The BBC has announced that its school drama 'Grange Hill' is to end after 30 years.
At a launch for new and recurring dramas for CBBC today, it was announced the upcoming series of 'Grange Hill' would be the last.
Announcing the end of 'Grange Hill', Anne Gilchrist, Controller, CBBC, said: "Part of CBBC's reputation for reflecting contemporary Britain back to UK children has been built upon Phil Redmond's ['Grange Hill' creator] brilliantly realised idea and of course it's sad to say goodbye to such a much loved institution. The lives of children have changed a great deal since 'Grange Hill' began and we owe it to our audience to reflect this."
She continued: "We're actively seeking out new and exciting ways of bringing social realism to the CBBC audience through drama and other genres. Yesterday we announced two 'Newsround' Specials tackling divorce and knife crime and we will continue to make programmes about the ups and downs of contemporary Britain."
Jon East, Head of CBBC Drama, said: "For 30 years, Grange Hill has become a byword for realistic and contemporary children's drama. It's now time to apply what we've learned over the years to some of the new ideas we're exploring."
