WHAT a shame the BBC have axed Grange Hill after 30 years.
When I was at school, it was one of my favourite TV programmes.
Along with Blue Peter, John Craven’s Newsround and Neighbours, Grange Hill was a show that children would watch after returning from school.
I think it was on a Tuesday and Thursday, and your parents would let you watch it, but you knew they did not like it.
I can still remember the cartoon strip opening sequences, and theme music - even now.
The show had some great characters and gritty storylines. Among the ones that spring to mind was the storyline involving Zammo and Jackie, and Zammo’s heroin addiction.
Didn’t the cast release a single in the 1980s called Just Say No? And I am sure they got to meet American president, Ronald Reagan.
Another character I can remember was deputy head Mr Bronson, the disciplinarian teacher who was constantly telling pupils off. Wasn’t his most famous saying, “you boy,”? I am sure everyone had similar teachers at their school. I know I did.
Mrs McCluskey was headteacher when I watched Grange Hill. She was fair, although she would be strict on those pupils who did wrong.
When Neighbours started it might have been more popular, it offered pure escapism in sunny Australia. But Grange Hill seemed to be more realistic. The script writers were dealing with issues that were also hitting the news.
But as I got older, the programme did not seem as relevant, and I stopped watching it.
1 comment:
To be honest it went down the pan when Tucker Jenkins left. But the thing is, these programmes are always better when you're young. They seem worse as you get older because tastes get more sophisticated
Post a Comment