As Ant and Dec announce Byker Grove reboot we look at the biggest stars from the cast

Nineties kids will be over the moon to hear that Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have announced they will be bringing back the teen drama Byker Grove for a new generation of fans. And we couldn’t be more excited. 

Byker Grove was a drama series about a group of young people who frequent the Byker Grove Youth Centre in Newcastle. It first aired in 1989 until 2006 and was the TV series that launched Ant and Dec’s career as they played the roles of PJ and Duncan along with many other celebrities. 

In a video shared on their social media the presenting duo said : “The very exciting news is that 17 years after it closed its doors for the final time, Byker Grove is opening them up again."

“It's obviously a show very close to our hearts, the show which gave us our breaks, so we couldn't be more excited that we'll be giving it a new lease of life."

The founders of Mitre studios Ant and Dec have teamed up with production company Fulwell 73. They  explained that bringing the show back means they will be able to provide the opportunity to train and employ talent from the north east in front of and behind the camera. 

The Biggest stars of Byker Grove 

Ant & Dec (PJ and Duncan)  - Of course, we all know that since leaving the show Ant and Dec - aside from their failed music career - have carved out a very successful career as TV presenters. The pair are Britain's most loved TV presenters winning the National Television Award for Best TV Presenter for 21 years straight. 

Jill Halfpenny (Nicola) - Actress Jill was just 13 when she starred in the 90s TV series. After leaving Byker Grove Jill became a household name after featuring in the soaps ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘EastEnders’. She also starred in the BBC hit TV programme ‘Waterloo Road’ and then went on to have a career in the West End shows 'Chicago’ and ‘Legally Blonde’. 

Donna Air (Charlie) - For everyone above the age of 30 Donna Air was one of the ‘It Girl’s’ of the nineties. After a failed music career Donna went on to present shows on MTV and is now a fashion influencer. She famously dated Kate Middleton’s brother James Middleton for five years. Donna revived her acting career in 2020 after starring in BBC One series ‘The Split’. 

Denise Welch (Polly) - Proud Geordie Denise featured in several episodes and is now a regular on the panel of Loose Women. She was also married to fellow Geordie actor Tim Healy and they had son Matty Healy who is the lead singer of the 1975 and recently dated Taylor Swift.

Charlie Hunnam (Jason)  - OK, this one nearly slipped through the net but one of the ‘Sons of Anarchy’ first acting roles was appearing as Jason in Byker Grove. He went on to have success in the noughties TV series ‘Queer as Folk’ and the film ‘Green Street’ but it was the role as ‘Jackson ‘Jax' Teller’ in the US TV drama series ‘Sons of Anarchy 'that propelled him into super stardom. The series ended in 2014 and he has gone on to star in blockbuster films ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ and ‘The Gentleman’. 

Andrew Hayden-Smith (Ben) - Swoon! Andrew, who played bad boy Ben, was the heartthrob of Byker Grove. Thanks to magazines such as Smash Hits there were lot’s of posters of him that would be plastered across many teenage girls' walls, myself included.  After leaving the show Andrew had success with presenting hit TV shows including ‘Live & Kicking’ and ‘CBBC. He also starred in ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Hollyoaks’; as well as being the links voiceover for ITV. 

Billy Fane (Geoff) - We couldn’t write about the Byker Grove cast without mentioning the one and only Geoff. Played by Billy Fane, Geoff was the youth clubs leader and staple of the series. After being killed off by a gas explosion in 2000 Billy went onto star in many pantomime shows as well as playing the role of Mr Braithwaite in the award-winning film ‘Billy Elliot’.