Byker Grove cast: Where are they now?

PJ and Duncan did alright, eh?

PJ and Duncan from Byker Grove

by Carl Smith |
Updated on

A long time before Cheryl Tweedy auditioned for Popstars: The Rivals and Geordie Shore became our absolute obsession, one show had us all shouting 'howay, man!' without a clue what it meant.

Yup, back in the early '90s Byker Grove took us on a weekly trip to Newcastle without the arguably-quite-expensive train fare. Airing between 1989 and 2006, the show launched the careers of some BIG telly-types.

But what are they up to now, almost three decades on?

BELOW: Let's find out where the Byker Grove cast are now...

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Byker Grove cast: Where are they now?

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CREDIT: antanddec.com

Ant & Dec (PJ & Duncan) then

Appearing in the show between 1989 and 1992, PJ and Duncan were the cool kids of Byker Grove. Seriously, who else could rock so many block primary colours at once?

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Ant & Dec (PJ & Duncan) now

It's safe to say the boys - now more commonly known as Ant and Dec - have done alright for themselves. In the early '90s they nabbed themselves a record deal and released the absolute TUNE that is Let's Get Ready to Rhumble. Since then they've picked up a record 17 Best TV Presenter NTAs for their services to everything from SM Live to *I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! *In fact, we'd say ITV game show Red or Black might be their only minor blip on an otherwise-flawless CV.

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CREDIT: BBC

Denise Welch (Polly) then

Denise starred as Polly on the show between 1990 and 1991 in a short seven-episode stint.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Denise Welch (Polly) now

Making her mark on the telly world, Denise has since appeared as Natalie Horrocks in Coronation Street, lent her services to the Loose Women panel and was a contestant on the sixth series of* Dancing on Ice* alongside professional partner Matt Evers. Oh, and she won the ninth series of Celebrity Big Brother.

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CREDIT: BBC

Donna Air (Charlie Charlton) then

Playing Charlie Charlton, Donna was just ten years old when she joined the Byker Grove cast in 1992.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Donna Air (Charlie Charlton) now

Donna went on to become a presenter, most notably on MTV, TFI Friday and Popstars: The Rivals Extra. She's also appeared in Hollyoaks, blockbuster movie The Mummy Returns and most recently competed on the tenth series of Dancing on Ice.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Charlie Hunnam (Jason) then

Yup, actual-Hollywood-actor-type Charlie Hunnam made a brief appearance on Byker Grove as Jason back in '98. WHO KNEW?

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Charlie Hunnam (Jason) now

Another huge success story, Charlie's since become so in demand he PULLED OUT (no pun intended) of playing Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey; with the role then going to Jamie Dornan. Most recently, Charlie appeared in Guy Ritchie's Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur as actual King Arthur himself.

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CREDIT: BBC

Jill Halfpenny (Nicola Dobson) then

Jill served absolute '90s scrunchie goals as she played the role of Nicola Dobson from 1989-1992.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Jill Halfpenny (Nicola Dobson) now

Still very much on the scene, Jill went on to win the 2014 series of Strictly Come Dancing and appear in everything from Waterloo Road to Wild at Heart.

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CREDIT: YouTube/BBC

Andrew Hayden-Smith (Ben Carter) then

We're not gonna lie, we had the biggest crush on Ben Carter from 1995 right the way through to 2003. Then he got killed off and we cried for a week straight. It was a difficult time.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Andrew Hayden-Smith (Ben Carter) now

Andrew healed our then-broken hearts as he was reincarnated as a CBBC presenter in the mid-noughties, more recently appearing in *Doctor Who *and Channel 4 dramas Cucumber and Banana.

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CREDIT: BBC

Billy Fane (Geoff) then

Ah, youth club leader Geoff. An absolute Byker veteran from 1989-1999, he was brutally killed of in a gas explosion. The scene's still ingrained on our brains and we...can't talk about it.

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CREDIT: ITV

Billy Fane (Geoff) now

After Ant and Dec returned to the show for his funeral episode in 1999, Billy made an appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway back in 2014. He also achieved a masters degree in special needs education in 2006.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Point Break then

Remember floppy-haired '90s boyband Point Break? No? Well, um, it was made up of Byker Grove actors Brett Adams and David 'Ollie' Oliver and their pal Declan Bennett. We'd highly recommend their top 40 smash single Freaky Time.

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CREDIT: BBC

Point Break now

We're cheating here slightly, but said pal Declan's since been cast as Charlie Cotton in EastEnders. Bit of a tenuous link, but interesting nonetheless.

Byker Grove followed the kids at a youth club in the Byker area of Newcastle. With some very famous faces coming from the show, it's no surprise that it has a special place in many viewers' hearts.

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