He captivated the youth of the nation as Zammo Maguire in Grange Hill.
And now he’s talking to Den Of Geek.
Your mum was a chaperon onGrange Hill.Is that what got you involved, hanging around the set?
The Anna Scher school did an after school workshop, and he said take Lee along.
I did various work between then and about eleven.
But then theGrange Hillaudition came up, and my mum said no, theres no way.
Youve just gone into secondary school.
Give it a year, if youre still okay and theres a part for you, then fair enough.
So that was Stewpots year.
And the second year was obviously Zammo, Jonah and Roly.
I was still looking young and still quite small, so I auditioned for that.
When I was fourteen, fifteen, she wanted to verify that my education wasnt suffering.
So she got a job there to keep an eye on me!
So thats how it came about her getting involved with it, more so than the other way round.
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You say you were a quiet kid, though.
Were you reluctantly pushed into this?
No, not at all!
The boxing I loved, absolutely adored it.
Not in a nasty way, but just didnt want to push me.
So she would say oh Lees a boxer, lets do a bit of shadow boxing.
So everyone would do a bit of shadow boxing.
I would excel at that, and that gave me loads of confidence.
So no, I used to love going to the classes after school with the boxing and the TV.
Even in the early days, the character Zammo was one ofGrange Hills most distinctive.
Did you quickly become aware of that when you were going out and about?
Yeah, the first day it was on, I went for a run and got recognised.
It was the first evening that it was broadcast.
It was only ITV, BBC2 and Channel Four, so the kids only ever watched that.
It was the only programme that kids could relate to.
Everybody of our age knew Tucker, and knew what was going on.
Was it a blessing or a curse to be recognised so young?
Oh, it was lovely!
But with all the attention it did help with the girls.
It was a double-barrelled thing.
On the whole, it was great times.
Did you win more than you lost at the boxing?
I wanted to turn pro, and I remember seeing a couple of promoters.
A couple of people died in the accident.
The police were chasing a car and it hit me.
So it all came to an abrupt end.
Boxing was the thing you chose to do afterGrange Hill?
Absolutely.Grange Hillwas something I was doing while I was at school, it was good fun.
Im really proud of that!
OnGrange Hill,presumably you were watching the show with the rest of us before you got the part?
I used to run home to watch it.
And being in it, I remember Tucker nicking my Mars Bar was the best part for me.
I ran home and told my mum I cant believe it!
She was a bit oblivious to it then.
But yeah, I used to rush home.
I was a big fan.
Probably if I was older.
If I was to do something likeEastEndersnow Id be probably very nervous and worried.
But when youre eleven or twelve, youre full of confidence anyway and just go bounding out.
Would you want to do something likeEastEndersnow?
Well Ive just started again, and talked to a couple of people, producers and stuff.
Im just getting the pictures done and getting the CVs out.
Ive had some good response from a couple of people, high profile producers and stuff.
Over the next year probably do some stuff.
I actually present for Sky at the moment, on in the morning.
For us watching, there was no-one more scary than Mr Bronson.
How was Michael Sheard in real life?
No, he had an aura about it.
When he was there, you knew he was there.
He had a presence about it.
But no, he was a lovely, lovely man.
Because he was the one who got killed by Darth Vader inStar Wars!
Did you all tease him for that?
I didnt know until Id left unfortunately.
But I spoke to Michael a couple of times after.
Sadly, he died.
Really lovely man, really lovely man.
Not sure where that came from.
I was happy to keep doing Grange Hill until I was sixteen, or whenever they said leave.
When they came to me for that, it was another storyline and it was a nice one.
But no, I was really excited about taking it on.
Presumably you had no idea about the scale it was going to be.
Was it just presented as just another thing at that point?
It wasnt until I started going to rehabilitation centres and speaking to people.
A couple of researchers they had were ex-drug addicts.
I was boxing and training, as far as all the drugs go they were completely oblivious to anything.
So it was a real opener for me, a really good storyline.
I think it was like a guy called Eric who produced the Just Say No campaign.
I think it was an idea that they had.
We finished the show, and there was no talk of that or anything.
And you went to the White House…!
That was absolutely manic.
We sang at Yankee Stadium in front of 80,000 people…
… youre kidding!
We sang in the park in New York, we went to Boston.
We went all round, we toured round.
We sat in the White House and had a chat with her.
It was amazing for a sixteen year old.
And presumably youre at an age then when you could appreciate it too?
Yeah, course you could.
By then I think I was fifteen bordering sixteen.
And you knew what the big things were.
We were going round to malls in New York.
And the gun culture.
So exactly what they said, and I think New Yorks brushed up a lot.
I think Londons in a worst state than New York was more than 20 years ago.
But that is absolutely pony.
I mean I went to the toilet, and I was followed to the toilet.
Are you okay, Mr McDonald?.
Obviously hes got his film company and hes trying to promote it.
You said you did the singing in Yankee Stadium.
Were the Americans receptive of it?
No, they didnt have a clue who we were!
It was so funny!
We had a press conference, Virgin set it up.
It was lovely, we went on the Virgin plane, they filmed us and stuff.
Its like somebody coming from America who isnt on English telly over here.
You wouldnt have a clue who they were, so we were a bit lost in that.
But it was all good fun.
Was being a child actor onGrange Hillparticularly well paid?
To be honest, I cant remember what I was paid, but it was very good money.
And thats in 86.
They were getting two grand a week without theGrange Hillmoney.
So the money was quite good!How do you feel now about being involved in the show?
Are you surprised at how well remembered the era and storylines are?
As you grow up, all the time you talk about your childhood.
I always go back to kids programmes and stuff.
Im more aware now Ive got to this age, how fondly people talk of it.
Im probably more aware now of the impact it had on kids at that time.
And how does it impact the business you run now?
Is it in a positive way?
Ah, course it is, yeah!
They ask is it really you, have a chat, will you take our work on?
Im still using it 20, 25 years on.
Its still really good for me.
And the same happened to Todd [Carty, Tucker Jenkins].
Somebody was a fan.
Its what carries on all through your life.
Its phenomenal really that this has all come out of a childrens programme.
Did you watch any of the recentGrange Hill?
No, Ive not had a chance.
No from not wanting to see them, just been busy really.
So what do you think about the show finishing?
Quite sad for two reasons.
I just think that Grange Hill cant keep up.
Even though the big storylines of the 80s.
The knife culture, the severe bullying, the drugs.
We were just like kids going to school, but not doing any real work!
The tutor would go out.
Are you still in touch with many of them?
I speak to Roland all the time.
We met up for the reunion a few years ago, and everybody said well meet up again.
But you all move on and do your own thing, dont you.
But me and Erkan probably speak once a week, once a fortnight and do some stuff together.
Weve just finished some stuff for E4.
I cant for ours to be released on DVD for that purpose!
In six, seven years, my baby could be watching the early episodes!
Theyll be in prime place on my fireplace!
And finally, was the story about the Imperial War Museum true?
Yeah, I went with my school!
There were two girls schools in there, and our school.
Its a hard life!
