Looking back at Grange Hill | Den of Geek Looking back at Grange Hill Grange Hill. The only school kids ever seemed to be interested in. Us included… j At your school, did anyone die in the swimming pool? Did you have to contend with vicious bullies (and we’re talking about the teachers!)? Did everyone have London accents coarse enough to strip the paint off the classroom doors? Yes? Flippin’ ’eck, you must have gone to Grange Hill! If you grew up in the 1980s but don’t have a fondness for Grange Hill, there’s probably only one explanation: you were banned from watching it. Yep, for those of us who could get away with it, this rites-of-passage drama series about the pupils of a north-London comprehensive was must-see television, but by parents and teachers it was generally despised. It all started in 1978, and continues to this day (just about), but its golden age was undoubtedly the 1980s. Back then, Grange Hill was a phenomenon. For many, just the first few seconds of the title sequence are enough to bring on the misty eyes of nostalgia.

Who could forget that montage of comic strips? Our favourite bit was where the boy in the dinner hall looks on aghast as an extra sausage flies in from nowhere towards his plate. And who could forget that theme tune (‘Chicken Man’, by Alan Hawkshaw)? This sounded as if it’d been played on a plastic comb and a Casio keyboard (and we say that with great affection). It was unbeatable stuff. The classic Grange Hill of 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. Tucker (1978-1982, played by Todd Carty) was an absolute star (as was Todd) and is still regarded by many as the show’s poster child. A loveable rogue, he was instantly recognisable by his cheeky grin, black drainpipes, and black leather jacket (clearly he modelled himself on The Fonz).

Tucker’s loyal buddies for much of this period were Alan ‘Al’ Humphries (1978-1982, George Armstrong) and Tommy Watson (1978, James Jebbia; 1980-1981, Paul McCarthy). Together, this trio were always shirking homework, outrunning the bullies (or not outrunning them!), or masterminding some scheme. One of the most memorable episodes was the (aborted) trip to France, where Tucker and Al tried to get Tommy across the border as a stowaway. They were rumbled by a French customs official. The three were so popular with viewers that, when they left the school, they starred in their own spin-off, Tucker’s Luck (1983-1985). The second ’80s era was dominated by Samuel ‘Zammo’ Maguire (1982-1987, Lee MacDonald).

Controversially, we saw him degenerate into a heroin addict, despite the efforts of his girlfriend Jackie Wright (1984-1987, Melissa Wilks) and his friend Kevin Baylon (1984-1986, Mmoloki Chrystie). Although this story caused outrage among parents, it led to UK involvement in America’s ‘Just Say No’ campaign. Zammo and company made a memorable hit single and accompanying video. It’s unknown whether this campaign ever saved anyone from taking drugs, but one thing’s for sure: everyone remembers it. Here's a refresher... Grange Hill has always been an ensemble show, of course, and there are several other pupils from the Zammo period we’d be remiss not to mention. How about Roland ‘Roly’ Browning (1982-1987, Erkan Mustafa)? Continually bullied, he was always one of the series’ best-loved characters. Popular, too, was Fay Lucas (1982-1987, Alison Bettles), the pretty blonde who had a relationship with her maths teacher.

Then there were Luke ‘Gonch’ Gardner (1985-1989, John McMahon), always up to some (usually doomed) money-making scam, and Eric ‘Ziggy’ Greaves (1986-1989, George Christopher), a bit of a Tucker lookalike. No doubt you have your own favourites. But why was Grange Hill so popular? Well, a key ingredient was that nothing like it had been seen on UK TV before (especially not on children’s TV). As Todd Carty told the Daily Mirror in 2007, ‘Before Grange Hill, kids’ TV dramas had all been jolly hockey sticks and Billy Bunter.’ Grange Hill was gritty, realistic, and wonderfully working-class. Many of the pupils were from council estates. Speech was full of dropped aitches, ain’ts, 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. Vandalism, truancy, racism, theft, molestation, pupil strikes, underage drinking, religion, glue sniffing, death by misadventure – all these were covered in the programme’s early years. If the producers had also tackled terrorism, they’d have had the full set! There was a good deal of bullying, too, of course. Remember ‘Booga’ Benson (1980-1981, David Lynch), ‘Gripper’ Stebson (1981-1985, Mark Savage), and the ‘Brookies’ (pupils from rival school Brookdale)? Teachers weren’t fans, either. That was despite the fact that Grange Hill’s teachers were often portrayed as being quite nice – too good to be true, in fact. Headmistress Mrs. ‘Bridget the Midget’ McClusky (1980-1984, 1986-1991, Gwyneth Powell) was strict but fair and approachable, for example, and games teacher Mr.

‘Bullet’ Baxter (1979-1986, Michael Cronin) was a real hard-case with bad guys but a bit of a lamb with everybody else. They were nothing like the teachers at our school! And no real-life teacher in the history of state education has ever been as racy as Miss ‘Sexy Lexy’ Lexington (1981-1984, Allyson Rees)! Let’s not forget too the most memorable teach to walk the corridors of Grange Hill. Mr Bronson, played brilliantly by the late Michael Sheard, surely single-handedly scared a generation of kids off secondary school, even if he did soften up as the years went on. From the toupee, the scream of “You boy!” and Danny Kendall dying in his car, his decision to leave the show left it with a crater that it simply couldn’t fill. Grange Hill changed UK TV for ever. It finally pushed children’s programming into the post-war era, something that had happened to most other types of media in the ’60s or even ’50s. Phil Redmond, the show’s creator, clearly understood the changing moral zeitgeist.

Here was the first generation where young females fully expected to be treated as equals – exemplified best, perhaps, by the ‘gobby’ Trisha Yates (1978-1982, Michelle Herbert). Here, too, was the first generation who accepted mixed-race society as a matter of course (for the most part!). The programme lost its way in later years, coming to an end in 2008 for good (although Tucker came back to help finish things off). For those who remember the era, series one to four are available on DVD at the time of writing, and if you get the chance, check them out. They’re very, very watchable – age has weakened them much less than you might imagine. They’re fast-paced, well-written, and brimming with Raleigh Grifters, over-the-shoulder Adidas sports bags, and fabulously ridiculous hairstyles. Flippin’ ’eck, how can you resist? Did you know? * Mrs. McClusky’s first name was assumed to be Bridget – hence ‘Bridget the Midget’. However, in episode six of series four, the plate on her office door clearly reads ‘Mrs. M. McClusky’.

Perhaps her first name was actually Midget, then... * Grange Hill’s first theme tune, ‘Chicken Man’, was also used between 1979 and 1982 by gameshow Give Us a Clue. Grange Hill used Alan Hawkshaw’s original, while Give Us a Clue used a re-recorded version with a different arrangement. Most bizarre. * Gwyneth Powell (Mrs. McClusky) had a memorable role in A Touch of Frost. She played Kitty Rayford, and for a few episodes in 1997 she shacked up with David Jason’s DI Frost. But what was her occupation? We’ll remind you – she was a former brothel keeper. How the mighty fall! From headmistress to madam in six short years! Things must be looking up a little now, though, as Gwyneth has recently been playing pub landlady Ivy Trehearne in Echo Beach. * Michael Cronin (Mr. Baxter) is now a successful children’s author. His trilogy of books about a hypothetical Nazi Britain is very highly regarded. He still keeps his hand in with a spot of acting, though, so keep your eyes peeled... And finally...

There's only one way to sign off here, isn't there? See also: Grange Hill wikipedia - wiki Grange Hill map - wiki articles about Grange Hill on the map | Gulliway External links Website Grange Hill is a British television children's drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended its run on 15 September 2008. It was created by Phil Redmond who is 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. After 30 years, the show was cancelled in 2008 as it was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course.

Plot Main article: List of Grange Hill episodes The drama was centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the (equally fictitious) borough of North London called "Northam" (although when filming moved to Liverpool in 2003, it ceased to have any specific location), and follows the lives of the students as they progress through school. The series was to have originally been called "Grange Park", which would go on to be used as the name of the school in another Redmond creation, the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–2003). Series history Grange Hill was originally conceived by ATV writer Phil Redmond, who first approached various television companies with the idea in 1975, unsuccessfully. In 1976, he managed to sell the idea to the BBC, and the children's drama executive Anna Home commissioned an initial series of nine episodes in a trial run, the first being broadcast on 8 February 1978. From the start, the series caused controversy for its real-life, gritty portrayal of school life, which differed from the idealised portrayals of earlier school dramas.

Redmond has said that he wasn't really able to start pushing the boundaries until later series. This led to Redmond being summoned to lunch by BBC bosses and forced to agree that there would be no further series unless he toned things down. Grange Hill's highest profile period was undoubtedly the mid-late 1980s. One of the most famous storylines during this time was that of Zammo McGuire played by Lee Macdonald and his addiction to heroin. This storyline ran over two series (1986–87) and focused on Zammo's descent into drugs and how it strained his relationship with girlfriend Jackie and friend Kevin. The show's other favourite characters during this period were Gonch and Hollo played by John Holmes and Bradley Sheppard. During his time at the school (1985–89) Gonch took part in many moneymaking schemes, most unsuccessful. There was a comedic element to the duo's relationship that worked well with viewers. Script editor Anthony Minghella, who worked on the series for several years during the 1980s, later won an Academy Award for Best Director for the film The English Patient in 1996.

During the 1990s, Grange Hill did not receive the same media attention that it had just a few years before. The teachers were now equals in the narrative with their personal lives taking up almost as much time as those of the pupils. In 1994, two characters were introduced with disabilities, Denny Roberts (Lisa Hammond), who had dwarfism, and Rachel Burns (Francesca Martinez), who had cerebral palsy. Both characters were presented as "one of the gang" and hated any special treatment because of their circumstances. This prompted the BFI's 2002 publication The Hill And Beyond to comment that Grange Hill had perhaps become politically correct. Beginning on 4 April 1993, to celebrate Grange Hill's 15th anniversary, the first fifteen series of Grange Hill were repeated during CBBC's Sunday, and later Saturday morning slots on BBC1 and BBC2. The repeats ended with Series 16 in 1999. Grange Hill was repeated in full on digital satellite and cable channel UK Gold in the 1990s. It broadcast the late 1970's and early 80's episodes of the show.

In 1998, it reappeared on sister channel UK Gold Classics which was a digital only channel that showed programmes previously shown on UK Gold and Grange Hill was part of the schedule, although the channel only lasted 6 months before changing to UK Gold 2 in April 1999. Interest in Grange Hill renewed in the late 1990s and the series celebrated its 20th anniversary with the introduction of sinister Scottish bully Sean Pearce (Iain Robertson), who carried a knife and slashed the face of a classmate. Cast member Laura Sadler, who was heavily involved in this storyline, died after falling out of a building in June 2003; four years earlier her Grange Hill character Judi Jeffreys was killed after slipping and falling out of the window of a burning storeroom in the school. By 2001, the series was almost entirely issue-led and the decision to tackle the subject of rape upset some parents. But when Phil Redmond took over production of Grange Hill in 2003, his plan was to get the show back to its roots and the issues were toned down as Redmond skewed the show towards a younger audience.

In early 2006, it was announced that a film of Grange Hill was to be released in late 2007 focusing on the lives of former pupils; the film has not yet come to fruition. Grange Hill returned on 14 April 2008 with its final series, including a return of the original theme music. Series 31 returned to BBC1 after the 2007 series was shown exclusively on the CBBC Channel. Production history For its first 25 years Grange Hill was produced in-house by the BBC, then the show was made independently for the corporation by Mersey TV, the production house founded by Redmond (and later renamed as Lime Pictures), hence the reason for the production move. Television Centre years: 1978–85 Location external and some interior scenes in Grange Hill were originally filmed at real schools in London. The first of these would be Kingsbury High School in north London, which was used as the Grange Hill setting for the first two series.

For the series 3, in 1980, exterior filming moved to Willesden High School (now Capital City Academy) in Willesden Green, which was similar in looks to Kingsbury and was also situated in a residential area of the capital. In 1981, Grange Hill moved to Holborn College (now Fulham Preparatory School) in Greyhound Road, Hammersmith. This school looked very different from the two that had been used previously, and it was also in a built-up area of London. Holborn College was the longest serving of the "real schools", remaining on screen until 1985. Up to and including 1985, interior scenes were shot at the BBC Television Centre in London. Elstree years: 1985–2002 In 1985, production shifted to the former ATV studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The BBC had purchased the studio complex the previous year. The studios, now known as BBC Elstree Centre, were the location for some exterior filming from Series 8 on the closed Elstree set.

A 1960s office block, Neptune House in the facility now doubled as Hill's "lower school". The change was explained on screen with an elaborate storyline whereby Grange Hill merged with rival schools Brookdale and Rodney Bennett to form a new school, Grange Hill. In Series 8 the merger had taken place and Grange Hill operated as a split-site school; the former Rodney Bennett building (Neptune House) being the lower school and the original Grange Hill building (still Holborn College) the upper school. In series 9, the Upper School building was condemned after a fire, allowing production of Grange Hill to fully move to Elstree including studio work. Grange Hill was, at this time, made as an outside broadcast in the same way as its stablemate, EastEnders. New producer Diana Kyle switched filming to a single camera format from 1999, at which time a filmic effect was also added, to the displeasure of some fans. A new school entrance set was unveiled in 1990 and remained in use until 2002, with cosmetic modifications along the way.

However, as the 1990s progressed more use was made of real schools including the Nicholas Hawksmoor School and Bushey Meads School, and St Audrey's School in Hatfield. The headmistress of Bushey Meads School was said to be delighted Grange Hill was moving to Liverpool in 2002. Liverpool years: 2003–08 Early in 2002 it was announced that Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond had signed a deal for his production company Mersey TV to produce the next three series of the programme. Production moved to Mersey TV's studios in Childwall, Liverpool from Series 26 onwards and for the first time in many years the appearance of Grange Hill School itself would change radically. On screen an explosion ripped through the school at the end of Series 25; during Series 26 tarpaulins covered most of the new "school" to mask the "fire damage". Phil Redmond originally wanted children from all over the country to participate in the relaunched Grange Hill, having a variety of regional accents in the series as opposed to just the London area voices which had become associated with the programme.

In the event new characters were almost exclusively cast from the north-west of England due to the logistics of the child employment laws. Real schools in the locality were also used including Croxteth Comprehensive, Holly Lodge Girls' School and St Hilda's C of E High School in Liverpool. In 2005, the former Brookside Parade set at Mersey TV was redeveloped to benefit Grange Hill and the new "Creative Learning Centre" subsequently became an integral part of the show. With the cancellation of Grange Hill, the CLC exterior set has now been turned into skateboard park set for Grange Hill's stablemate show Hollyoaks while the former Grange Hill school frontage has become a permanent exterior for Hollyoaks High.

Issues covered Grange Hill was intended for a young adult and teen audience as the programme has covered many controversial storylines, ranging from students throwing benches into the swimming pool (1978; as a result of which, following letters of complaint from teachers and parents, the episode was withdrawn from the repeat season), rape (2001), heroin addiction (1986), Asperger syndrome (2001), knife crime (1998) and attempted suicide (2005), prompting many complaints from viewers. Grange Hill broke new ground by the inclusion of a gay teacher, Mr Brisley, who was in the cast from 1992 to 1999. In 2005, the character Holly Parsons was wrongly heralded as Grange Hill's first deaf character. While it is true that the actress who played her, Rebecca-Anne Withey, is the series' first deaf cast member, Grange Hill first featured a deaf character, Eric Wallace, in 1985. During the final series in 2008, Grange Hill cut back on the harder-hitting issues and concentrated more on the early years of secondary school.

The final series, though concentrating mainly on lighter aspects of school life, still dealt with some social issues; a Year 6 pupil battled with dyslexia while it turned out school bully Chloe Moore had to care for a disabled parent. "The Grange" In 2007 BBC Children's ordered major changes to Grange Hill so that it fitted in with the new requirement that all programmes under the CBBC banner must appeal to an audience age 12 and under – younger than the traditional age group for Grange Hill, which was the same as to slightly younger than the secondary school characters. Under a deal signed in 2005 Lime Pictures was contracted to produce Grange Hill until 2008, so changes began to be made. For series 31, Lime Pictures creative director Tony Wood set about the task of meeting CBBC's new requirements. He shifted much of the action away from general school life to "The Grange", the school's multimedia learning centre, which was given a radical makeover and became as much a "hang out" as a learning resource.

The emphasis was now on younger characters with a group of Year 6 pupils regularly coming to use The Grange from primary school; storylines were much lighter and fantasy sequences were introduced. One episode, "Boarderman", saw a Year 7 pupil become a masked skateboarding superhero campaigning for an end to the school's ban on skateboarding. In another, "Veggin' out", a girl and her classmates smuggled animals from a local petting farm into school, believing they were destined for slaughter. The Observer reported on 13 January 2008 that the BBC's intention was to shift the action away from Grange Hill School and into The Grange completely. Phil Redmond responded in the same article by calling for Grange Hill to be scrapped, saying the programme had been "robbed of its original purpose". Redmond had been planning a hard-hitting storyline to return Grange Hill to its gritty origins in series 31, and although he signed off the changes he believed it wasn't his show any more. Cancellation On 6 February 2008, the BBC announced Grange Hill was to be axed after exactly 30 years.

The announcement was made by CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist just two days before the show's official 30th birthday. Grange Hill ended on Monday 15 September 2008 with a further return appearance by Todd Carty, in which Tucker persuaded his nephew Togger Johnson not to give up on school like he did. Other than that there would be no spectacular conclusion; characters simply walked out of the school gates after their end-of-term prom, an almost mirror-image of how pupils walked into the school gates in the very first episode. In 2006, the BBC had announced big plans for the show's 30th birthday including special programming on BBC2, possible repeats and a lavish reunion of former stars during 2008. But in the event, none of these celebrations happened aside from a special BBC Radio 4 programme Grange Hill: Soap Pioneer broadcast on 4 September 2008. The last Grange Hill was watched by 500,000 viewers. Seven months later, Ashes to Ashes paid homage to the series in its episode 2.1 (airing 20 April 2009).

In that episode, the time-travelling protagonist, DI Alex Drake, sees her daughter Molly incorporated into an episode of Grange Hill on the evening of 3 or 5 April 1982 [calendar indicates 3 April; the news report was from 5 April]. Molly (in new footage) tells headmistress Bridget McClusky (appearing as archival footage and Gwyneth Powell's newly recorded audio) that she and Tucker got into a fight when Tucker said her mother Alex was dead. Spin-offs The show spawned a successful spin-off called Tucker's Luck (1983–1985), which ran for three series, and furthered the acting career of Todd Carty. The three series saw the two lead characters (Tucker and Alan) finding work. 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)". The album was re-released on CD on 12 November 2007, as part of the BBC's 30th Anniversary celebrations.

In 2005, Justin Lee Collins reunited some of the cast members from the 1980s in the documentary Bring Back...Grange Hill. Theme music The original theme used from 1978 to 1989 (albeit an updated recording from 1988 to 1989), which returned in a much edited format for the final series in 2008, was "Chicken Man" by Alan Hawkshaw, a track from the Themes International music library composed one hour before it was recorded during a session in Munich , Germany. Grange Hill was the first programme to use it as a theme followed by the popular quiz show Give Us a Clue, whose makers used it from 1979 to 1982, despite it already being played on Grange Hill. Give Us A Clue used a less dynamic custom arrangement more in keeping with the style of light entertainment programming. From 1990, a new, more contemporary-sounding theme, written for the series by Peter Moss, was used. Moss had previously written some special hip-hop music for a storyline in Series 11 of Grange Hill.

In 1995 the end theme was re-edited and re-recorded to reduce its length to just 35 seconds, the first edit in 4 years of the theme. This removed some of the various background elements and sharpened the end notes considerably. However, during this period in particular (1995–2000) several versions were used, with a variety of slightly longer edits creating different lead outs depending on the mood and theme of the episode. His theme tune lasted until 2007, although as the years progressed less and less of it was heard as the opening titles got increasingly shorter, with the final version being no more than 12 seconds long. For the final series, an abbreviated edit of the original version of "Chicken Man" was reinstated as the main theme. The last four notes of the original theme song were heard when Brookside , one of Phil Redmond's other TV series, aired its final episode in November 2003.

Head teachers Cathy Tyson 2007–08 Mr Starling appeared only once during Series One, and his initial, E., was shown underneath the name of the school in the first episode: the authority figure most regularly seen during this time was the Head of First Year, Mrs Monroe (Dorothea Philips). Mr Llewellyn did not appear on screen during the 1980 series: the day-to-day running of the school was left to the highly competent but much put-upon deputy head Mr Keating (Robert Hartley), who was also deputy head under Mrs McClusky until 1984. Similarly, Mr McNab was never seen at all during the mid-1990s; the most senior authority figure being Mr Robson who at this point was deputy head. Mr Robson himself did not appear on screen during Series 27, even though he was still headmaster for the early part of the series. Mrs McClusky, perhaps Grange Hill's best known head teacher, was demoted to deputy head temporarily in 1985 having had to reapply, unsuccessfully, for her post following the merger of Grange Hill with Brookdale and Rodney Bennett.

When the new head, Mr Humphries, was killed in a road accident the following year, Mrs McClusky was again acting head and her permanent headship was later confirmed. The final headmistress of Grange Hill was Miss Gayle, introduced as deputy head in the 2007 series although she did not appear in Series 31. Cast List of Grange Hill characters List of Grange Hill cast members Books During the 1980s, when Grange Hill merchandising was at its height and the series arguably at its most popular, a number of annuals and novels were published. Eight annuals were published from 1981 to 1988. Comic strip adventures appeared in the short-lived BEEB magazine, which portrayed new stories, and the longer running Fast Forward, magazine which loosely followed the early 90s series. Additional comic strips occurred in School Fun and in the Radio Times. Grange Hill had its own dedicated magazine, but this only lasted two issues, although there was a holiday special too.

There were 14 short story books and novels, some of which were written or co-written by series creator Phil Redmond, but which also involved authors such as Robert Leeson and Jan Needle. Below is a full list of Grange Hill short story books and novels: Grange Hill Stories, by Phil Redmond. First published by the BBC in 1979. Short stories. Grange Hill Rules OK?, by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. The first Grange Hill novel. Grange Hill Goes Wild, by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. Novel Grange Hill for Sale by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1981. Novel Tucker and Co., by Phil Redmond. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel Grange Hill Home and Away by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel Great Days at Grange Hill, by Jan Needle. Published by Fontana Lions in 1984. Short stories that form a sort of prequel to Grange Hill Stories. Grange Hill After Hours, by Phil Redmond.

Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill Graffiti, by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill on the Run, by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill Heroes, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987. Novel Grange Hill Rebels, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987. Novel Grange Hill Partners, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel Ziggy's Working Holiday, by Phil Redmond and Margaret Simpson. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel Not In Front Of The Children, by Andy Martin. Published by DNA in 2015. An academic study of Grange Hill from Series 1 to the end of Series 16, including the 2 Christmas episodes + a brief study of the history of children's TV series and serials from 1960 to 1990. Contains photographs and full cast / crew credit.

Video game Main article: Grange Hill (video game) In 1987 a video game was made for 8-bit computers including the Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Video & Home Media The first and second series were originally released on the new technology of home video in the early 1980s. Both videos were edited to remove some storylines and thereby shorten running times, given the duration of early videocassettes. The front of the box for the series 1 video features a cast photograph (and small photos of specific individual characters) from series 3, as some characters pictured therein do not feature in that series. The series 2 videocassette box art features a similarly styled front cover, but with a cast photo from the correct year. These abridged versions of the first two series of the show were also released on Betamax, Video 2000 & laserdisc around the same time. DVD releases Two DVD box sets covering the first four series were released on 12 November 2007. They were rated PG by the British Board of film classification.

There are no subtitles, episodes are in 4:3 (the original format) and both box sets come with a booklet detailing each episode. Some episodes have been edited to remove pop music tracks that could not be cleared for DVD release, and studio scenes originally shot on video have been filmized. DVD name Grange Hill - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Grange Hill Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics For other uses, see Grange Hill (disambiguation) . Grange Hill 8 February 1978 – 15 September 2008 External links Official website Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC . The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television . It was created by Phil Redmond , who is 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 .

On 6 February 2008, it was announced that Grange Hill would be cancelled after 30 years. [1] [2] [3] [4] The final episode was shown on 15 September 2008. [5] Contents 15 External links Plot The drama was centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the (equally fictitious) borough of North London called "Northam" (although when filming moved to Liverpool in 2003, it ceased to have any specific location), and follows the lives of the students as they progress through school. The series was to have originally been called Grange Park. Series history Grange Hill was originally conceived by ATV comedy writer Phil Redmond , who first approached various television companies with the idea in 1975, unsuccessfully. In 1976, he managed to sell the idea to the BBC , and the drama executive Anna Home gave the series a trial run of nine episodes, the first being broadcast on 8 February 1978.

[6] [7] The series caused controversy from the start, showing a more gritty, true-to-life portrayal of school life than the rather cosy school dramas that had gone before it. Even so, creator Phil Redmond has said that it wasn't until series 3 or 4 that he was really able to start pushing the boundaries and doing things that he wanted to. This led to Redmond being summoned to lunch by BBC bosses and forced to agree that unless he toned things down, there would be no further series. Grange Hill's highest profile period was undoubtedly the mid-late 1980s. One of the most famous storylines during this time was that of Zammo McGuire and his addiction to heroin. This storyline ran over two series (1986-87) and focused on Zammo's descent into drugs and how it strained his relationship with girlfriend Jackie and friend Kevin. The show's other favourite characters during this period were Gonch and Hollo played by John Holmes and Bradley Sheppard . During his time at the school (1985-89) Gonch partook in many money-making schemes, most unsuccessful. There was a comedic element to the duo's relationship that worked well with viewers.

Script editor Anthony Minghella , who worked on the series for several years during the 1980s, later won an Academy Award for Best Director for the film The English Patient in 1996. During the 1990s Grange Hill did not receive the same media attention it did just a few years previously. The teachers were now equals in the narrative with their personal lives taking up almost as much time as those of the pupils. In 1994 two characters were introduced with disabilities, Denny Roberts (Lisa Hammond), who suffered from dwarfism, and Rachel Burns ( Francesca Martinez ), who had cerebral palsy . Both characters were presented as "one of the gang" and hated any special treatment because of their circumstances. This prompted the BFI's 2002 publication The Hill And Beyond to comment that Grange Hill had perhaps become politically correct. [8] Beginning on 4 April 1993, to celebrate Grange Hill's 15th anniversary, the first fifteen series of Grange Hill were repeated during CBBC's Sunday, and later Saturday morning slots on BBC1 and BBC2. The repeats ended with Series 16 in 1999.

Interest in Grange Hill renewed in the late 1990s and the series celebrated its 20th anniversary with the introduction of sinister Scottish bully Sean Pearce ( Iain Robertson ), who carried a knife and slashed the face of a female classmate. Cast member Laura Sadler , who was heavily involved in this storyline, died after falling out of a building in June 2003; four years earlier her Grange Hill character Judi Jeffreys was killed after slipping and falling out of the window of a burning storeroom in the school. By 2001 the series was almost entirely issue-led and the decision to tackle the subject of rape upset some parents. But when Phil Redmond took over production of Grange Hill in 2003, his plan was to get the show back to its roots and the issues were toned down as Redmond skewed the show towards a younger audience. In early 2006, it was announced a film of Grange Hill was to be released in late 2007 focusing on the lives of former pupils [9] but has not yet appeared.

Grange Hill returned on 14 April 2008 with its final series, including a return of the original theme music. Series 31 returned to BBC1 after the 2007 series was shown exclusively on the CBBC Channel. [10] Production history For its first 25 years Grange Hill was produced in-house by the BBC , then the show was made independently for the corporation by Lime Pictures , the production house founded by Redmond (and formerly known as Mersey Television), hence the reason for the production move. Television Centre years: 1978-85 Originally Grange Hill was filmed at real schools in London. The first of these would be Kingsbury High School , in the north of the capital, which doubled as Grange Hill in the first two series. For the third series, in 1980, exterior filming moved to Willesden High School in Willesden Green, which was similar in looks to Kingsbury and was also situated in a residential area of the capital. In 1981, Grange Hill moved to Holborn College (now Fulham Preparatory School) in Greyhound Road, Hammersmith.

This school looked very different from the two that had been used previously, and it was also in a built-up area of London. Holborn College was the longest serving of the "real schools", remaining on screen until 1985. Up to and including 1985, studio scenes were shot at BBC Television Centre in London. Elstree years: 1985-2002 Popular rumour suggests Grange Hill was forced to move between real schools so often because fans disrupted filming. In 1985, this problem was resolved when the BBC purchased the former ATV studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The studios would become known as BBC Elstree Centre and from Series 8, some exterior filming was switched to the closed Elstree set. A 1960s office block, Neptune House , would double as Grange Hill's "lower school". The change was explained on screen with an elaborate storyline whereby Grange Hill merged with rival schools Brookdale and Rodney Bennett to form a new school, Grange Hill.

In Series 8 the merger had taken place and Grange Hill operated as a split-site school; the former Rodney Bennett building (Neptune House) being the lower school and the original Grange Hill building (still Holborn College) the upper school. In Series 9, the Upper School building was condemned after a fire, allowing production of Grange Hill to fully move to Elstree including studio work. Grange Hill was, at this time, made as an outside broadcast in the same way as its stablemate, EastEnders . New producer Diana Kyle switched filming to a single camera format from 1999, at which time a filmic effect was also added, to the displeasure of some fans. A new school entrance set was unveiled in 1990 and remained in use until 2002, with cosmetic modifications along the way. [11] However, as the 1990s progressed more use was made of real schools including the Nicholas Hawksmoor School and Bushey Meads School , and St Audrey's School in Hatfield. The headmistress of Bushey Meads School was said to be delighted Grange Hill was moving to Liverpool in 2002.

Liverpool years: 2003-2008 Early in 2002 it was announced that Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond had signed a deal for his production company Mersey TV to produce the next three series of the programme. Production moved to Mersey TV's studios in Childwall , Liverpool , from Series 26 onwards and for the first time in many years, the appearance of Grange Hill School itself would change radically. On screen, an explosion ripped through the school at the end of Series 25 and during Series 26, tarpaulins covered most of the new "school" to mask the "fire damage". Phil Redmond originally wanted children from all over the country to participate in the relaunched Grange Hill, having a variety of regional accents in the series as opposed to just the London area voices which had become associated with the programme. In the event new characters were almost exclusively cast from the north west of England due to the logistics of the child employment laws. Real schools in the locality were also used including Croxteth Comprehensive, Holly Lodge Girls' School and St Hilda 's C of E High School in Liverpool.

[12] In 2005, the former Brookside Parade set at Mersey TV was redeveloped to benefit Grange Hill and the new "Creative Learning Centre" has been an integral part of the show since. With the cancellation of Grange Hill, the CLC exterior set has now been turned in to skateboard park set for Grange Hill's stablemate show Hollyoaks while the former Grange Hill school frontage has now become a permanent exterior for Hollyoaks High. Issues covered The programme has covered many controversial storylines ranging from students throwing benches into the swimming pool (1978; as a result of which, following letters of complaint from teachers and parents, the episode was withdrawn from the repeat season), rape (2001), heroin addiction , Asperger syndrome (2001), and attempted suicide (2005), prompting many complaints from viewers. Grange Hill broke new ground by the inclusion of a gay teacher, Mr Brisley, who was in the cast from 1992 to 1999. In 2005, the character Holly Parsons was wrongly heralded as Grange Hill's first deaf character.

While it is true that the actress who plays her, Rebecca-Anne Withey, is the series' first deaf cast member, Grange Hill first featured a deaf character, Eric Wallace, in 1985. During the final series in 2008, Grange Hill cut back on the harder hitting issues and concentrated more on the early years of secondary school. [13] The final series, though concentrating mainly on lighter aspects of school life, still dealt with some social issues; a Year 6 pupil battled with dyslexia while it turned out school bully Chloe Moore had to care for a disabled parent. "The Grange" In 2007 BBC Children's ordered major changes to Grange Hill so that it fitted in with the new requirement that all programmes under the CBBC banner must appeal to an audience age 12 and under - younger than the traditional age group for Grange Hill, which was the same as to slightly younger than the secondary school characters. Under a deal signed in 2005 Lime Pictures was contracted to produce Grange Hill until 2008, so changes began to be made.

For Series 31, Lime Pictures creative director Tony Wood set about the task of meeting CBBC's new requirements. He shifted much of the action away from general school life to "The Grange", the school's multimedia learning centre which was given a radical makeover and became as much a "hang out" as a learning resource. The emphasis was now on younger characters with a group of Year 6 pupils regularly coming to use The Grange from primary school; storylines were much lighter and fantasy sequences were introduced. One episode, "Boarderman", saw a Year 7 pupil become a masked skateboarding superhero campaigning for an end to the school's ban on skateboarding. In another, "Veggin' out", a girl and her classmates smuggled animals from a local petting farm into school, believing they were destined for slaughter. The Observer reported on 13 January 2008 that the BBC's intention was to shift the action away from Grange Hill School and into The Grange completely. [14] Phil Redmond responded in the same article by calling for Grange Hill to be scrapped, saying the programme had been "robbed of its original purpose".

Redmond had been planning a hard-hitting storyline to return Grange Hill to its gritty origins in Series 31, and although he signed off the changes he believed it wasn't his show any more. Cancellation On 6 February 2008, the BBC announced Grange Hill was to be axed after exactly 30 years. The announcement was made by CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist just two days before the show's official 30th birthday. Grange Hill ended on Monday 15 September 2008 with a further return appearance by Todd Carty, in which Tucker persuaded his nephew Togger Johnson not to give up on school like he did. Other than that there would be no spectacular conclusion; characters simply walked out of the school gates after their end-of-term prom, an almost mirror-image of how pupils walked into the school gates in the very first episode. In 2006, the BBC had announced big plans for the show's 30th birthday including special programming on BBC2, possible repeats and a lavish reunion of former stars during 2008.

[15] But in the event, none of these celebrations happened aside from a special Radio 4 programme Grange Hill: Soap Pioneer broadcast on 4 September 2008. The last Grange Hill was watched by 500,000 viewers. Spin-offs The show spawned a successful spin-off 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)". The album was re-released on CD on 12 November 2007, as part of the BBC's 30th Anniversary celebrations. In 2005, Justin Lee Collins reunited some of the cast members from the 1980s in the documentary Bring Back...Grange Hill .

Theme music The theme used for the first 12 years, which returned for the final series of Grange Hill was "Chicken Man" by Alan Hawkshaw , a track from the Themes International music library composed one hour before it was recorded during a session in Munich , Germany . Grange Hill was the first programme to use it as a theme followed by the popular quiz show Give Us a Clue , whose makers wanted it despite it already being played on Grange Hill. The version used by Give Us A Clue was a special arrangement that was significantly different from that used by Grange Hill. The theme was remixed in 1988 and updated along with the opening titles and lasted until 1990, when a brand new theme was specially written for the series by Peter Moss . Moss had previously written some special hip-hop music for a storyline in Series 11 of Grange Hill. His theme tune lasted until 2007, although as the years progressed less and less of it was heard as the opening titles got increasingly shorter, with the final version being no more than about 10–12 seconds long. For the final series, "Chicken Man" was reinstated as the main theme.

The last four notes of the original theme song were heard when Brookside one of Phil Redmond's other TV series, aired its final episode in November 2003. Head teachers There have been many head teachers of Grange Hill over the years; the full list is as follows: Character Cathy Tyson 2007 - 2008 Mr Llewelyn did not appear on screen during the 1980 series. Similarly, Mr McNab was never seen at all during the mid-1990s; the most senior authority figure being Mr Robson who at this point was deputy head. Mrs McClusky, perhaps Grange Hill's best known head teacher, was demoted to deputy head temporarily in 1985 having had to reapply, unsuccessfully, for her post following the merger of Grange Hill with Brookdale and Rodney Bennett. When the new head, Mr Humphries, was killed in a road accident the following year, Mrs McClusky was again acting head and her permanent headship was later confirmed. The final headmistress of Grange Hill was Miss Gayle, introduced as deputy head in the 2007 series although she did not appear in Series 31.

Cast See also: List of Grange Hill characters and List of Grange Hill cast members Books During the 1980s, when Grange Hill merchandising was at its height and the series arguably at its most popular, a number of annuals and novels were published. Eight annuals were published from 1981 to 1988. [16] Comic strip adventures appeared in the short-lived BEEB magazine, which portrayed new stories, and the longer running Fast Forward , magazine which loosely followed the early 90's series. Additional comic strips occurred in School Fun and in the Radio Times . Grange Hill had its own dedicated magazine, but this only lasted two issues, although there was a holiday special too. There were 14 short story books and novels, some of which were written or co-written by series creator Phil Redmond , but which also involved authors such as Robert Leeson and Jan Needle . Below is a full list of Grange Hill short story books and novels: Grange Hill Stories, by Phil Redmond. First published by the BBC in 1979. Short stories. Grange Hill Rules OK?, by Robert Leeson.

Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. The first Grange Hill novel. Grange Hill Goes Wild, by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1980. Novel Grange Hill for Sale by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1981. Novel Tucker and Co., by Phil Redmond. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel Grange Hill Home and Away by Robert Leeson. Published by Fontana Lions in 1982. Novel Great Days at Grange Hill, by Jan Needle. Published by Fontana Lions in 1984. Short stories that form a sort of prequel to Grange Hill Stories. Grange Hill After Hours, by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill Graffiti, by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill on the Run, by Phil Redmond. Published by Magnet in 1986. Novel Grange Hill Heroes, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987.

Novel Grange Hill Rebels, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1987. Novel Grange Hill Partners, by Phil Redmond and David Angus. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel Ziggy's Working Holiday, by Phil Redmond and Margaret Simpson. Published by Magnet in 1988. Novel Video release The first and second series were originally released in VHS video format in the early 1980s. Both videos were edited to remove some storylines and thereby shorten running times, given the duration of early videocassettes. The front of the box for the series 1 video features a cast photograph (and small photos of specific individual characters) from series 3, as some characters pictured therein do not feature in that series. The series 2 videocassette box art features a similarly styled front cover, but with a cast photo from the correct year. These abridged versions of the first two series of the show were also released on Betamax video at around the same time. DVD release Two DVD box sets covering the first four series were released on 12 November 2007.

There are no subtitles, episodes are in full screen and both box sets come with a booklet detailing each episode. Some episodes have been edited to remove pop music tracks that could not be cleared for DVD release, and a film effect that was not present on the original broadcasts has also been applied. There are currently no known plans to release any further series on DVD. References School Corporal Punishment: School Corporal Punishment in Films School Corporal Punishment in Films April 28 2003 at 6:35 PM Roger A useful addition to the archives would be a catalogue of mainstream cinema films which feature school corporal punishment. The Guinea Pig from 1948, starring the twenty-five year old Dickie as a schoolboy, has been mentioned in another thread. Does anyone know of others? Re: School Corporal Punishment in Films April 28 2003, 7:25 PM In Young Winston (1972) the marks from a caning on the Churchill bum by his headmaster are shown in the uncensored version. I cannot remember if the actual beating is seen. The film was directed by dear, dear Dickie.

Re: Re: School Corporal Punishment in Films April 28 2003, 9:54 PM In Melody a.k.a. S.W.A.L.K. (1971) two boys are slippered by their headmaster. The Happy Valley (1989) has some memorable F/f. I think this could qualify as school corporal punishment, for the F is the governess/tutor of the f. Re: Re: Re: School Corporal Punishment in Films April 28 2003, 11:12 PM The brutal  If made in the late sixties and The comic - Bottoms Up! starring Jimmy Edwards in 1960. Re: Re: Re: Re: School Corporal Punishment in Films April 29 2003, 7:34 AM F/f in a school environment is rare.

The Spanking Facts and Research site has Brides of Christ (Australia 1985) April 29 2003, 8:10 AM See the video clip at: (it's on the bottom left of the page) April 29 2003, 7:05 PM I trust that those who have criticised C. Nickel will now feel ashamed. C. Nickel is a great asset to this forum and taking the trouble to provide a link to a rare piece of F/f fladge is just one of the many kindnesses he/she has shown to members. young winston April 30 2003, 9:44 PM You see the school assembled in the library and individual boys called into an adjoining room to be caned on the bare bottom. The one caning of which the viewer gets a glimpse is not in fact the Churchill one but the previous boy. You see him bending over with his trousers down and then the door is closed just as the cane is placed across his buttocks.

The scene is based on Churchill's account in "My Early Life" of his prep school, not named in the book but in fact St George's, Ascot. The headmaster, played in the film by Robert Hardy, was the Rev. Herbert Sneyd-Kynnersley and in real life the instrument used was the birch. Churchill described boys being "flogged until they bled freely". Virginia Woolf's biography of Roger Fry, who was at the school shortly before Churchill (c.1880), gives a much more explicit and rather disgusting account, quoted in Ian Gibson's silly book "The English Vice". From the lines given to Robert Hardy to speak, one deduces that the scriptwriters for the film drew substantially on the Roger Fry account. All in all, I think we can say that Rev. Sneyd-Kynnersley was the sort of headmaster who gave corporal punishment a bad name. Re: Re: british films May 2 2003, 4:27 PM Not cinema but TV, I recall "The School Play" by Frederic Raphael shown some 20 years ago.

It's one of the genre where adult actors play children and features a very formal public school thrashing carried out by a prefect (played by a middle-aged actor - Jeremy Kemp?) on a "boy" (played by an actor in his 20s). The film "Lady Jane" is cited as a good example of F/f CP with the young Lady Jane Grey (H Bonham-Carter) being birched by her mother. I haven't seen it though. "Happy Valley" also has a scene of F/f hand caning in a school setting. There's also an extremely unpleasant and graphic scene where the much-punished heroine is assaulted with a whip by her father. School CP On Television May 2 2003, 7:40 PM I have seen Spare the Rod on television several times, although probably not in the past 30 years. It might pop up on one the dedicated film channels, so it is worth keeping an eye out.

Back in the days of grainy black and white, early 1960s,TV I remember an episode of Dr Finlays Casebook, (ask your Grandparents), where the Doctor visited a girls boarding school and entered a classroom where the school mistress was giving a girl the tawse on her hands. The series was set in Scotland. I also remember a BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre from the same time where the story opened with Jane being caned on her hands at school by Mr Brocklebank, rather than sticking to Charlotte Brontes original. More recently in the 1980s Dennis Potters Singing Detective had a very severe cane-wielding schoolmistress in it. I do not remember any of the pupils being caned, but she walked around the class, cane in hand. From the same period I recall a play where adults played all the childrens parts, I think Colin Welland played one of the roles, and several of the boys and one of the girls were caned at school. From the late 1970s there was the famous Grange Hill caning.

Headmistress Mrs McCluskey, (Bridget the Midget) caned Cathy Hargreaves, on her hand, for playing truant. Not quite school CP but in an episode of the truly awful Nanny series, set in the 19030s staring Wendy Craig, she worked as Nanny in a house where the Governess regularly caned the older girls on their hands. Wendy, of course, came to the rescue and drove her out. Another school CP classic that pops up on TV every now and then is the film Kess, where the Headmaster canes a group of boys. Re: School Corporal Punishment in Films May 2 2003, 8:16 PM 1982 British film 'The Wall' shows state school beatings. Directed by Alan Parker, it includes the memorable anti-authority anthem 'We don't want no education.' The regimented ranks of automaton-like pupils and graphic school beatings depicted would appear to justify the song's repeated call for teachers to 'leave those kids alone'. 1971 British film 'Melody' shows two schoolboys slippered by the headmaster.

It featuring Mark Lester and Jack Wild (who had come to fame together in the Oscar winning musical, 'Oliver') as two London schoolboys. They are each given six of the best with the slipper by the genial tea drinking headmaster for various failings in their schoolwork and chirpy Jack Wild sails through the ordeal with aplomb, having carefully padded his backside beforehand. However, young Mark Lester's attempt to trick the head in the same fashion is discovered, and once the padding has been removed he is given six hard whacks, much to his consternation. 1938 British film 'Housemaster' is set in a public school and features a caning scene right at the beginning when the housemaster of the title, played by Otto Kruger, is seen chastising a pupil. The film is based upon the novel by Ian Hay, first published in 1936. 1969 British film 'Kes' shows a group of boys receiving hand canings. The film includes scenes set in a tough city comprehensive school in the north of England. A group of boys are caned on both hands for smoking.

The line-up includes an innocent first-former who has been sent to the headmaster with a message and is forced by the older boys to secrete their contraband cigarettes and matches in his trouser pockets. When all the assembled boys are told to empty their pockets the pathetic junior, who is too shy to speak up to the overbearing headmaster, is deemed to be an illicit smoker and is caned along with the guilty pupils - much to his distress. 1942 film 'A Yank at Eton' shows Mickey Rooney receiving a prefect's tanning. He plays a rebellious all-American kid who is sent to Eton College for an English public school education. To begin with, Mickey greatly dislikes the famous school, with its peculiar uniforms, arrogant prefects and tedious fagging. Early on in the movie, a practical joke which misfires results in a caning from senior boy Peter Lawford. May 2 2003, 9:44 PM Well done C.Nickel. "Yank at Eton" was not perhaps one of Mickey Rooney's best efforts.

I think it was meant as wartime propaganda - how USA and UK think they don't like each other much, but turn out to be on the same side really, when push comes to shove. Highly allegorical for 1942, you see. Thus, Rooney first appears to the Brits as a vulgar, bragging loudmouth (sound familiar?) but is revealed in the end to be quite a decent chap. He for his part is most reluctant to leave his American school, a smart, ivy-leaf-bedecked establishment called Notre Dame (pron. Nohtre Daym) to be sent to what he imagines - with some justification, one might suppose - to be a nest of arrogant, snobby poofters. But after a few sound thrashings and a few goes at the Eton Wall Game he realises that those goddam Limeys are made of tougher stuff than he realised.

To me the most striking thing about this completely preposterous farrago of nonsense is that, typically I think for film-makers on both sides of the Atlantic in those days, it doesn't seem to have occurred to its originators that 99% of the US audience and 99% of the UK audience would have regarded both these posh schools and their inmates as being on another planet altogether from anything they could possibly relate to. Re: Re: Films and TV May 2 2003, 10:23 PM "Goodbye, Mr Chips" (1939) starred Robert Donat as the eponymous academic. When a pupil calls the masters at the school "a lot of weak-kneed women - they're not in the army because they're not fit to be, or too old, or too frightened. They're getting back on us by being tough and being tyrants," Chips (shown in an enlarged shadow) canes the boy and then lectures: "It didn't amuse me to do that, Burton. Very soon now, you'll be an officer in France. You'll need discipline from your men and to get that you must know what discipline means.

Now you despise the masters here because they're not young enough or strong enough to fight. You might like to know that every one of them has done his best to join the army. We take no man unless he has done that. I'm headmaster now simply because every man fit to be headmaster is fighting in France. I'm a war-time fluke - a temporary officer risen from the ranks. But I'm going to keep Brookfield together til the war's over." Donat won an oscar for his performance - in a year of unprecedented competition (e.g. Clark Gable's Rhett Butler).

Question: Mrs Bridget McCluskey was headmistress of which school on TV for most of the 1980s?
Answer: Grange Hill