The only school kids ever seemed to be interested in.
Us included…
At your school, did anyone die in the swimming pool?
Did you have to contend with vicious bullies (and were talking about the teachers!)?
Did everyone have London accents coarse enough to strip the paint off the classroom doors?
Flippin eck, you must have gone to Grange Hill!
Back then,Grange Hillwas a phenomenon.
Who could forget that montage of comic strips?
And who could forget that theme tune (Chicken Man, by Alan Hawkshaw)?
It was unbeatable stuff.
The classicGrange Hillof the 80s spanned two fairly distinct eras (with a bit of overlapping).
Most of us tend to associate ourselves with one or the other.
The first was the Peter Tucker Jenkins era.
Together, this trio were always shirking homework, outrunning the bullies (ornotoutrunning them!
), or masterminding some scheme.
They were rumbled by a French customs official.
The second 80s era was dominated by Samuel Zammo Maguire (1982-1987, Lee MacDonald).
Although this story caused outrage among parents, it led to UK involvement in Americas Just Say No campaign.
Zammo and company made a memorable hit single and accompanying video.
How about Roland Roly Browning (1982-1987, Erkan Mustafa)?
Continually bullied, he was always one of the series best-loved characters.
No doubt you have your own favourites.
But why wasGrange Hillso popular?
Many of the pupils were from council estates.
Speech was full of dropped aitches, aints, and flippin ecks.
We lapped it up like puppy dogs!
Here was an us and them tour de force played out, crucially, from the perspective of children.
It was ground-breaking and, like anything that upsets the status quo (think of rock n roll!
), parents hated it.
That was largely because it was an issue-led show, and some of those issues were hard-hitting.
If the producers had also tackled terrorism, theyd have had the full set!
There was a good deal of bullying, too, of course.
Teachers werent fans, either.
They were nothing like the teachers at our school!
Lets not forget too the most memorable teach to walk the corridors of Grange Hill.
From the toupee, the scream of You boy!
Grange Hillchanged UK TV for ever.
Phil Redmond, the shows creator, clearly understood the changing moral zeitgeist.
Theyre very, very watchable age has weakened them much less than you might imagine.
Flippin eck, how can you resist?
Mrs. McCluskys first name was assumed to be Bridget hence Bridget the Midget.
Gwyneth Powell (Mrs. McClusky) had a memorable role inA Touch of Frost.
But what was her occupation?
Well remind you she was a former brothel keeper.
How the mighty fall!
From headmistress to madam in six short years!
- Michael Cronin (Mr. Baxter) is now a successful childrens author.
His trilogy of books about a hypothetical Nazi Britain is very highly regarded.
