Grange Hill
This page is about the television series. For the tube station, see Grange Hill tube station.
Grange Hill is a British children's television drama series which is shown on BBC1. The series was created by Phil Redmond (also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks). Other notable production team members down the years have included producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella.
The show began in 1978 and is one of the longest running television shows on British television. The drama is centered on a fictional comprehensive school (called Grange Hill), in east London (although when filming moved to Liverpool in 2003, it ceased to have any specific location), and follows the lives of the children as they progress through school.
The show has done many controversial storylines, ranging from students throwing benches into the swimming pool (1978) to rape (2001), prompting many complaints from viewers.
The show spawned a successful spin off series called Tucker's Luck (1983-1985), and launched the acting career of Todd Carty. Also, the 1986 cast released "Grange Hill: The Album", with two singles: "Just Say No" (tying in with a character's heroin addiction) and "You Know The Teacher (Smash Head)".
Trivia
- Former cast member Laura Sadler died after falling off a building in June 2003... incidentally, her Grange Hill character was killed off after jumping out of a burning building.
- The original theme song was a library track called "Chicken Man" by Alan Hawkshaw, and lasted the show's first 10 years before being replaced by the current theme tune.
See also Byker Grove
