BIG SCHOOL REUNION
Just Say No, which got to No5, and went to the White House to meet First Lady Nancy Reagan.
Lee joked: “The song was terrible then and it’s terrible now – but people still remember it.”
Other plots included Precious Matthews standing up to racist bully Norman “Gripper” Stebson and prankster Jeremy Irvine drowning while retrieving Fay Lucas’ bangle from the pool.
Viewers also followed Chrissy Mainwaring’s pregnancy with Ted Fisk, Cast in studio in 1986 for anti-drug drive Lee was cast as Zammo for five years in 1980s the introduction of disabled characters Denny Roberts and Rachel Burns and a plot in which Tom Smith raped Leah Stewart.
Lee reveals there was secret offcamera tension in the cast over different backgrounds. However Lee, who attended a local drama Todd Carty had a spin-off show and played Mark Fowler in Eastenders for 13 years. Terry Sue-patt, a keen footballer, had other small roles. He died at 50 in 2015. Michelle Herbert beat cancer and now runs a doubleglazing firm with her husband.
academy in his spare time and found out about Grange Hill auditions through that, said they all “soon bonded”.
After Lee left the show he pursued boxing but this was cut short by a car crash in the 1990s. He opened Mentor Locksmith and Safe Co in Wallington, Surrey, 20 years ago, explaining: “I just wanted to forget about Grange Hill, but then I started enjoying it again.
“Every day somebody of a certain age comes in and shouts, “Just Say No” at me or mentions the show.” His John Alford was in London’s Burning but convicted of drug offences. Rebuilding career. partner Jess Bartram, 44, stepdaughter Katie, 10, and nine-yearold son Harry have seen old episodes but Lee refuses to let them watch his heroin storyline.
He occasionally still dabbles in acting, has an upcoming role in a sitcom and recently filmed a TV advert in which he is a locksmith.
Lee has also appeared on Celebrities, Cirque du Celebrite and Who’s Doing the Dishes?
But he said: “If I can get away with it, I want to do parts that are just like me, like Zammo.
Most acting is just playing yourself with different voices.”
amy.sharpe@trinitymirror.com
People keep saying, ‘Why don’t we try to get something on telly?’ It would be brilliant LEE ON HIS HOPES FOR A SCHOOL REUNION EPISODE OF SHOW