Byker Grove facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Byker Grove
Genre	Teen drama
Created by	Adele Rose Andrea Wonfor
Developed by	BBC Zenith Entertainment
Directed by	Various
Starring	Various
Theme music composer	Kane Gang Simon Etchell
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	18
No. of episodes	344
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andrea Wonfor (1989–90) Ian Squires (1990–92) Ivan Rendall (1992–95) Matthew Robinson (1995–97)
Producer(s)	Matthew Robinson (1989–95) Helen Gregory (1995–97) Stephen McAteer (1997–99) Morag Bain (1999–01) Edward Pugh (2002–05) Tim Holloway (2006)
Production location(s)	Newcastle upon Tyne
Running time	25 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC One (1989–2006)
Picture format	4:3 (1989–2000) (2001–2006)
Original release	8 November 1989 (1989-11-08) – 10 December 2006 (2006-12-10)

Byker Grove was a popular British TV show for teenagers. It was a teen drama series that aired on BBC One as part of CBBC. The show ran for many years, from 1989 to 2006. It was created by Adele Rose and Andrea Wonfor. Byker Grove was known for telling stories about real-life issues that teenagers face. It was usually shown after Newsround.

About the Storylines

Byker Grove was made for older kids and teenagers. It explored many different topics that young people might experience. Most of the show happened at the youth club. But sometimes it showed characters at a foster home run by Lou Gallagher. She was a very important character in the show for a long time.

The show often showed that life can be tough. Sometimes, unexpected things happened to the characters. For example, a character named Flora got very sick. Another character, Greg, had an accident that changed his life. The youth leader, Geoff Keegan, also had a sad accident after being on the show for 11 years.

In the first three series, the main story was about Julie Warner. She was a teenager from London who moved to Newcastle. The show followed her as she tried to fit in. It also showed her friendship with Martin "Gill" Gillespie. In the very last episode, the characters found out they were part of a TV show. They worked together to change the ending. This way, their youth club, the Grove, could stay open forever.

Until Series 10 (1998), the rival youth club was called Denton Burn. Later, in Series 13 (2001), the rival group was known as the Denwell Burners. This name came from mixing two real places in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Music from Byker Grove

Many musical groups and singers became famous because of Byker Grove. Here are some of them:

• Michelle Charles – She released songs like "The Best Thing in My Life."
• PJ & Duncan — These two became very well-known as Ant & Dec. They had hit songs like "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble."
• Byker Grooove – This was a girl band from the show. It included Donna Air (who played Charlie) and Jayni Hoy (who played Leah). This group later became a duo called Crush. They had popular songs like "Jellyhead." "Jellyhead" even charted in Australia and the United States.
• Summer Matthews – Also known as Emma Miller, she released a song called "Little Miss Perfect."
• Point Break – This was a boyband with Brett Adams and David Oliver. They played Noddy and Marcus in the show. They released songs like "Freakytime."

Other bands also had connections to Byker Grove:

• Freefaller – This band included a member from Point Break.
• Kane Gang – They wrote the original theme music for the show.

Meet the Characters of Byker Grove

Youth Club Staff

Over the years, many different people worked at the Grove youth club. Here is a list of the main staff members you saw on the show:

Youth Club Members

This is a list of characters who were members of the Grove youth club from 1989 to 2006. If a last name isn't listed, it means it wasn't mentioned in the show.

• Indicates character was still in the show when it finished.

+ In the books that went with the series, Duncan's last name was MacDonald until 1992. But in the show, his first appearance (Series 1, Episode 3) said his last name was Sperring.

Parents and Families

Even though most of the show happened at the Grove, we also saw the home lives of many characters. Some families stayed on the show for many years. The house next to the Grove was home to the Dobson family (1990–93). After them came the Turnbulls (1993–97), and then the Watsons (1998–2000). Other families that were on the show for a long time included the O'Hagans and the Carters. Also, many children lived at Lou Gallagher's foster home.

Images for kids

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  The Mitre, also known as Benwell Towers, was used as the show's offices and the youth club building.