Star of BBC 70s series sparks rumours show could return 16 years after finale – but fans beg ‘please don’t do a remake!’
ONE star of the iconic BBC 70s series has sparked rumours that the show could return 16 years after the finale.
Before the likes of Waterloo Road made it onto the airwaves, millions of fans tuned into Grange Hill.
The BBC One drama started in 1978 and it portrayed life in in a typical comprehensive school.
After 30 years on-screens the long-running drama was axed and the finale was watched by only 500,000 viewers.
Now Michelle Gayle, 53, has hinted that the drama could come back to the airwaves.
The actress played Fiona Wilson between 1988 and 1989 and was famous as one half of the rap duo, Fresh ‘n’ Fly.
She took to social media as she revealed that she was taking to the BBC airwaves to speak about the cancelled TV drama.
In her selfie, the former EastEnders actress gave a smouldering look towards the camera as she stunned in a floral print bodycon dress before her Radio 4 interview.
Her post on X – formerly known as Twitter – read: “On the way to @BBCr4today to discuss Grange Hill. Should we bring it back?”
Although some thought it was a good idea, many fans were firmly in the camp to not bring the show back as a reboot.
Instead, the concerned nostalgia enthusiasts would rather old instalments be shown as re-runs instead.
One user stated: “No leave it where it is show old episodes.”
A second exclaimed: “Absolutely not! Leave it alone so that fans of the programme can remember it as it was without its memory being damaged.”
“Don’t do a remake, just rerun the originals,” wrote a third fan.
While a fourth commented: “As much as i loved it when you were all in it just wouldn’t be the same now.”
Someone else remarked: “No.Was off it’s time and like most remakes would be a disappointment.”
The head teachers of Grange Hill
Who are the actors who played the head of the infamous school? And when were their tenures?
- Denys Hawthorne – Mr E. Starling – 1978
- Sean Arnold – Mr Llewellyn – 1979 – 1980
- Gwyneth Powell – Mrs Bridget McClusky – 1981 – 1984, 1986 – 1991
- Dennis Edwards – Mr C. J. Humphries – 1985 – 1986
- Jenny Howe – Mrs Angela Keele – 1992 – 1994
- No actor – Mr Alistair H. McNab – 1995 – 1997
- Stuart Organ – Mr Peter Robson – 1998 – 2003
- Jacqueline Boatswain – Mrs S. Bassinger – 2004 – 2007
- Cathy Tyson – Miss Gayle – 2007 – 2008
As a sixth posted: “To bring it back you would have to be responsible about it and the themes in it you would be writing a grange hill in a very dystopian world.
Adding: “It would be extremely polarising making a modern Grange Hill.”