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| How do they celebrate Christmas at Grange Hill? With the series
always shown in January we've had little chance to find out. And they
rarely talk about Christmas in the playground either. But in the early
days of Grange Hill, we did get to find out. Two Grange Hill Christmas
specials were broadcast in 1981 and 1985, when the show was a staple
in the diet of children's TV. But these two episodes are something
of an enigma. Neither have ever been repeated and they were omitted
from the 1990s re-runs. Not that they contained any crossover plots
with the main series which followed, but we'd still liked to have
seen them. So for those of us too young to remember, or who'd like
a fix of nostalgia, here's the GH Online guide to the two Christmas
specials.
First sign of trouble is when one boy tries to pay with Scottish money. Justin and Andrew turn him away but Miss Mooney tells them his cash is legal tender. The real ruckus starts when a gang of Brookies turn up and blag their way in. When the doormen's backs are turned, the impostors make a beeline for the cash. Fortunately Tucker sees them and a fight breaks out; the money is recovered and Baxter is, for once, impressed with Jenkins' heroics. But it doesn't stop there. The Brookies then try to make off with the disco equipment but are again thwarted by Tucker and co, with an unlikely ally in Doyle. But Doyle is quick to point out his truce is only for Christmas and the lads shake hands. With the Brookies gone the disco resumes smoothly, and the episode comes to a natural end.  A special report
on Blue Peter followed Paul Manning as he joined the cast of Grange
Hill for the episode. Cameras followed him as he arrived at BBC Television
Centre, was kitted out in costume and then bussed, along with the
other extras, to the filming location. There we saw Paul's fight with
Todd Carty (Tucker) being choreographed by the director, Hugh David.
 WHAT HAPPENED TO PAUL?When Paul Manning won the competition to write Grange Hill's Christmas special, he had no idea what he wanted to do career-wise. 23 years later he's now working as a probation manager for West Midlands Police, and is happily married with four children. However Paul recently reappeared in front of the cameras to recall his appearance in Grange Hill for Channel 4's The 100 Greatest Christmas TV Moments. "I really thought this was a wind-up at first," Paul told the Birmingham Evening Mail. But he has fond memories of working with Todd Carty (Tucker), with whom he shared a fight scene. "Todd came across at first as a rough and ready London lad, but he was really eloquent and sophisticated. He was always being mobbed by fans, like boy bands are now." "It is amazing where I've ended up, because at the time I had no inclination of what I would be doing in the future. I can't believe all these years later it has come up again!
GRANGE HILL FOR CHRISTMAS - 1985 
It would be four years before Christmas was celebrated again at Grange
Hill - well, on screen anyway! But this time things were very different.
Gone were Tucker, Alan & Co and in their place Roland, Janet,
Gonch, Ronnie and Imelda. It was also the first special to be filmed
at BBC Elstree, now the permanent home of Grange Hill. Most significantly
there was no Blue Peter competition; the episode was written by Phil
Redmond himself - the first he'd penned since 1981.
Not all of the action took place in the fayre. The episode starts a few days beforehand and everyone is excited about Christmas. Well almost everyone - Roland faces Christmas alone when his dad is called away on a haulage job, and Calley can't decide whether to spend Christmas with her family or birth mother. But things don't stay bleak for long - Janet invites Roland to Christmas dinner at her place, and Calley agrees to split herself two ways. Back at the fayre, Harriet escapes and runs loose in the school; smashing up everything in her path! Mr Bronson finds the note from her owner and finds a use for the animal as the centrepiece of the school crib! Harriet was to resurface in Series 10, when Mr Griffiths smuggled her into school to escape a possible death sentence. Click below for full episode summaries. These pages come with video clips from each programme!
Your guess here is as good as ours. Grange Hill's specials were made at the height of the series' popularity and at a time when the show enjoyed an audience monopoly, with no rival shows. By 1989 satellite TV launched and rival teen dramas began to appear. But after the mid-80s, Christmas specials of all CBBC shows were phased out and the writing was on the wall for any further Christmas editions. In 2003 there would be no room for a festive Grange Hill; Blue Peter is now three times a week, and other shows are commissioned to the right length so gaps don't occur in the schedules. * What would you like to see in a modern Grange Hill Christmas special? Togger and Tanya realising they fancy each other? Shannon and Mel calling a Christmas truce, or Malarkey copping off with Miss Dyson? Send us your idas to the usual address or post your ideas on the forum! |
GRANGE HILL FOR CHRISTMAS - 1981
