to return with Grange Hill the movie
The idea came from former cast member now director Sara Sugarman who played Jessica Samuels a school student activist. Sugarman’s contacted show creator and writer Phil Redmond who was taken with the idea saying , ‘‘Why don’t I look beyond the main characters, which is obvious, and we’ll have them all there for nostalgia, but where did Jessica go?’”
The film is rumoured to have a number of original cast members return which may include Todd Carty as the much loved Tucker, Suzanne Tully who went on to Eastenders before turning to directing and Lee MacDonald as Zammo who went on to be……..a key cutter. Some of the cast regrettably have passed away most recently Gwyneth Powell as headmistress Mrs McCluskey, Michael Beard as the strict disciplinarian Mr Brosnan (and would play Hitler in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and Terry Sue Patt who played Tucker’s schoolmate.
Redmond has almost completed the script where social media is rumoured to play a significant role.
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