Ant and Dec tease PJ and Duncan cameo as they announce Byker Grove reboot
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have announced that they will be producing a reboot of the teen drama which made them famous – Byker Grove.
The presenting duo shared a video on Twitter, telling fans they had “exciting news” and that 17 years after the show came off air, they would be rebooting the nineties TV classic “for a whole new audience”.
The Byker Grove cast celebrating their 10-year anniversary in 1998
McPartlin and Donnelly – who famously played PJ and Duncan in the original series – will be executive producers and creative consultants on the reboot, which will be called simply Byker.
Like the original show, Byker will be filmed and produced in and around Newcastle and the North East, and the duo will also integrate their Prince’s Trust Making It In Media course into the production.
The presenters said they “owe a lot” to “the very special show… which gave us our breaks,” adding “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”.
They said they would be bringing a “fresh incarnation to a whole new generation”, and that the drama would follow a new group of young people and their families “as they try to navigate the challenges they face today in the 2020s”.
Ant and Dec went on to say they were “buzzing” after talking about characters and storylines, joking about what PJ and Duncan could be doing right now (PJ is performing at Wembley Stadium with his platinum selling rap album apparently).
Teasing the possibility of a cameo, when PJ and Duncan could “pop into The Grove”, they seemed to suggest it was unlikely, adding: “I wouldn’t have thought so.”
Byker is in development with Fulwell 73 – which has previously produced shows including Friends: The Reunion, The Kardashians, Bros: After The Screaming Stops – and also with Mitre Studios who produce Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Byker Grove , which was created by Coronation Street writer Adele Rose, and Andrea Wonfor – who commissioned shows including The Word, Eurotrash, and The Big Breakfast – first aired on ITV on 8 November, 1989.
While popular with the young people it was created for, some parents criticised the show for tackling some more serious and controversial storylines, previously avoided in children’s TV.
Several characters died in car accidents on the show, and McPartlin’s character PJ was blinded during a paintballing session gone wrong.
Byker Grove also famously showed the first gay kiss on children’s TV in 1994 – the same year as Channel 4 soap Brookside had their own same-sex kiss – attracting multiple complaints from viewers and a fair amount of negative press at the time.
A staple of British television throughout the Nineties and Noughties, it ran for 18 series, finally ending in 2006.
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As well as giving Ant and Dec their start in TV, Byker Grove also launched the careers of Donna Air, Jill Halfpenny and Andrew Hayden-Smith.
A release date has yet to be announced for Byker, which will air on the BBC.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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