Grange Hill started FORTY years ago this month (how did we get so old?). So we've tracked down some of the key stars of the show, to find out what they've been doing since they graduated from the BBC's iconic school programme.
Get ready for a reunion with Tucker, Zammo, Suzanne Ross and the rest of the gang, below...
1. Todd Carty – Tucker
Todd Carty's Tucker Jenkins was so central to Grange Hill's early success, he was given his own spin-off after graduating from the show. Tucker's Luck ran for three years, from 1983 to 1985. In 1990, Carty joined the cast of EastEnders as Mark Fowler.
He stayed on the show for 13 years, before completing the British soap institution hattrick by appearing on The Bill as a series regular.
He also provided us with one of Dancing on Ice's most iconic moments:
2. Susan Tully – Suzanne
Susan Tully's anti-authoritarian Suzanne Ross was one of the most popular Grange Hill students, particularly among fans. Tully left the cast to join the original EastEnders line-up in 1985, staying on the soap for a decade. After leaving Albert Square in 1995, Susan stepped behind the camera, becoming a successful TV director, most recently working on BBC One's The Musketeers and Sky Atlantic's Britannia.
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3. Erkan Mustafa – Roland
Erkan played Roland Browning on the show for six years, transforming the bullied teenager into an iconic character, whose journey proved inspirational for Grange Hill's core audience. After leaving the show, Erkan appeared as a series regular on Lenny Henry's sitcom Chef in the early '90s.
Mustafa still makes occasional appearances on television, on shows such as Soccer AM and Celebrity Juice, and has recently found work for entertainment site ME1TV, conducting interviews for their YouTube channel.
4. Sean Maguire – Tegs
Between 1988 and 1992, Maguire appeared on Grange Hill as Terence "Tegs" Ratcliffe. In 1993, Maguire appeared on The Bill, and joined the cast of EastEnders, playing series regular Aidan Brosnan. Maguire has also maintained a career in the States, appearing in CSI: NY, JJ Abrams's spy show Undercovers, Criminal Minds and, most recently, Once Upon a Time as Robin of Locksley.
5. Amanda Mealing – Tracey
Mealing has worked fairly constantly since making her debut in Series 3 of Grange Hill. Despite only appearing in that one series of the show, Mealing's Tracey Edwards is fondly remembered by fans. She's stayed in the public eye thanks mainly to her series-regular role as Connie Beauchamp on Holby City (2004–2010). The character also frequently appears in sister show Casualty.
6. Lee Macdonald – Zammo
Macdonald was central to arguably the most iconic plotline in the history of the show – Zammo Maguire's struggles with heroin addiction. After a six-year run on the show, Macdonald left Grange Hill, made one-off appearances on shows such as Birds of a Feather and The Bill, as well as appearing in a TV adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Macdonald currently runs a key-cutting business in Surrey.
7. John Alford – Robbie
Alford played Robbie Wright between 1985 and 1991, a character central to the show thanks to his friendship with George Christopher's Ziggy Greaves and his romance with Simone Hyams' Calley Donnington. Alford's highest profile post-Grange Hill role came in 1993, when he signed on to portray fireman Billy Ray on ITV's London's Burning, a part he played for five years.
Alford was written out of the show when he fell victim to News of the World undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, who caught Alford in a drugs sting. In 2014, Alford took part in a Panorama expose focusing on Mahmood's methods. (In October 2016, Mahmood was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.)
8. Simone Hyams – Calley
Hyams is still probably best known for her portrayal of Caroline "Calley" Donnington on Grange Hill from 1985 to 1991. Small parts in The Bill, Baywatch and the 1993 Michael Winner film Dirty Weekend followed. Hyams embarked on a brief relationship with Winner, selling her story to the tabloids shortly after they broke up. She went on to work as a corporate events manager for Richard Branson's Virgin Group before vanishing from the spotlight.
9. Mark Burdis – Stewpot
Burdis played Christopher "Stewpot" Stewart on Grange Hill from 1981 to 1985. Like so many other Hill alumni, Burdis went on to appear in The Bill and Eastenders, in addition to roles in Only Fools & Horses, Operation Good Guys and A Touch of Frost. Burdis currently works as a ring announcer in the boxing industry, but you might also remember him from the AA's "Kev and Bev" adverts with Olivia Colman.
10. Ricky Simmonds – Ant Jones
Ant Jones lasted just one term at Grange Hill, but made a big impression on fans. Partly because of his rebellious nature, possibly because of his preposterous haircut, Ant became a bit of a heartthrob.
Interestingly, Simmonds didn't carry on his acting career after Grange Hill, pursuing his true passion, music, instead. He's had a successful career in that arena, founding acclaimed online label AudioJelly. Simmonds is currently a Ministry of Sound resident tour DJ, and pioneered MoS' Deep House compilations.
11. John Holmes – Luke 'Gonch' Gardener
Luke 'Gonch' Gardener was known for his money-making schemes, so it's perhaps appropriate that the actor playing him decided against a career in the arts, with John Holmes instead deciding to pursue a life of… money-making schemes. Yep, Holmes is currently the manager of a casino. Gonch would be proud.
12. Clare and Julie Buckfield – Natasha and Natalie Stevens
Twins Natasha and Natalie Stevens' mistaken identity antics will be long-remembered by Grange Hill addicts. Appropriately, the pair were only at Grange Hill for two series. but both went on to remain in the public eye. Julie played Julie Matthews in Hollyoaks and also appeared in The Bill, Pie in the Sky, London's Burning, Expert Witness, Casualty and Holby City. Meanwhile, Clare played Jenny Porter in 2point4children, before appearing in Dangerfield, Doctors and Holby City. In 2007, Clare gained second place in the second series of the hit ITV show Dancing on Ice.
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Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
