|
Why
are there few pictures of the current cast on GH Online?
When was Grange Hill first
transmitted?
Who created Grange Hill?
Why was Grange Hill axed?
Where was Grange Hill filmed?
Where can I write to the cast or get
autographs?
Will they reply?
Can I e-mail Chris Perry-Metcalf
(Togger)?
How many episodes of Grange Hill
have been made to date?
Why wasn't Series 30 shown on BBC1?
What schools have been used as
Grange Hill?
Is Grange Hill available on video/DVD?
Have there been any Grange Hill
spin-offs?
Is it true series 3 only had 16
episodes?
How controversial has Grange
Hill been over the years?
Why did Grange Hill move to Liverpool?
How many changes of uniform have
there been?
Can I buy my own Grange Hill badge
and tie?
What school holidays has Grange
Hill been on?
 When
was Grange Hill first transmitted?
On February 8th 1978. The first series had just nine episodes, and
the project was purely experimental. Episode One took one day to
film in Studio 3 at BBC Television Centre, on 8 September 1977.
Go here to read more about how
Grange Hill came about.
Who created Grange Hill?
The series was the brainchild of Phil Redmond, a screenwriter
who went on to produce Brookside and later Hollyoaks. Redmond wanted
to write a relevant drama serial for children with a similar working
class background to his own. So Phil created Grange Hill in Liverpool
in 1976. As luck would have it, the BBC was looking for a school-based
drama. Originally the show was to have been called Grange Park
but too many schools had that name. Phil returned as Grange Hill's
executive producer in 2003.
Why was Grange Hill axed?
On February 06 2008 CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist announced Grange
Hill was ending after exactly 30 years and in doing so brought to
an end much speculation about the future of the series. "The lives
of children have changed a great deal since Grange Hill began and
we owe it to them to reflect this", she said, adding that children
no longer saw themselves as "just schoolchildren". In response,
Phil Redmond accused the BBC of abandoning its commitments to over-12s,
but former Grange Hill legend Lee MacDonald supported the axing,
saying the reality of school life had become too violent for a teatime
show.
Where
was Grange Hill filmed?
Grange Hill is no longer in production. From 2002 it was made at
the studios of Lime
Pictures, formerly Mersey Television, in Childwall,
Liverpool. Until 2002 the series was made at BBC Elstree Centre
which had been the show's home since 1985. Prior to that a number
of real schools were used, the first of which was Kingsbury High
in north London.
Where
can I write to the cast or get autographs?
The present cast can be contacted via Lime Pictures. See our Contact
page for the address. To contact previous cast members e-mail our
Webmaster - the address is on the same page. Please DON'T send e-mail
for individual actors to us, as we cannot pass them on.
Will
they reply?
That is up to them! The cast are busy people, and most have
to juggle real-life schoolwork with appearing in Grange Hill. Sometimes
it takes several months for actors to reply to fan mail, so don't
panic if you don't hear anything right away.
Can I e-mail Chris Perry-Metcalf aka Togger?
The Grange Hill cast do not have public e-mail addresses. The only
way to contact Chris (or anyone else in the cast) is to write to him
c/o Grange Hill, Lime Pictures, Campus Manor,
Childwall Abbey Road, Liverpool L16 0JP. And sorry - but
please don't send your fan e-mails to GH Online. We can't pass
them on!
How
many episodes of Grange Hill have been made to date?
As of March 2007 there are 581 half-hour episodes, comprising
30 series and two Christmas specials.
Why wasn't Series 30 shown on BBC1?
Officially, the 2007 series of Grange Hill was broadcast exclusively
on the CBBC Channel because "it helps Grange Hill stay relevant
to its audience". It was also a considered strategy to drive
up audiences of the digital CBBC Channel, which has been underperforming.
CBBC insisted at the time that over 85% of CBBC's target audience
(6-12 years) had access to the channel and therefore few fans were
disadvantaged. But Lime Pictures, makers of Grange Hill, were said
to be disappointed by CBBC's decision not to grant a BBC1 slot and
believe this resulted in less publicity for the show.
What
schools have been used as Grange Hill?
Many schools in the London and Merseyside areas have doubled as
Grange Hill over the years. Further details of these, and other
locations used in the series can be found in the Locations
microsite. The following is not a comprehensive list (awful pun
not intended!), but these include:
| 1978-79 |
Kingsbury High, North London |
| 1980-81 |
Willesden High, North London (since demolished) |
| 1982-85 |
Fulham Preparatory School, Greyhound Road, Hammersmith |
| 1989 |
St Audrey's School, Hatfield, Hertfordshire (defunct at time
of filming) |
| 1990 |
Hillside School, Hertfordshire (also used as "Brookdale"
building in 1985) |
| 1994-2002 |
Nicholas Hawksmoor School and Bushey Meads School, Hertfordshire |
| 2003-2008 |
Croxteth Comprehensive, Holly Lodge Girls School, Ashfield
School, Liverpool |
Is Grange Hill
available on video/DVD?
BBC Worldwide have released the first four series of Grange Hill,
originally shown between 1978 and 1981, on twin box sets. It is
the first time Grange Hill has been released on DVD and almost certainly
forms part of Grange Hill's 30th anniversary celebrations. More
information at www.bbcshop.com.
The BBC released two videos of episodes from early series in 1984
but these are now deleted. GH Online is creating a DVD archive of
all 30 series to ensure Grange Hill is preserved for future generations.
We need help with encoding, menus, graphics etc; if you would like
to help or to find out more please drop
us a line.
Have there been any Grange Hill spin-offs?
Only one to date, and that's Tucker's Luck, which ran
for three series in the 1980s. So popular was Tucker Jenkins
his fans were up in arms when the time came for him to leave
Grange Hill. So Phil Redmond created Tucker's Luck to follow
Grange Hill's hero as he left school and it showed the harsh
realities faced by school leavers in Thatcher's generation.
George Armstrong and Paul McCarthy reprised their roles as Tucker's
sidekicks; Tucker's Luck ended with the chance reunion of Tucker
and Trisha (Michelle Herbert). |
 |
Is
it true series 3 only had 16 episodes?
Yes. There should have been 18 (all series of GH at the time had
18 episodes), but a cash shortfall meant the final two programmes
in Series 3 could not be made. Financial considerations are thought
to be why Series 25 (2002) had 18 episodes instead of 20.
How controversial has Grange Hill been over the years?
Very! When it started parents thought Grange Hill was not suitable
children's viewing and the show was blamed for the many ills of modern
youth. Viewers were up in arms about many storylines including benches
in the swimming pool (1978), Jeremy's drowning (1984) and
Zammo's heroin addiction (1986). The SAG canteen protest
(1979) prompted a debate in Parliament. Grange Hill still continues
to shock; in 2001 parents were not happy the show was covering rape,
racism and lesbianism. Go
here to read more about the shocker storylines.
Why
did Grange Hill move to Liverpool?
Phil Redmond's production company, Mersey TV, took over production
of the series in 2002, and Mersey TV (now known as Lime Pictures)
is based in Liverpool. Phil originally intended the show to be set
in his native Liverpool, but the BBC was based in London. Read more
about this controversial move here.
How many changes of uniform have there been?
There have been three major styles of uniform; the original badge
lasted till 1987 when it was replaced by the current yellow
and purple design. A third uniform introduced the green badge and
fleeces in 2002, but it was dropped after just a year. Various
modernisations crept in over the years; the blue sweatshirt was introduced
in 1994 but dropped in 2003. Girls started to wear trousers from 1996
but have done so less often since 2003. The yellow and purple badge,
introduced in Series 10, was the brainchild of BBC marketing men.
They wanted to make Grange Hill into a brand which symbolised quality
programming. The on-screen explanation for the disappearance of the
2002 uniform, according to Grange
Hill.com, was that parents complained the new garments were
unsuitable for day-to-day wear and the school's governors decided,
in the wake of the fire, to revert to the old uniform. No off-screen
reasons for the change back were given but it's possible Mersey TV
didn't want to lose the very familiar 1987 badge.
Can
I buy my own Grange Hill badge and tie?
No. They are made specifically for use in the show and are not sold
or otherwise distributed to the public.
What
school holidays has Grange Hill been on?
Plenty in this country; the Isle of Wight (1989), Dartmoor
(1991), an outward bound centre in Wales (1983), orienteering
in the Yorkshire Moors (1984). Days out have included
Chester (2003), St Albans (1983), and Chessington Zoo
(1982). Only once has Grange Hill been abroad - in 1994 the school
choir visited Görlitz, eastern Germany, on the border
with Poland. There was an abortive sailing to France in 1981
- cut short when stowaway Tommy Watson was found by customs men on
the ferry. |
|
