Grange Hill’s creator has slammed TV bosses, saying they should take more chances with their storylines, amid rumours that the BBC show could return.
Sir Phil Redmond made the iconic show plus Brookside and Hollyoaks, which all featured controversial storylines.
But Grange Hill was about life in a typical London comprehensive school.
It tackled drugs, teenage pregnancy, racism, HIV and Aids. The most famous one was Zammo McGuire’s (played by heroin addiction, which supported the Just Say No anti-drugs campaign.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “the courage has gone out of broadcasting, and there’s just too much risk aversion.”
He said that soaps should be “more gritty”, arguing that school-aged children face huge problems with social media.
He also teased fans that the iconic show, which ran for 20 years from 1978 to 1998 – could return, saying: “There is a place for something like Grange Hill.”
“From my career, I always found that the harder you made the storyline, the more you upset the regulators.
“But the audience appreciated it more because the audience lives these issues, and what they want to see is their own life put on screen as realistically as possible.”
He added that the problem was TV producers lacked real “life experience” and more should come from working-class backgrounds.
He told Sajid Javid, who guest edits The Today episode podcast, “I think the big issue you’d want to tackle is the impact of social media.
“There’s no counterpoint to that, and that’s what Grange Hill used to offer.
“It didn’t matter what the issue was… Grange Hill would always offer some solution or some way to go and ask somebody about this issue, but at the end of it, it’s basically, you’re not on your own.”
He was supported by Ofcom Chairman Sir Michael Grade, who said, “This was an amazing show.
“It changed television in more ways than I think people realise.
“Prior to Grange Hill, life was (like the world of children’s author) Enid Blyton, gentle comedy, there was (school comedy) Please Sir! on ITV, which was brilliant, but very gentle, it didn’t really deal with the angst of growing up.”
