Ant and Dec announced the revival of Byker Grove over two decades after the show last appeared on our televisions.
The original BBC series aired from 1989 to 2006 and explored the lives of youngsters in the North East, including Andrew Hayden-Smith’s character, Ben Carter.
The Hollyoaks star, 39, talked on the day the revival, simply titled Byker, was unveiled, and he was as taken aback as everyone else.
‘It was totally unexpected,’ Andrew confessed. ‘I’ve always wondered whether we’d ever see the old series displayed again since I get a lot of mails asking for it and you can’t locate it anywhere, which is unusual. But that was a total shock.’
In 1996, the Cucumber star joined Byker Grove for its seventh season as ladies’ man Ben, who climbed from youth club member to leader before being ran over and murdered.
He recalled: ‘I was there for seven series and then had sort of outgrown the show and I’d stayed for so long that I sort of began working as a youth leader at the youth club just in the show and then I got killed off.’
But despite Ben’s demise, Andrew hasn’t ruled out a return to Byker, explaining: ‘I would love to be involved in the reboot, obviously, would have to be a new character, maybe? I don’t know.’
The Doctor Who actor joked he could have a ‘Dallas: JR Returns’ limit, referencing the Dallas spin-off film which revealed that the gunshot fired at JR (Larry Hagman), who had been presumed dead, was at the mirror and not himself.
‘I would have to be – I don’t know, a parent or a youth leader – to be involved, I guess. But yeah, I’d be totally up for that,’ he added.
Along with a cameo from Ant and Dec, Andrew would like to see North Shield popstar Sam Fender, 29, join the cast, emphasising the North East’s richness of talent.
The original drama, aimed at young adults, addressed difficult topics such as drug addiction, child abuse, homelessness, teen pregnancy, and abortion.
Byker Grove also featured the first homosexual kiss on UK children’s television in a lovely moment in which Noddy (Brett Adams) kissed his pal Gary (George Trotter) at the back of a cinema.
Andrew, who came out as homosexual at the age of 21 in 2005, reminisced on the shocked reaction to the kiss and expressed optimism that the relaunch will contain a plethora of LGBTQ+ themes.
He said: ‘The gay kiss at the time caused uproar and it was really innocent peck on the cheek. Everyone remembers the scene in the cinema with Noddy and Gary.
‘I would hope that the new series would definitely have some LGBTQ+ storylines. And I’m sure they will tackle them very sensitively. It will be interesting to see how they’re gonna do it.’
Ant, who co-played best friends PJ and Duncan with Dec, previewed what’s to come in Byker, which is now in development.
He said: ‘Already talking characters and storylines has us all buzzing at the possibilities ahead.
‘We are looking forward to delivering this fresh iteration to a whole new generation as well as those who remember it as warmly as we do,’ Dec said.
‘As proud Geordies, we’re looking forward to 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.’
Source My Celebrity Life.
