Byker Grove (1989-2006)

Created by: Adele Rose, Andrea Wonfor

When Byker Grove appeared on our TV screens back in 1989 us youngsters were hooked! Beamed from the CBBC broom cupboard on Tuesdays and Thursdays it was aimed at older teenagers and young adults. It was set in Newcastle, England and centred on the kids that would got to the Youth Club Byker Grove and their rivals Denton Burn. This show was awesome and tackled some controversial subjects such as drug addiction, sexuality, child abuse, homelessness, teen pregnancy and abortion. The series was gritty and didnt shy away from anything even death. It was the show that introduced us to Ant and Dec when they were just PJ and Duncan, and also helped launch the careers of lots more of its young stars such as; Andrew Hayden-Smith, Jill Halfpenny and Donna Air. It was great, anyone not from Newcastle would try to master the accent, the funky theme tune was fab and who can forget youth club leader Geoff Keegan and the fabulous Spuggie!! Just brilliant, it lasted until 2006 but apparently went downhill towards the end, but I still have so many fond memories of this series and wish they would release the early years out on DVD!