Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly confirm Byker Grove reboot 20 years later

24 February 2024 , 10:30

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Byker Grove first aired in 1989 until 2006 and the success of the show kickstarted the TV careers of Ant and Dec (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Legendary presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have confirmed they are now in talks to remake the children's drama Byker Grove, after nearly 20 years.

The pair first found fame on the show with Ant playing PJ and Dec playing Duncan in 1989. The last episode aired in 2006. The show followed the lives of Geordie teenagers at a local Newcastle youth club. Speaking to The One Show hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp last week, they revealed they had already started to "develop" the new series. Keen to quell excitement for now, Declan was eager to declare that then remake is still in its infancy but are exploring a variety of possibilities.

Ant and Dec confirm Byker Grove reboot 20 years later while on The One Show (BBC)

Dec said: "We're still at the very beginning of producing it but we are developing it and it is very early days. We are looking at characters and storylines, we are looking at the world because it can be whatever we want it to be. There are a lot of possibilities."

But it remains unknown if they will make an appearance on the show. Ant added: "We haven't decided if we're going to be in it yet, I doubt it though maybe just a cameo." At the time the show was on air, it delved into hard-hitting storylines including the first gay kiss on children's TV.

And according to production company Fulwell 73, the show will be aimed at a "primetime audience" and will "engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today." The project comes two years after the famous duo launched a free scheme alongside the Prince's Trust to help young unemployed people kickstart their careers in TV.

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Byker Grove first aired in 1989 until 2006 and the success of the show kickstarted the TV careers of Ant and Dec (REX/Shutterstock)

Now named Byker is to be produced by Ant and Dec's Mitre Studios with Fulwell 73, which was co-founded by James Corden. Ant and Dec first met as 13 year old boys on set and in the fifth series and went on to sign a record deal.

And their entrance into the music industry became a huge success with their number one hit Let's Get Ready To Rhumble in 2013. Performing it on Saturday Night Takeaway 19 years after its original release, it seems the duo were still able to raise the roof.

The pair are set to take a break from Saturday Night Takeaway following its 20th series which airs tonight (February 24). Speaking of the upcoming series Dec explained while on The One Show that they "need a break" as they are "getting older."

He said: 'We're going to give the show a rest. We need a rest it's the 20th series and we need a break. It feels like it's time, we're getting older and it's a year round show and we feel like we need a break." Keen to go out with a bang, a teaser clip of tonight's show, shows them pranking Simon Cowell. Simon is happily riding his bike through Malibu but he's then chased by a police officer.

Dec says: "We are ending the Undercovers where we started… with Simon Cowell! Our first ever Undercover was on Simon in LA when he was a judge on American Idol. So we've gone back and got Simon Cowell again. We went out to LA and gave him the day from hell whilst he was judging on America's Got Talent.

Ant added that the second hit was better than the first. He said: "It was even sweeter getting him the second time round because we also got him during his downtime as he’s riding his bike around Malibu - it’s very, very funny."

Lucretia Munro