Almost twenty years after its final episode, Byker Grove is coming to ITVX. 

The influential teen drama series, which launched the careers of the light entertainment behemoths Ant & Dec, originally ran on the BBC for 18 series between 1989 and 2006. During that impressive 344 episode run, it tackled issues such as drug addiction, child abuse, homophobia and abortion. The series also featured the first gay kiss on children’s television.

Byker Grove also provided a launch pad for Catherine Johnson, the writer of Mamma Mia!, as well as the Oscar winning director Tom Hopper (The King’s Speech). That’s in addition to onscreen talent such as MTV host Donna Air, and actors Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Jill Halfpenny (EastEnders).

It also unleashed various assaults on the pop charts, including PJ and Duncan’s ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble’.

With the first five series already available on STV Player, the offering will expand to all 18 series soon, and roll out to ITV later in the year. The streaming deal comes thanks to a partnership deal with Ant & Dec’s production company Mitre Studios.

Reboot

The arrival of the show on streaming comes after the news that Byker Grove is being revived. In July 2024, a revival was announced from production company Fulwell 73, with Ant & Dec on board as both Executive Producers and Creative Consultants.

Rebranded Byker and aimed at a primetime audience, the reboot aims to “engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today. Touching on youth and adult storylines, the series will serve a cross generational audience including stories for a nostalgic audience of past fans as well as teenagers today, all set against the backdrop of Newcastle and the North East.”

The reboot appears to still be in gestation – naturally, we’ll keep you posted.

While we wait, here’s PJ & Duncan (aka Ant & Dec) with that most terrifyingly 90s of tracks…