It is a sad time for children of the 1980s. Not only has the upbeat, Aussie soap Neighbours finished its reign at the BBC, but the corporation has decided to axe the after-school staple that was Grange Hill.
Apparently, tales of secondary school life are less relevant to today's young people.
Why – do they not go to school?
Late afternoon television may not be a burning issue for most but I cannot help feeling nostalgic about my good old days.
P
erhaps
Grange Hill never recovered from the loss of characters such as Zammo and Roland or the original theme tune with its cartoon strip and famous sausage – but surely there was a way to rescue a series we can all relate to.
What vehicle will be used for teenage issues now?
At least
Neighbours hasn't disappeared.
In what I presume is an effort to keep die-hard fans happy, Channel 5 has bought the rights and will air the soap at the same time it was shown on the BBC.
But as a creature of habit I am not a big fan of the move (or the advert breaks) and feel like another era has ended.
The wedding of Scott (
Jason Donovan) and Charlene (
Kylie Minogue) was watched by 19.1 million viewers in 1988, which included myself and a specially organised gaggle of girls.
I still catch myself humming the ballad Suddenly that was played over the tearful scenes – although probably because I have seen the wedding since on a Neighbours 'best bits' DVD.
There is plenty of time to be serious in life.
Everyone needs their down time and what better way to spend it than watching fluffy television programmes.
After all, they do make some sense – everybody needs good neighbours.
The full article contains 301 words and appears in Diss Express newspaper.
