Ant and Dec announce Byker Grove reboot with pair as exec producers

4 July 2023, 11:18 | Updated: 4 July 2023, 11:20

Ant and Dec have announced the return of Byker Grove. Picture: 1. Tim Roney/Getty Images 2. Shutterstock 3. David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The presenting duo, who got their break as PJ and Duncan, have shared their plans for the return of the hit show.

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Ant & Dec have announced the return of Byker Grove with themselves at the helm as executive producers.

The hit BBC show - which ran from 1989 to 2006 and focused on the lives of young people in the North East who frequented the youth club of the same name - will be rebooted for an 2020s update.

It saw the duo star as best friends PJ and Duncan and eventually led to the pair launching music careers under the monikers.

The Geordie teen drama also launched the careers of Donna Air, Jill Halfpenny, Andrew Hayden-Smith and Charlie Hunnam.

Sharing the news in a video, the presenting pair said: "The exciting news is that after 17 years after the show closed its doors for the final time, Byker Grove is opening them up again.

"Yes, we've teamed up with the clever people at Fulwell 73 to work on a reboot of the nineties TV classic, bringing it back for a whole new audience, as well as those of us who were old enough to remember it so fondly."

They added: "Once again it will follow a new generation of young people and their families as they try to navigate the challenges they face in the 2020s."

We hope you’re as psyche(d) as us for this comeback 🥳 #Byker https://t.co/TyX75BAJ2V
— antanddec (@antanddec) July 4, 2023

The pair also joked about the possibility of themselves making a cameo as PJ and Duncan, but Ant also added that PJ was probably too busy playing headline shows at Wembley Stadium.

According to production company Fulwell 73, the new look programme, which will simply be called Byker, will be aimed "at a primetime audience" and "engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today".

Byker Grove was responsible for one of the most-talked about moments in TV at the time, which saw PJ go blind after a paintball accident.

Remind yourself of the scene below: