'Grange Hill' creator bringing it back as movie after years of saying 'no'

Watch: Grange Hill creator confirms movie plans

Grange Hill’s creator Sir Phil Redmond has confirmed that the hit TV series is coming back as a movie.

The planned film about pupils at the London school is already in the pipeline and Redmond has suggested he’d like to see some of the original cast members as parents or even grandparents.

The producer and screenwriter told BBC Breakfast that he has been asked about resurrecting the series almost every day for the last 15 years, and that the time is right.

Read more: How Grange Hill changed TV

He said: “I’ve been saying no for about 15 years but it's kind of the thing that won’t go away.

“It’s this thing that’s been following me around. Nearly every single day someone will say to me, why don’t you bring it back, do something?”

Redmond said during the last couple of years, through the COVID lockdowns, there have been a lot of references to the show.

One was Shirley Manson from Garbage saying it actually helped save her life when she was young. And then someone put the Grange Hill theme tune to a Beyonce video.

“It just keeps coming round and round and round and in the end I gave in,” said the writer.

Grange Hill started in 1978 and aired until 2008.

The series about life in a London comprehensive launched the careers of several TV stars, including Todd Carty, who played Peter 'Tucker' Jenkins, Susan Tully, who starred as Suzanne Ross, and Lee MacDonald, who played Zammo.

Read more: Knighthood for creator of Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks

Zammo had one of the biggest storylines in the school’s history when he became addicted to drugs. It led to the cast recording a song called ‘Just Say No!’ in 1986.

As well as drugs, the programme was known for tackling issues like racism, teen pregnancy and HIV during its 30-year-run.