That was how my father used to describe the characters on Grange Hill, now to be axed. And he was right, of course. The BBC wants to know people's memories of Grange Hill. Mine is of the programme, along with others aimed at the same age group, that set the agenda now followed by the soaps, not only in making teenagers the main characters (increasingly the case on Coronation Street), but also in depicting extreme violence and sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, gangsterism, and daily screeching matches as the mainstays of ordinary life in general and ordinary working-class life in particular.
EastEnders, above all, is now set in the Sixties, with Krayalikes, Mrs Mops, few or no Asians, few or no black characters except first generation immigrants with West Indian accents, everyone using the launderette, and (as in all the soaps) a quite extraordinary amount of time spent in the pub. Still, we should be pleased that these really are proper pubs, even if Coronation Street does depict an entire factory-full of machinists having a big, boozy lunch in one every day before heading back to work for the afternoon.
We all know about the actors, but someone should also look into how many writers and production staff from teenage drama series have gone on to work for the soaps. Rather a lot, I suspect.
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What the most inaccurate thing about Grange Hill to me was the lack of swearing. Lots of swearing at my schools (both primary and secondary) with me included amongst the culprits.
ReplyDeleteIt was good training for working in kitchens, the prison service and the shipping company I worked for. Come to think of it there was a bit of swearing in the supermarket I worked in a as well.
Drugswise, well at school towards the end some people smoked dope. As a non-smoker I did not participate I might add.
We used to think that the non-swearing on these things was hilarious, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, at my comp, with its overwhelmingly C2DE catchment area, we had an expulsion and a couple of suspensions for cannabis when I was in the Sixth Form, and that was it. I realise that Grange Hill was set in London, but even so.
That was me. I'm famous. For drugs. Oh dear.
ReplyDeleteWell, you are now.
ReplyDeleteI should add that yours was only one of the suspensions, not the expulsion; and that another of the suspendees went on to teach there, as you know especially well...
How did you still get into Oxford after that, by the way?
I got back into school because I was Oxford bound. Otherwise I think we were all headed for the chop. They couldn't expel a glowing statistic like me. Athough had they have done, they'd have saved Oxford and me a whole lot of bother, what with all those rustication hearings and sending down appeals. In the end I jumped despite being pushed. They begrudgingly gave me a degree "to be conferred upon [me] at an anonymous time in the future" I still haven't graduated. We should meet up. I'll e-mail you.
ReplyDeleteThat still doesn't explain how Oxford ever let you in.
ReplyDeleteYes, we really must meet up.