Ant & Dec fans were gutted when the presenting duo announced earlier this year that Saturday Night Takeaway would be ‘taking a break’ next year. With that series rested (who knows how long for) it was assumed that the pair would be focusing on their other projects, such as I’m A Celebrity, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.
On Tuesday, July 4 it was announced that Ant & Dec would be producing a reboot of the series in which they first made a name for themselves. Yes, Byker Grove is returning to screens.
The upcoming series will have the new name Byker and is in development with Fulwell 73 and Mitre Studios. Are you excited for the show to return? Let us know in the comments.
Byker Grove debuted on our television screens back in November 1989 and was a mainstay and childhood favourite for those growing up until it was axed in December 2006. For 17 years, the show was notable for breaking boundaries such as screening the first ever gay kiss on a British children's show, along with hard-hitting topics such as child abuse, drug addiction and homelessness. Here we take a look at what's happened to the stars of Byker Grove...
Ant McPartlin & Declan Donnelly
One of the lasting legacies of the show, of course, has been the two faces that seem to be always on our TV screens - the presenting super duo Ant & Dec. In Byker Grove, PJ was played by Ant, and Duncan by Dec.
Along the way, the duo pursued a glittering pop career, with three top 10 hits among more than a dozen chart singles between 1993 and 1997, and reached number 3 with We're On The Ball in 2002. The duo also branched out into presenting when they got their own show imaginatively titled The Ant & Dec Show. This was followed by a switch to ITV and saw them hosting SM:TV Live with Cat Deeley, primarily between 1998 and 2001, which gave us classic segments such as Challenge Ant, Eat My Goal, Wonky Donkey and the Friends-inspired Chums. The duo then presented Pop Idol for two series from 2001 until 2002.
The year 2002 was a big one for the duo when, in June, they started presenting their own primetime show - Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. Also, in August of that year, they hosted the first series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and continue to do so today, along with Britain's Got Talent - the duo are clearly doing something right.
Along the way, the duo saw more chart success when they finally hit the number 1 spot after a performance of Let's Get Ready To Rhumble on Saturday Night Takeaway in 2013 - almost 20 years after it reached number 9 on its initial release.
The personal lives of the duo have taken different paths over the years from Ant's divorce from his first wife Lisa Armstrong to his run-in with the law in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to drunk driving and subsequent rehab. He's now happily married to second wife Anne-Marie Corbett. Dec married Ali Astall in 2015 and they have two children together.
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny played Nicola Dobson, one-third of the Dobson family who attended the youth club, and was a central part of the show in the early years.
Since leaving the show in 1992, Jill has appeared in various roles - her most notable including as Rebecca Hopkins in Coronation Street, Kate Mitchell in EastEnders, Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road, and she also won Strictly Come Dancing's second series in 2004 with professional dancer Darren Bennett. She has also appeared in In The Club, Humans, Dark Money and both The Drowning and The Holiday.
Her personal life has also seen many ups and downs. In 2007, Jill married fellow actor Craig Conway, although the couple divorced in 2010 after having one child together in 2008.
Since then, the actress has remained private about her love life but opened up about her grief in 2019 following the death of her partner Matt, who sadly passed away after suffering a heart attack at the gym in 2017.
Lyndyann Barrass
While not a household name, one look at Lyndyann and you remember exactly who she played in the show. Yes, Lyndyann played the youth club stalwart Spuggie.
Spuggie was in the series from the beginning until the sixth series and, while not seen on TV much since leaving the show, she has appeared on stage in local amateur productions of Annie Get Your Gun and High Society.
In 1999, the Sunderland-based star married husband Allan and had two kids with him before their split in 2012.
She told the Mirror in 2014: "I'm a newly single parent with kids. I work in a bank call centre four mornings a week when the kids are in school."
Lyndyann was one of the contestants on a Child Stars special of the BBC quiz show Pointless Celebrities back in February 2021.
Billy Fane
Another actor synonymous with Byker Grove is Billy Fane who played Geoff Keegan and was an integral part of the series until his character was killed in a gas explosion in 2000.
He went on to star in the iconic film Billy Elliot as Mr Braithwaite, who plays the piano at Billy's ballet lessons. Billy also appeared in many pantomimes as well as in ITV drama Heartbeat.
His latest TV appearances include Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in 2014 and The Last Leg in 2020.
Donna Air
Donna Air played Charlie Charlton from 1992 until 1995 and, during her time on the show, formed the band Byker Groove with co-stars Jayni Hoy and Vicky Taylor. They didn't set the chart alight with their number 48 hit Love Your Sexy, and Taylor left before the remaining duo became Crush who recorded one album, Teenage Kicks, in 1996, which featured the singles Jellyhead and Luv'd Up.
Just like Ant & Dec before her, Donna then hosted TV shows like The Big Breakfast and MTV’s Total Request Live. In 2017, the mother-of-one appeared on ITV's Dancing On Ice and also appeared in the second series of The Split in 2020.
Donna's personal life has seen her date James Middleton, brother of the new Princess of Wales in 2013 eventually splitting in 2018.
Nicola Bell
Nicola Bell played Debbie Dobson whose big storyline was that she unintentionally caused PJ, played by Ant McPartlin, to go blind in 1993 in a revenge prank that went awry.
After starring in an episode of Kavanagh QC in 1995, and Paradise Grove in 2003, she decided to stop pursuing her acting career and became a flight attendant for Virgin Atlantic.
However, she later changed careers yet again and is now a make-up artist.
The mum-of-four often takes to social media to share gorgeous selfies, beautiful make-up looks, and sweet family moments.
Charlie Hunnam
Wait - was Jax Teller of Sons Of Anarchy fame really starred in Byker Grove? Yes, none other than Charlie Hunnam appeared in three episodes as Jason Chuckle.
Since appearing in the show, Charlie went on to worldwide success with appearances in Russell T Davies’s Queer As Folk and the aforementioned Sons Of Anarchy. He was also signed up to portray Christian Grey in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades Of Grey but had to leave the project due to conflicting schedules with his Sons Of Anarchy role.
He recently starred in 2019's The Gentlemen and this year's Last Looks.
Andrew Hayden-Smith
Andrew Hayden-Smith played Byker Grove bad boy Ben Carter from 1996 until 2003 when his character was ultimately killed off. Since appearing on the show, Andrew has carved out a TV career from presenting CBBC to many appearances on numerous shows.
Hayden-Smith has enjoyed roles on Doctor Who to Russell T Davies' Cucumber and, more recently, as DS Gavin Armstrong in Hollyoaks in 2016.
