Grange hill

[George 1978]

Grange Hill's Jackie's application to transfer to Saint Trinian's:

I believe that Rachel "Justine" Roberts did the same after she left (she seemed to be stereotyped as such women) - Paula Ann "Claire" Bland or whatever she was called certainly did for Penthouse.

It does make me think of the St Trinian's connection - schoolgirls and all that... Why do they do that, I wonder???? The acting work drying up, post GH, and the fact that they just happen to be female?

[George 1978]

Looking on the BNA website, I found something from the Sunday People in September 1979 about Michael Percival leaving Grange Hill - apparently, he mentioned that he left because he started to feel the same stress that real-life teachers did when they were in that job, and he said that he had felt more like a teacher than an actor, and so he left as a result, although I assume that the 1979 series had finished earlier on in that year and that it was mentioned that Percival was to leave. It mentioned that he had even broke up a fight on the London Underground between two youngsters, almost feeling as if he was in character as Tony Mitchell.

I believe that as he was previously a bit-part actor, only appearing on screen from five to ten seconds at a time, he wasn't used to appearing as a regular character as he did in Grange Hill (my local newspaper's TV guide for Wednesday 8th February 1978 even mentioned Percival in a "starring" role - unusual for someone with mostly bit-parts to their name), and the concern of being the same character for a long period time had made him decide to leave. Again, he returned to bit-part acting throughout the 1980s until the supporting role of Dexter in The Piglet Files in 1990. I know that he did some adverts in the early 1980s from what I have seen on YT: a beer advert in 1980 and a Kenco coffee advert in 1982.

Ever since I came across him on the 1993 Sunday morning repeats, I was intrigued as to what other work Michael Percival has done, and ironically, around this time, he was at the Nottingham Theatre Royal in a play that was going around the country. Great actor - sadly missed.

[Victoria O'Keefe]

Grange Hill's Jackie's application to transfer to Saint Trinian's:

[silverbirch]

I read that Patsy Palmer spent two years on Grange Hill..... you would nt know it , she must have just
been there to make up the numbers !

[vindo]

Gripper Stebson lol

[duffer]

Cathy Hargreaves and Penny Cartwright

[Semi42]

I always liked Gonch, he was a good actor at the time but apparently gave it up to run a casino

[George 1978]

I was on the Kaleidoscope website and saw an LWT ad break from 1980 - I saw an old beer ad with Michael Percival on there, acting very differently to his Mitchell character. I have always wondered what Percival did acting-wise between 1980 and 1982 after he left GH and got a cameo in the BBC snooker comedy-drama Give us a Break in 1983 as the IMDB shows nothing from 1979 to 1983. I assumed that he was in the theatre most of that time or did uncredited work like adverts. If he had stayed with GH in 1980, I bet that he wouldn't have been able to do that advert. I know that he made a cameo in a Kenco advert in around 1982.

Ever since I saw the Sunday morning GH repeats in 1993 I took to the Mr Mitchell character and wondered what other acting work he had one.

[CharlieBrown]

We used to get the Grange Hill kids (Zammo and a couple of girls I can't remember) to open our school fetes. Think it was the church pulilng strings. Lol

[George 1978]

I was thinking about one character who seemed to have stayed in the series longer than anyone else in the first decade: the school secretary Janet.

She seemed to be an official character, being credited at the end of the appropriate episodes that she appeared in, possibly credited as "Janet" or "(school) secretary", and was credited as "Stella Haime" in series 1 and 2, and "Stella Monsell" in series 3 and 4, who I believe was the same person although the IMDB lists them separately - I believe that as they both shared the same name, they were the same person, and then she stops being credited after that. Even at this point by 1981 she is the only adult staff member to still appear in GH who was first seen in series 1 - a runner-up would have been Graham Ashley, although his sad death in November 1979 meant that he was no longer alive to appear as Garfield the Caretaker and was replaced by Timothy Bateson's Thomson (both named after Cartoon cats, methinks - think of the 1980s Thomson Local Directory adverts!) Ashley didn't even live long enough to see his final GH appearances.

However, after series 4, someone called "Janet" is still McClusky's secretary, speaking to her on the telephone from her office in series 5 (the Roland Browning storyline in the first two episodes), and a woman who depicts her is sometimes seen, although no longer speaks, so therefore she is not credited, and is probably a bit like Llewellyn the Headmaster in series 3 - still there when he isn't, if you know what I mean. I suppose that she looked almost like the Madge Allsopp to McClusky's Dame Edna Everage!

Janet remains McClusky's secretary into the early Zammo Maguire era, and is still referred to when the Headmistress is close to her or the secretary's office although is no longer credited, such as Gripper's suspension in series 6, Suzanne Ross having enough and doing a bunk in series 7, etc. She even makes it past the merger and is still mentioned in the episode of series 9 where Imelda is suspended for cutting up the corners of the timetables to extort money from the first year girls, and also Ant Jones kissing in the school playground, being caught by Bronson. Bridget still refers to Janet in that episode. It's worth noting that in five of those nine episodes - (more than half), there was another Janet in the cast - Janet St Clair, although she was after the other Janet was credited - perhaps that was why the secretary was no longer credited, so as to avoid confusion with Roland's busybody?

Janet seems to be finally mentioned in series 9, and in series 10 a new secretary called Jenny is now working for McClusky - she is credited when she had lines in Imelda's expulsion episode "I can bug her if you like", she says to Kennedy about McClusky being undisturbed while having a meeting with Chairman Governor Glover. In her uncredited series, the silent actress does look like the same one who appeared during the Tucker era, and I would give the benefit of the doubt that it is the same person as well as the same character all those years.

I have come to the conclusion that if Janet the school secretary has been implicated in ever series from 1978 to 1986, then that would have made her become the last surviving character who had previously and possibly continuously appeared in every series since the first series, even if several actresses had played her over the years. Even Baxter was the closest to equalling that but had only joined in series 2. I wonder what other people think about this? Does the school secretary have the accolade for being the last surviving character, staff or pupil from back in 1978?

[George 1978]

Any Grange Hill superfans out there who can help me track down this episode?


A schoolboy is in a flat with an adult woman (probably a teacher but it might have been a parent) and the parent/teacher makes the boy a drink (and may have served it with some food). She puts something in the drink to make him fall asleep.

I can't remember any of the cast/characters but I would have seen it on TV around 1985-1992, so it's probably an episode from the seventies up to the late eighties.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Could that be a Dramarama episode?

[samlikespizza]

Any Grange Hill superfans out there who can help me track down this episode?


A schoolboy is in a flat with an adult woman (probably a teacher but it might have been a parent) and the parent/teacher makes the boy a drink (and may have served it with some food). She puts something in the drink to make him fall asleep.

I can't remember any of the cast/characters but I would have seen it on TV around 1985-1992, so it's probably an episode from the seventies up to the late eighties.

Does any of this sound familiar?

[Moonraker]

I got 9 and 10 for Christmas. I have watched the first 12 episodes of series 9. There hasn't been any music edits so far that I can detect. A scene with Fay and Julie, you can hear Pet Shop Boys West End Girls playing in the background. Theres a few other scenes where there is music playing too. Not sure how many more I will buy after this (I have Series 1-10 now), as I feel Grange Hill went downhill after Zammo, Roland etc left, and I stopped watching it in the early 90's (I'm 50 this year so I was getting into my twenties at this point). But it's great to hear they are planning on releasing two series a year, as this is going to great for the younger people who were at school or watched it at that time.

I left school in 1987, and bullying was present in the school I went to (I was subjected to it on occasions). Think of me as Roland and you have a good idea as to why I was bullied. But back then, it was punished more severely when the teachers were made aware of it. Now, nothing seems to be done and its all softly softly now. A friend of mine, her son was bullied at school (talking only a few years back) and she was at her whits end as the school were worse than useless at addressing it. Despite her saying to the school that the bully in question should be expelled, nothing happened.

In the end, she got here kid transferred to another school, which thankfully her son didn't get bullied at. The bully in question remained at the other school. Shocking way the schools handle bullies, and it should not be the case where the kid who is getting bullied, needs to get transferred.

Sad to here about the bullying. A nice letter addressed to the headteacher saying something in the lines of 'if the bullying does not stop then my child will beat the hell out of the bully.' Believe me, action would be taken instantly.

[Fatboy]

Did anybody else get the 1986/1987 Series (Series 9 and 10) for Xmas? I have and I have it on good authority they shall be making 2 Series (Combined) avaliable a year for DVD Release, every Oct/Nov so all being well this Oct/Nov is Series 11 and 12. So for me we are getting to to the era (as have had Series 8) that i liked the best from 85 to 91

Thankfully too there are no "musical edits" I also have on top authority as I have not watched mine yet - which is epic news for it belongs to that era and i love hearing old and odd unusual music from that era like Sonic Boom Boy by Westworld that even to this day i have only seen on 1 80s CD (though the other songs did'nt justify buying it)

Though of course I condem bullying -I sincerley hope tooo - that things like Imelda's cutting of Vince's tie and Hollo's badge being ripped off his Blazer Pocket by her and Trev "loaning" Vince's Tie and responding after Vince said "where shall i meet you Trev" and Trev say's "what do I want to meet you for" and Vince replies 2to get my Tie back" to which Trev lastly replies "who said anything about giving it back"

All this was wrong admitted but the rough Schools I went to - showed this in real life as Real Life and thankfully going to such places made me better for seeing how evil Kids could be, but these storylines in my opinion have to remain and be told as part of that era/as it was part of that era, rightly or wrongly

80sChav

I got 9 and 10 for Christmas. I have watched the first 12 episodes of series 9. There hasn't been any music edits so far that I can detect. A scene with Fay and Julie, you can hear Pet Shop Boys West End Girls playing in the background. Theres a few other scenes where there is music playing too. Not sure how many more I will buy after this (I have Series 1-10 now), as I feel Grange Hill went downhill after Zammo, Roland etc left, and I stopped watching it in the early 90's (I'm 50 this year so I was getting into my twenties at this point). But it's great to hear they are planning on releasing two series a year, as this is going to great for the younger people who were at school or watched it at that time.

I left school in 1987, and bullying was present in the school I went to (I was subjected to it on occasions). Think of me as Roland and you have a good idea as to why I was bullied. But back then, it was punished more severely when the teachers were made aware of it. Now, nothing seems to be done and its all softly softly now. A friend of mine, her son was bullied at school (talking only a few years back) and she was at her whits end as the school were worse than useless at addressing it. Despite her saying to the school that the bully in question should be expelled, nothing happened.

In the end, she got here kid transferred to another school, which thankfully her son didn't get bullied at. The bully in question remained at the other school. Shocking way the schools handle bullies, and it should not be the case where the kid who is getting bullied, needs to get transferred.

[80sChav]

Re: Grange hill

I hope it's ok to add it here (as opposed to a new thread) in the "Gone but not forgotten" category, but Chris Co6kerill (I'm hoping to avoid the system saying it is a rude word etc) who played Andy (Togger's mate as in Togger who was Tucker's Nephew and Andy was also Abel's mate) from Series 26 to 31 in the final 5 years in Liverpool

Sadly it is un-known why or how o/and of what, that Chris passed of but I have it from a reliable GH Group Sauce on Facebook and regardless of Chris being of the newer generation, it is another actor of a very young generation along with Jamie Lehane, Joanne Kenny, and Laura Sadler who have passed away too too young

RIP Chris Co^kerill