2006 has been a fantastic year for GH Online,
with plenty of Grange Hill cast members making contact with us. As
the old year draws to a close, let's finish it as we began by hearing
from two more Grange Hill favourites:
Lucy
seeks reunion with Dudley
01/12/2006
In 1995 a key Grange Hill storyline saw Lucy Mitchell lose her mum
to an AIDS-related illness, then have to face the ignorance surrounding
HIV when she returned to school. So what happened to Lucy? Here she
is to tell us: "Hi, my name is Belinda
Crane, I played Lucy Mitchell from 1991-1996. I would love to get
back in contact with my old classmates. Can you help? If you have
contacts with Steve Hammett (Dudley Wesker), I would love to get back
in contact with him.
"I didn't realise the GH fan base
was so huge, the site is fantastic, In the forum you mentioned the
McCain oven chips advert (feed me now) I'm never going to live that
down, it will haunt me for the rest of my life!!!!!
"Sadly after leaving GH my home life
experienced some difficulties, and I was unable to seek acting work,
the 4 episodes that I appeared in EastEnders as Alley (Teresa Di Marco's
friend), was offered to me by a director that I had worked with on
GH, He was a nice man but his name escapes me (If I saw it written
down I would remember). Since then I have job hopped, as I do not
enjoy any job as much as working in front of a camera (you wouldn't
think I was camera-shy would you!!!). At the moment I'm an estate
agent, I do enjoy it, but its not my passion. I would give my right
arm and leg to be back in the business. Please let me know if I can
be of any help to you, also if you have contacts with Steve Hammett
(Dudley Wesker), I would love to get back in contact with him. Many
thanks."
Hi Belinda - yes the Grange Hill fan base is huge, we regularly
get ex-cast writing in and they're as surprised about this as you
are! And if it's not too late, congratulations on your moving and
sensitive portrayal of Lucy. GH Online has heard from a number of
your castmates so we'll "fix it" for you to get back in
touch; Steve Hammett e-mailed only the other week! Sorry to hear
you aren't currently acting, but hang in there and hopefully it
won't be long before you're spotted again - good luck! Thanks for
your kind comments; our best wishes and hope you continue to enjoy
the site.
What would Gran make of this?01/12/2006
Now back to 1979 and the girl who accused Miss Peterson of murder:
"My name is Joanne Boakes and I was
in the cast of Grange Hill from June 1979 to February 1984. I played
Anita Unsworth. I am interested in further info on your website
please." Hi Joanne and welcome to GH Online! We
have fond memories of Anita, and, just to put things into context,
Anita thought her friend Sally had died after collapsing in PE with
a heart problem, and accused Miss Peterson of murder! Sally was
OK though...Anita was always talking about her gran, as if she was
her main carer. GH Online offers various services to former cast
and crew, including e-mail addresses, personal websites and even
copies of episodes if you need them. Check out www.grangehill.net/ghreunited.html
for full details.
Have you seen our companion site www.grangehillgold.co.uk?
There's a problem page there which might be of interest... Best
wishes and keep in touch!
UPDATE:
Julie's panto dreams come true 17/12/2006
Seems we gave the wrong venue for Julie Buckfield's Christmas panto!
Never mind, here's Andrew Startup to the rescue:
"I just read the Can You Help section and say the post in
Decembers section for Julie mentioning her panto. Julie is starring
in Aladdin as Aladdin at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in Cambridge
- not Hertfordshire - until the 14th of January and tickets are
selling out fast. This is her third year playing Principal Boy for
the Arts Theatre such is her popularity. Then a few weeks after
finishing Julie goes back on a nationwide tour in The Ghost Train
written by Dad's Army star Arnold Ridley until May. Details can
be found on the Tour Dates pages on my either of my websites about
Julie www.juliebuckfieldinfo.co.uk
or www.thejuliebuckfieldfansite.com
of when and where the The Ghost Train is playing."
Whoops - thanks for the correction Andrew! Cambridge is some way from
Hertfordshire so I hope no-one's been sent on a wild goose chase!
If you want to see Julie, get your tickets while you can - book online
at www.cambridgeartstheatre.com.
Gripper's sidekicks 01/12/2006
Dave asks: "Can you confirm the names
of Gripper's sidekicks from '80 - '84? I am intrigued as I'm working
my way through the the Grange Hill sidekicks, thought I would start
with Gripper. My reason for enquiring was I met a chap who claimed
to be one of Gripper's sidekicks in the early eighties. He claims
to have been on Grange Hill for approx four years, although he may
have been a sidekick I would have thought he would have been quite
identifiable. Any other names you can dicover would be much appreciated.
Thanking you in advance."
Hi Dave. Gripper's screen dates were 1981-1983, with a couple of cameos
thereafter. He had only two main sidekicks - principal henchman Denny
Rees (played by Julian Griffiths) from 1982, they were joined in 1983
by Georgie Smith (played by Sam Smart). There may have been other
sidekicks, but these were probably background artists and as such
would not have been credited. Mark Savage himself was an extra on
Grange Hill a year before landing the role of Gripper in 1981. Hope
this helps!
Footage of North View Road01/12/2006
Daniel Nettleton asks: "Hey Simon,
Congratulations on an incredibly concise and well laid out site
- it's a veritable goldmine! I live on North View Road, by the alleyway
they use on the school run... is there any footage available online
or otherwise of the said school run - to show my friends? Cheers"
Hey Daniel - thanks for the flattery! Unfortunately though, I can't
say if North View Road (somewhere in London presumably) has ever
appeared in Grange Hill. Why not try Geoff Phillips' Locations
microsite - there might be a pic hidden away there.
Hi Malcolm and thanks for the link. I'm sure Julie will have a
great Christmas acting her dream role and if you're in the Cambridge
area, why not go along and support her? Booking details are at the
link. We couldn't believe Julie and Clare hadn't acted together
until Holby City - let's hope they pair up again soon!
GH badges for sale?01/12/2006
Richard Vowles writes: "Hello, I
was just wondering if anyone sells Grange Hill badges? The sort
of thing that could be sewn onto a normal school/suit blazer, and
also ties? I know you must get a lot of these type of e-mails, but
if you could help in anyway it would be most appreciated. Cheers"
Hi Richard. It's unlikely you'll find any Grange Hill badges for
sale; they are made specifically for use on the show and are most
likely re-used until they wear out. The BBC has never sold the badges
as official merchandise. You could always try Ebay - but prepare
to shell out!
Name that rescuer01/12/2006
Markus writes: "This is a link to
a YouTube video I made by putting pictures of the swimming pool
rescue to some music. Can you help me identify who the characters
are, now its along time since I've watched Grange Hill and I know
that the one lad is Spencer, and I thought the other one was Togger
until some one posted a comment saying it was Baz, so can the expert
please tell me who they are. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAK303H6hw0#GU5U2spHI_4"
Hi Markus. The character who rescues Alex from the pool is indeed
Baz, and he's been at the centre of some key Grange Hill storylines
since 2003. Spencer was supposed to be Alex's mentor, but as you can
see didn't make a very good job of it! Thankfully Alex survived and
with friends Ed, Alison and Tigger, went on to win against the bullies.
* GRANGE HILL ON YOUTUBE: GH Online does
not endorse the posting of Grange Hill clips on YouTube or other
video-sharing websites. Anyone posting Grange Hill on these sites
does so at their own risk and we accept no responsibility for any
resulting action. Under no circumstances should clips from Grange
Hill's Video Vault be posted on YouTube - you can enjoy them in
better quality here!
For details of how to contact
Can You Help, see the CYH
main page.
Lucy
seeks reunion with Dudley
UPDATE:
Julie's panto dreams come true