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91-592: Grange Hill is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school . 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 on 15 September 2008 after 31 series. It was created by Phil Redmond , who is also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks ; other notable production team members down

182-461: A Clue used a less dynamic custom arrangement more in keeping with the style of light entertainment programming. 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. From 1978 to 1993, the end music would change length and notes occasionally depending on how many actors were in the episode and

273-480: A block on Animax , known as "Nick Time") and Cartoon Network (Cartoon Network's age demographic is moving towards older viewers with shows such as Hello Kitty , Regular Show and Adventure Time ) One of the most well-known children's TV programmes comes from Iceland, LazyTown , was created by Magnus Scheving , European Gymnastics Champion and CEO of Lazytown Entertainment . The show has aired in over 180 countries, been dubbed into more than 32 languages and

364-560: A cable, satellite, streaming, or internet subscription to view them on first airing." In the United States, there are three major commercial cable networks dedicated to children's television. All three also operate secondary services with specialized scopes drawing upon their respective libraries, such as a focus on specific demographics, or a focus upon classic programming that fall within their scope and demographics; all three have also extensively franchised their brands outside

455-534: A custom-made background that either shows the Grange Hill logo, or it would be related to the intro used during the time. 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

546-724: A few exceptions, perhaps the best-known being the Power Rangers franchise). Typically, programs are either 'for boys' or 'for girls'. The teen demographic targets viewers 12 to 18 years of age. Live-action series that target this demographic are more dramatic and developed, including teen dramas and teen sitcoms . In some cases, they may contain more mature content that is usually not permissible on shows targeting younger viewers, and can include some profanity or suggestive dialogue. Educational programming targeted at this demographic has historically been rare, other than on NASA TV 's education block. However, some programming aimed at

637-481: A fight when Tucker said her mother Alex was dead. The show spawned a spin-off called Tucker's Luck (1983–1985), which ran for three series starring 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

728-453: A more colourful sequence was introduced, showing pupils interacting with the logo itself. This was due to Grange Hill being broadcast in widescreen for the first time, the opening theme had been cut slightly shorter for the first time since 1990. Only used for Series 26 (2003), the titles once again changed, this was to reflect on the move to Liverpool as the previous titles featured shots of the old school building (based In Elstree), once again

819-501: A musical play titled Tucker's Return based on the series was staged at Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch . Starring Todd Carty who, as Tucker, now returned to Grange Hill as a PE teacher, it also featured several stars of the show both from Tucker's original run, and of the then-current series circa 1989. In 2005, Justin Lee Collins reunited some of the cast members from the 1980s in the documentary Bring Back...Grange Hill . From

910-666: A new opera for the Met and ENO, writing the libretto and directing the production. He was honoured with the naming of The Anthony Minghella Theatre at the Quay Arts Centre ( Isle of Wight ). He made an appearance in the 2007 film Atonement as a television host interviewing the novelist central to the story. His last work was the screenplay of the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Nine (1982); Arthur Kopit (book) and Maury Yeston (score). It

1001-550: 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

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1092-454: A number of children's channels under the Pop and Tiny Pop brands. British versions of Cartoon Network and its sister channels Boomerang and Cartoonito also operate in the country, some 25 years after the initial launch. Ireland has one dedicated children's TV service RTÉjr . Since 1998 RTÉ2 has provided children's programming from 07:00 to 17:30 each weekday, originally titled The Den ,

1183-518: A pilot episode television adaptation which he co-wrote and directed, was broadcast posthumously on BBC One (23 March 2008); watched by 6.3 million viewers. He vocally supported I Know I'm Not Alone , a film of musician Michael Franti 's peacemaking excursions into Iraq , Palestine and Israel . He directed a party election broadcast for the Labour Party in 2005. The short film depicted Tony Blair and Gordon Brown working together and

1274-609: A possible career as a musician, with Minghella playing keyboards with local bands Earthlight and Dancer. The latter recorded an album titled Tales of the Riverbank in 1972, although it was not released until 2001. He attended the University of Hull , studying drama. As an undergraduate he had arrived at university with an EMI contract for the band, in which he sang and played keyboards; while at university he wrote words and music for an adaptation of Gabriel Josipovici 's Mobius

1365-480: A return of the original theme music. Series 31 returned to BBC1 after the 2007 series was shown exclusively on the CBBC Channel . In 2019, Redmond spoke about possibly reviving the show and dealing with current social issues. 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. There was silence on the project for 15 years, until it

1456-442: Is an area of St. Helens, Merseyside , where Redmond once lived. 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

1547-523: Is based on the film 8½ . He shared credit with Michael Tolkin on the screenplay. The department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading , opened in 2012, was named in his honour. Minghella met his first wife, Yvonne Miller, when they were students. They had one daughter, Hannah. Minghella and Miller eventually divorced. In 1985 Minghella married Hong Kong–born choreographer and dancer Carolyn Jane Choa. They had one son, Max . Minghella's younger brother, Dominic Minghella ,

1638-475: Is generally credited with being the first TV programme specifically for children. Some authors posit television for children tended to originate from similar programs on radio. For example, the BBC's Children's Hour was launched as a radio broadcast in 1922, with BBC School Radio commencing live broadcasts in 1924. In the early 1930s, radio adventure serials such as Little Orphan Annie began to emerge in

1729-414: Is generally more overtly educational. In a number of cases, such shows are produced in consultation with educators and child psychologists in an effort to teach age-appropriate lessons (the series Sesame Street pioneered this approach when it debuted in 1969). A format that has increased in popularity since the 1990s is the " pseudo-interactive " program, in which the action of the show stops and breaks

1820-592: Is mainly to entertain or educate children, with each series targeting a certain age of child: some are aimed at infants and toddlers, some are aimed at those aged 6 to 11 years old, and others are aimed at all children. Children's television is nearly as old as television itself. In the United Kingdom, the BBC 's For the Children was first broadcast in 1946, and in English-speaking circles,

1911-463: Is the creator of the television series Robin Hood and Doc Martin . His sister, Loretta Minghella , is Master of Clare College, Cambridge . Minghella was a fan of Portsmouth F.C. , and appeared in the Channel 4 documentary, Hallowed Be Thy Game . His home had two double bedrooms dedicated to the display of Portsmouth memorabilia dating back to the club's founding in 1898. Minghella died of

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2002-635: Is the most expensive children's show of all time. In 1995, Cartoon Network became the first children's channel to be launched in India. Subsequently, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon arrived. Hungama TV (2004) was the first children's channel that had local content. Pogo and BabyTV came later in 2006. By 2018, 23 channels have aired in India. Nickelodeon was the first children's channel in Romania, launched in December 1998. Afterwards, Minimax became

2093-513: The Cartoon Network , Disney Channel , Disney Junior , Disney XD , and Nickelodeon brands. WildBrain operates Family Channel , as well as the spin-off services WildBrainTV and Family Jr. it has been majority owned and operated by British Columbia's public broadcaster Knowledge Network . In French, Corus operates Télétoon and La chaîne Disney , WildBrain operates Télémagino (a French version of Family Jr.), TVA Group operates

2184-733: The English National Opera (London, 2005), then at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (Vilnius, March 2006) and at the Metropolitan Opera (New York City, September 2006). The latter was transmitted live into cinemas worldwide (7 March 2009) as part of the Met's HD series and is now available on DVD. The ENO work was to have led to other operatic projects, directing again at English National Opera and collaborating with Osvaldo Golijov on

2275-614: The FCC mandates. (The rule for digital subchannels was repealed in July 2019; in practice, most still carry educational programs anyway.) In 2017, there was a programming block that aired on syndication called KidsClick ; it was notable as a concerted effort to program children's shows on television without regard to their educational content, one of the first such efforts since the E/I rule took effect. The transition to digital television has allowed for

2366-487: The West End . Radio success followed with a Giles Cooper Award for the radio drama Cigarettes and Chocolate first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. It was revived on 3 May 2008 as a tribute to its author director following his death. His production starred Juliet Stevenson , Bill Nighy and Jenny Howe. His first radio play Hang Up , starring Anton Lesser and Juliet Stevenson, was revived on 10 May 2008 as part of

2457-405: The fourth wall to give a young viewer the opportunity to answer a question or dilemma put forth on the show, with the action continuing as if the viewer answered correctly. Shows that target the demographic of persons 6 to 11 years old focus primarily on entertainment and can range from comedic cartoons to action series. Most children's television series targeting this age range are animated (with

2548-552: The 1950s. His parents were Edoardo Minghella (an Italian immigrant) and Leeds-born Gloria Alberta (née Arcari). His mother's ancestors originally came from Valvori , a small village in southern Lazio , Italy. He was one of five children, his sisters Gioia Minghella-Giddens, Edana Minghella and Loretta Minghella , and a brother Dominic Minghella who also became a screenwriter and producer. Minghella attended St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ryde, Sandown Grammar School, and St John's College, Portsmouth . Early interests suggested

2639-453: 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 up to and including Series 7 in 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

2730-569: The 1990s Grange Hill was repeated in full on digital satellite and cable channel UK Gold , which broadcast the late 1970s and early 80s episodes of the show. In 1998, it reappeared on sister channel UK Gold Classics , which was a digital-only channel showing programmes previously aired on UK Gold, and Grange Hill was part of its schedule. The channel lasted only six months, however, before becoming UK Gold 2 in April 1999. Interest in Grange Hill

2821-689: The 1990s, more children's television series such as Barney & Friends , Blue's Clues , SpongeBob SquarePants , Bear in the Big Blue House , and The Big Comfy Couch were created. A voluminous range of children's television programming now exists in the 2020s. Notable successes outside the US include shows like Play School , Noggin the Nog , Clangers , Bagpuss , Teletubbies , Thunderbirds , Danger Mouse , Count Duckula , Mr. Men and Thomas & Friends originating from

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2912-759: The BBC Radio 4 Minghella season. Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), a feature drama written and directed for the BBC's Screen Two anthology strand, bypassed TV broadcast and instead had a cinema release. He turned down an offer to direct another Inspector Morse to do the project, even though he believed that the Morse episode would have been a much higher-profile ll assignment. The English Patient (1996) brought him two Academy Awards nominations, Best Director (which he won) and Adapted Screenplay . He also received an Adapted Screenplay nomination for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ,

3003-404: The BBC runs CBBC as well as the preschool-oriented CBeebies , while ITV runs CITV as well as the preschool-oriented LittleBe , as a programming block on ITVBe . Both channels were spun off from children's television strands on their respective flagship channels ( BBC One , BBC Two , and ITV ). The BBC and ITV have largely phased out children's programming from their main channels to focus on

3094-548: The Stripper (1975) . Minghella graduated after three years and stayed on to pursue a PhD. He also taught at the university for several years, on Samuel Beckett and on the medieval theatre . Ultimately, he abandoned his pursuit of a PhD to work for the BBC . Minghella's debut work was a stage adaptation of Gabriel Josipovici's Mobius the Stripper (1975) and it was his Whale Music (1985) that brought him notice. His double bill of Samuel Beckett's Play and Happy Days

3185-455: The UK, Paw Patrol from Canada, Le Manege Enchantè from France, The Singing Ringing Tree from Germany, and Marine Boy and Pokémon from Japan. Canadian studio Nelvana is a particularly prolific producer of children's programming. Much of Nelvana's product is broadcast worldwide, especially in the US, where the similarities in dialect do not require any dubbing or localization. In

3276-471: The United States and became a staple of children's afternoon radio listening. Early children's shows included Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947), Howdy Doody , and Captain Kangaroo . Another show, Ding Dong School , aired from 1952 to 1965. Its creator and host, Frances Horwich , would sit in front of the camera and simulate small talk with the viewing audience at home, demonstrating basic skills for

3367-445: The United States, early children's television was often co-opted as a platform to market products and it rarely contained any educational elements (for instance, The Magic Clown , a popular early children's program, was primarily an advertisement for Bonomo's Turkish taffy .) In the early years of television, advertising to children posed a dilemma as most children have no disposable income of their own. As such, children's television

3458-458: The United States. Under current mandates, all broadcast television stations in the United States must show a minimum of three hours per week of educational children's programming , regardless of format. Until 2019, this rule also applied to digital subchannels ; as a result, digital multicast networks whose formats should not fit children's programming, such as Live Well Network and TheCoolTV , were required to carry educational programs to fit

3549-467: The Universe , the 1980s saw a dramatic rise in television programs featuring characters of whom toy characters were being sold to retail consumers in bricks and mortar stores, underscoring the value potential of manufacturing merchandise for fans of children's programs. This practice remains firmly embedded in the broadcast sector's business case broadly in the 2020s. Commercial-free children television

3640-412: The camera. This practice lives on in contemporary children's broadcasting as a genre in of itself, with Australia's ongoing program Play School one example. At one time, a program called Winky Dink and You took a more interactive approach, prompting its viewers to affix a clear vinyl sheet to their television and draw pictures to match what was going on on-screen. This format did not persist, nor

3731-572: The cultural similarities between Canada and the US, along with film credits and subsidies available from the Canadian government, a large number of animated children's series have been made in Canada with the intention of exporting them to the United States. Such programs carry a prominent Government of Canada wordmark in their closing credits. The BBC and ITV plc both operate children's oriented television networks on digital terrestrial television:

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3822-498: The debut of whole subchannels that air children's programming 24/7; examples include BabyFirst , PBS Kids , Smile , and Universal Kids . The country's only directly nationally operated TV service for public consumption, NASA TV , also includes educational programs in its schedule for use in schools. English-language children's specialty channels in Canada are primarily owned by Corus Entertainment and WildBrain . Corus operates YTV and Treehouse , as well as localized versions of

3913-633: The dedicated services; in 2012, as part of the "Delivering Quality First" initiative, the BBC announced that it would end the broadcast of CBBC programmes on BBC One following the completion of the transition to digital terrestrial television, citing low viewership in comparison to broadcasts of the programmes on the CBBC channel. Channel 5 also broadcasts a preschool-oriented block known as Milkshake! , while its owner, Paramount Networks International , also runs versions of Nickelodeon and its sister networks Nicktoons and Nick Jr. Narrative Capital operate

4004-534: The demographic has had some tangential educational value in regard to social issues, such as the now-defunct TNBC block of sitcoms, which often tackled issues such as underage drinking or drug use. According to at least one journalist, for years, Broadcast Standards and Practices departments of networks, Parental Guidelines , and campaigns by social conservatives limited "efforts to make kids animation more inclusive." One former executive of Disney, David Levine, said that "a lot of conservative opinion" drove what

4095-481: 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; however, almost all new characters were exclusively cast from

4186-478: The final series, an abbreviated edit of the original version of "Chicken Man" was reinstated as the main theme, and, for the final time, the titles had changed once again for cartoon pupils and staff experiencing topics discussed in older series' of Grange Hill. 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

4277-464: The first Romanian children's channel to air locally produced content, launched on Children's Day in 2001. Since then, channels like BabyTV and Disney Channel have arrived. Children's channels that exist in Turkey are Cartoon Network , TRT Çocuk , MinikaÇOCUK , Minika GO and Zarok TV . Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella , CBE (6 January 1954 – 18 March 2008)

4368-537: The gang" and hated being accorded 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, in celebration of the programme's 15th anniversary, the first fifteen series of Grange Hill were repeated during Children's BBC's Sunday (and later, Saturday) morning slots on BBC1 and BBC2. The repeats ended with Series 16 in 1999. In

4459-986: The highest number of LGBTQ characters they ever recorded up to that point. In 2017, some said that LGBTQ+ characters in animated television were somewhat rare, despite the fact that GLAAD praised the number of characters in broadcast and primetime television. From 2017 to 2019, Insider noted that there was a "more than 200% spike in queer and gender-minority characters in children's animated TV shows." In 2018 and 2019, GLAAD stated that Amazon , Hulu , and Netflix, had increased LGBTQ representation in "daytime kids and family television." In their January 2021 report, GLAAD praised LGBTQ representation in episodes of DuckTales , The Owl House and Adventure Time: Distant Lands . Despite this, some industry practitioners state that more than 90% of LGBTQ characters in kid's animated shows within Insider 's database of characters in children's animated television shows "require either

4550-410: The mood/theme of the episode. For example, a longer version of the end music would be used if more actors played a role or if the episode focused on a serious tone. From 1978 to 1984, the ending credits would be on a plain background in either black or blue. From 1985 to 1989, the ending credits would play over various shots of the episode it showed. From 1990 to 2008, the ending credits would be on

4641-513: The networks turned to affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks. On September 27, 2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, Vortexx , ended and was replaced the following week by the syndicated One Magnificent Morning on The CW . Children's television series can target a wide variety of key demographics based on age and gender. Few television networks target infants and toddlers under two years of age. Preschool-oriented programming

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4732-467: 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

4823-700: The preschool-oriented Yoopa , and Bell Media runs the teen-oriented Vrak . Via its majority-owned subsidiary Telelatino , Corus also operates two children and family-oriented networks in Spanish and Italian, TeleNiños and Telebimbi respectively. On broadcast television and satellite to cable undertakings, children's television content is relegated to the country's public and designated provincial educational broadcasters, including CBC Television and Ici Radio-Canada Télé , as well as City Saskatchewan , CTV Two Alberta (formerly Access), Knowledge Network , Télé-Québec , TFO , and TVOntario ( TVOKids ). Aided by

4914-399: 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

5005-423: 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. 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

5096-414: The same media attention that it had 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

5187-625: The same way as its stablemate, EastEnders . New producer Diana Kyle switched filming to a single camera format from 1999 onwards. In 1990, Neptune House was replaced with a different building on the same site. This building 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. Early in 2002, it

5278-422: The school (1985–89) Gonch took part in many moneymaking schemes, most of which were 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

5369-439: 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

5460-440: 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

5551-762: The service was renamed TRTÉ and RTÉjr in 2010. Irish-language service TG4 provide two strands of children's programming Cúla 4 Na nÓg and Cúla 4 during the day. Commercial broadcaster TV3 broadcast a children's strand called Gimme 3 from 1998 to 1999. And then broadcast a new strand called 3Kids . Children's channels that exist in Australia are ABC Family , ABC Kids , and its spin-off CBeebies , Nickelodeon and its spin-off Nick Jr. , and Cartoon Network and its spin-off Boomerang . Children's channels that exist in Japan are NHK Educational TV , Kids Station , Disney Channel , Disney XD , Nickelodeon (also under

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5642-570: The short-lived BEEB magazine, which portrayed new stories, and the longer running Fast forward magazine which loosely followed the early 90s series, drawn by Nigel Parkinson . 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 and a holiday special. Children%27s television series The purpose of these shows, aside from profit,

5733-545: The show's official 30th birthday. Grange Hill ended on Monday 15 September 2008. 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 , hosted by fan and comedian Robin Ince , broadcast on 4 September 2008. The last episode of Grange Hill

5824-490: The show. After Grange Hill ended in 2008, the CLC exterior set has now been turned into a skateboard park set for Hollyoaks while the former Grange Hill school frontage has become a permanent exterior for Hollyoaks High. 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

5915-464: The start of the series in Series 1 (1978) to Series 10 (1987), the title sequence was in a comic book style and used " Chicken Man " by Alan Hawkshaw as the theme tune. From Series 11 (1988) to Series 12 (1989), a new title sequence was introduced, now using still images of certain topics, along with an updated recording of Chicken Man. From Series 13 (1990) to Series 16 (1993), a new title sequence

6006-459: The start, the series sparked controversy over its realistic, gritty portrayal of school life , which differed from the idealised portrayals of earlier school dramas . Redmond has said that he was not fully 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 certain elements down. Grange Hill' s highest-profile period

6097-455: The time of its original broadcast the practice was still legal both directly and indirectly the use of corporal punishment as a form of maintaining discipline (corpal punishment was banned in all state schools in the United Kingdom in 1987). The series was originally to have 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). Grange Park

6188-453: The titles & the theme tune had been shortened down. From Series 27 (2004) to Series 30 (2007), the titles changed once again. These were in the style of a video game, and the Moss theme tune had been edited down to around 12 seconds by this point. This was the first time since 1989 that live action footage was not used. For the 30th anniversary in Series 31 (2008), and what turned out to be

6279-439: The traditional age group for Grange Hill , which was the same as or 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",

6370-536: 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. In 1985, production shifted to the former ATV studios in Borehamwood , Hertfordshire . The BBC had purchased the studio complex

6461-446: 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. Grange Hill returned on 14 April 2008 with its final series, including

6552-579: The years have included producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella . The show was cancelled in 2008, having run every year for 30 years. It was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course. The drama was centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the equally fictitious North London borough of Northam. As well as dealing with school-related issues such as bullying , learning difficulties , teacher-pupil relationships and conflicts, Grange Hill "broke new ground over

6643-440: The years, with the kind of hard-hitting storylines not usually seen in children's dramas", such as racism , drugs (e.g. Zammo McGuire's heroin addiction , LSD ), teenage pregnancy , HIV/AIDS , homosexuality , knife crime , homelessness , rape/sexual assault , mental illness (e.g. bipolar disorder ), divorce , cancer (e.g. leukaemia ), gun crime , child abuse , alcoholism and death . The early years also saw as at

6734-691: Was Kingsbury High School in North West London , which was used as the Grange Hill setting for the first two series. For series 3 (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

6825-611: Was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and Cold Mountain (2003), and produced Iris (2001). He received the Academy Award for Best Director for The English Patient . In addition, he received three more Academy Award nominations; he

6916-551: Was announced in January 2022 that Redmond had written the script and was looking to start casting. 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. Location external and some interior scenes in Grange Hill were originally filmed at real schools in London. The first of these

7007-465: 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 some years the appearance of Grange Hill School itself would change radically. On screen an explosion ripped through the school at

7098-688: Was criticised for being insincere: "The Anthony Minghella party political broadcast last year was full of body language fibs", said Peter Collett, a psychologist at the University of Oxford . "When you are talking to me, I'll give you my full attention only if I think you are very high status or if I love you. On that party political broadcast, they are staring at each other like lovers. It is completely false." With Samuel Beckett's 100th birthday celebrations, he returned to radio on BBC Radio 3 with Eyes Down Looking (2006), with: Jude Law , Juliet Stevenson and David Threlfall . An operatic directorial debut came with Puccini 's Madama Butterfly . Premiered at

7189-420: Was depicted on Cartoon Network , Disney Channel , and other alike channels. Some argued that cable television, which began to pick up in the 1990s, "opened the door for more representation" even though various levels of approvals remained. Through the 2000s', advocacy group GLAAD repeatedly highlighted the lack of LGBT representation in children's programming in particular. Two years later, they recorded

7280-487: Was first introduced with Sesame Street on PBS in November 1969. It was produced by what is now known as Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop, known as CTW). In the United States, Saturday mornings were generally scheduled with cartoons from the 1960s to 1980s. In 1992, teen comedies and a "Today" show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC. Starting in September 2002,

7371-622: Was his directorial debut and debut feature film as a director was A Little Like Drowning (1978). During the 1980s, he worked in television, starting as a runner on Magpie before moving into script editing the children's drama series Grange Hill for the BBC and later writing The StoryTeller series for Jim Henson . He wrote several episodes of the ITV detective drama Inspector Morse and an episode of long-running ITV drama Boon . Made in Bangkok (1986) found mainstream success in

7462-420: Was introduced which showed pupils and staff travelling into school in a slightly grainy CCTV style. This was accompanied by a new, more contemporary-sounding theme written for the series by Peter Moss. From Series 17 (1994) to Series 23 (2000), new titles were introduced showing pupils taking part various school subjects such as music, chemistry, PE and Food Technology. From Series 24 (2001) to Series 25 (2002),

7553-529: Was it replicated, due to a number of factors unrelated to its popularity: children whose parents did not buy them the vinyl sheet would draw with crayons directly on the television screen itself, potentially causing expensive damage; there were also concerns that having children within arm's length of a television screen of the era could expose them to harmful radiation. Later and more recognisably modern shows for young children include Sesame Street , The Electric Company and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . In

7644-413: 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. 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

7735-578: Was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for both The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley , and was posthumously nominated for Best Picture for The Reader (2008), as a producer. Minghella was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight . His family are well known on the island, where they ran a café in Ryde until the 1980s and have run an eponymous business making and selling Italian-style ice cream since

7826-603: Was not a particularly high priority for the networks. This practice continued in a toned-down manner through the 1980s in the United States after the Federal Communications Commission prohibited tie-in advertising on broadcast television. These regulations did not apply to cable, which remains out of the reach of the FCC's content regulations. Due in part to the success of He-Man and the Masters of

7917-455: Was re-released on CD on 12 November 2007, as part of the BBC's 30th Anniversary celebrations. On New Year's Day 1988, a documentary titled Behind The Scenes...At Grange Hill aired, presented by Lee MacDonald . The documentary featured: auditions, rehearsals and filming for series 11 , the child actors' opinions on being tutored and chaperoned and what impact being in Grange Hill had on their schooling, as well as dealing with fame. In 1989,

8008-556: Was 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 had been killed after slipping and falling out of

8099-430: 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

8190-522: Was undoubtedly the mid- to 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. Among the show's other favourite characters during this period were Gonch and Hollo, played by John Holmes (also credited as John McMahon) and Bradley Sheppard. During his time at

8281-544: 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

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