I was at secondary school when Grange Hill was at its peak in the early eighties. The episode with the sadistic games teacher who knocks kids around I could identify with as I had a games teacher just like that for the first two years. Bullying, yes been on the receiving end of that for a couple of years so could identify with Roland Browning while despising the school bully Gripper Stebson, the show's most evil character ever, who became a racist thug in series six( yes we had a few National Front types in my school as well). Also we had our equivalents of lovable rogues like Tucker Jenkins and a mixture of authoritarian teachers like Mr Keating and wet liberals like Mr Sutcliffe( I had an English teacher just like him).
You see Grange Hill worked so well and was so popular with teenagers because it reflected real life. Also fair play to the BBC for sticking with it as it was nearly cancelled in 1979 for being too controversial, and the show entertained generations of kids and curious adults for another 28 years. Nothing like it has never been made since.
You see Grange Hill worked so well and was so popular with teenagers because it reflected real life. Also fair play to the BBC for sticking with it as it was nearly cancelled in 1979 for being too controversial, and the show entertained generations of kids and curious adults for another 28 years. Nothing like it has never been made since.