Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin found fame as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove, which started on BBC1 in 1989
TV series Byker Grove is to make a comeback – produced by former stars Ant and Dec.
The children’s series – set in Newcastle – aired on the BBC from 1989 to 2006 and focused on the lives of youngsters who attended the youth club of the same name.
It saw Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly find fame as PJ and Duncan.
The pair, who will be executive producers on the reboot, said they were “beyond excited”.
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The programme – to be simply called Byker – will be aimed “at a primetime audience” and “engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today”, production company Fulwell 73 said.
It has not been announced if the show – which also launched the careers of Donna Air, Jill Halfpenny and Andrew Hayden-Smith – will be broadcast on the BBC or when filming will begin.
The original filming location of “The Grove” was Benwell Towers in Newcastle
Donnelly said it would “help shine a spotlight on the North East and the talent the region has to offer both in front of the camera and behind it”.
“Byker Grove will always be very special to us as the show which gave us our break, so we are beyond excited,” he added.
“We are looking forward to bringing this fresh incarnation to a whole new generation as well as those who remember it as fondly as we do.”
The original filming location of the youth club was Benwell Towers in Newcastle.
Byker Grove – the facts
- Created by Andrea Wonfor and Adele Rose, who was a writer on Coronation Street
- First episode shown on 8 November 1989
- Set in Newcastle, and with accents rarely heard on television, it was an instant hit
- Theme tune written by Kane Gang
- Lasted for 18 series, ending in 2006
- Launched the careers of Ant and Dec, Jill Halfpenny, Andrew Hayden-Smith and Donna Air among others
McPartlin – whose character PJ famously was accidentally blinded during a paintball fight in one episode – added the pair “owe such a lot to Byker Grove and the North East so we can’t wait to start working to bring this iconic series back to life”.
“Already talking characters and storylines has us all buzzing at the possibilities ahead,” he added.
The series will be made by North East-based Fulwell 73 – which was behind Friends: The Reunion, The Kardashians and Gavin and Stacey: Christmas Special – along with Ant and Dec’s Mitre Studios, which produced Saturday Night Takeaway.
It will be filmed across Newcastle and Sunderland as part of both companies’ commitment to their home region and local production offices.
McPartlin and Donnelly will also integrate their Prince’s Trust Making It In Media course into the production to help give experience to young people in the region.
Image source, Getty Images
Ant and Dec will act as executive producers on the rebooted series
The Saturday evening TV show was just one of a number fronted by the pair, including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Britain’s Got Talent.
The pair – who have won the National Television Awards best TV presenter category every year since 2001 – moved into primetime after working on children’s TV shows such as the Ant and Dec Show and SM:TV Live, prompted by their appearances on Byker Grove.
As part of one storyline on the drama their alter egos PJ and Duncan performed a song, which led them in real life into the world of music.
They recorded two albums in their characters’ names and over four years had 14 Top 20 hits, with the most famous – Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble – nominated for a Brit Award.
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