•The first episode broadcast on Wednesday 8th February 1978, audience of 9 million at its peak.
•Tucker Jenkins, aka Todd Carty, became the first heart-throb who wasn't a pop star.
•"He's a nut job","Flippin' Eck Tucker!" were national catchphrases.
•Every week BBC received sackloads of letters from youngsters wanting to appear in Grange Hill. It still does!
•But parents were positively shocked and the BBC was inundated with complaints. A branch of the Womens' Institute in Somerset called for Grange Hill to be banned. Some of the cast were even withdrawn by their parents.
•It wasn't until Series 2, and a change to a twice-weekly format, that Phil Redmond fulfilled his desire to make Grange Hill an issue-led show. This was what the young audience wanted; to the parents Grange Hill was a bad influence. The canteen desktop protest caused particular fury and even led to a debate in Parliament.
•Phil Redmond had to "agreed" future series would be toned down - or there would be no further series.
•Other issues covered in the series, such as dyslexia, were praised.
•As the late 80s moved into the 1990s, society’s views changed but Grange Hill maintained its notoriety, uncovering more taboo subjects.
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