Byker Grove was a revelation when it first hit our screens back in 1989. Never before had teenagers been able to watch a show that took them so seriously and actually addressed the issues that they were facing. In fact, did you know that Byker Grove was the first children's TV show to depict a gay kiss on screen?
And the show wasn’t just groundbreaking for its audience. So many of Byker Grove’s cast members have gone on to do some incredible things.
So, as the show returns to our screens and we’re hit with some serious nostalgia, we’ve done a deep dive into some of our favourite cast members from Byker Grove to see what they’ve been up to since they left the hit teen drama.
Where are the cast of Byker Grove now?
Andrew Hayden-Smith – Ben Carter
Andrew Hayden-Smith was cast as Ben Carter in Byker Grove by chance. Whilst visiting his older sister Kerri Hayden – who worked as 2nd AD on Byker Grove – on set, Andrew was spotted by Executive Producer Matthew Robinson and made his first appearance on the eighth series of the show in 1996.
Ben was a loveable bad boy, known for being a bit of a lothario and dating several women including Claire (Victoria Hawkins) – who he 'stole' from his friend Ollie (Jordan Louis).
Eventually in 2003, Ben was killed off when he was fatally hit by a car being joyridden by Craig.
After leaving Byker Grove, Andrew became a member of the presenting team for UK Top 40 on CBBC. When hosts Konnie Huq and Adrian Dickson left the show in 2004, Andrew became the sole presenter until the show was cancelled in 2005 due to competition from Top Of The Pops.
Andrew then continued to pursue acting, starring in the 2006 series of Doctor Who as Jake Simmonds. Afterwards Andrew reunited with Russell T. Davies for his series Banana (2015) and Cucumber (2015) in which he played Billy. From 2016-2017 Andrew played the role of DS Gavin Armstrong in Hollyoaks, and this year Andrew had a brief role in Coronation Street playing Pete Lang.
Anthony McPartlin – Peter ‘PJ’ Jenkins
PJ was definitely one of the cooler kids at The Grove, involved in the world of Pirate Radio. After Amanda and Debbie found out that he was dating both of them, the pair decided to get revenge with an illegal paintball fight but accidentally blinded PJ when he took his safety goggles off. Cue Dec's Duncan (more on him later) iconically saying, 'He canny see man!'
PJ eventually left Byker Grove in series five, having joined in series two, to attend a school for the blind down south.
One half of the most famous double act in the UK aka Ant and Dec, Ant McPartlin’s career has gone from strength to strength since Byker Grove. In fact, it’s thanks to his and Dec’s joint production company Mitre Studios that we can rewatch Byker Grove. They bought the rights in 2008 and recently did a deal with ITVX to release the episodes. And there’s also a rumoured reboot in development too…
Since Byker Grove, Ant hasn’t continued to pursue acting but is instead a hugely successful presenter alongside his BFF Declan Donnelly. The duo has been the face of shows like I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! (from 2002), Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (2002-2024), Britain’s Got Talent (since 2007) and Limitless Win (from 2022).
Thanks to his prolific career, Ant’s personal life regularly makes headlines – most recently the news that he had become a father to a baby boy with his wife of four years Anne-Marie Corbett, who was formerly his personal assistant.
Billy Fane – Geoff Keegan
One of the longest serving members of the Byker Grove cast, Billy starred on the show for 11 years (12 series). Eventually Geoff was killed off in a gas explosion.
After leaving Byker Grove, Billy Fane appeared in the film adaptation of Billy Elliot (2000) which starred Jamie Bell in the titular role. Billy played Mr Braithwaite - the pianist to Julie Walters' dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson.
Despite serious acting success early on in his career, for Billy real life mirrored art and in 2002 he began working as a special-needs coordinator.
Charlie Hardwick – Sian
Youth leader Sian was a huge hit with the kids at the Grove, and really seemed to listen to them.
Charlie Hardwick (real name Claire Elizabeth Hardwick) is now probably best known for playing Val Pollard in Emmerdale (2004-2015, 2017). For the role, Charlie was nominated for eight British Soap Awards, winning Best On-Screen Partnership alongside Elizabeth Estensen in 2005.
More recently, Charlie starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Ackley Bridge as Sue Carp for series three to five.
Charlie Hunnam – Jason Chuckle
Jason may have only appeared in three episodes of Byker Grove, but it was always clear that Charlie Hunnam would go on to have a hugely successful acting career.
Currently Charlie is in the Netflix Top 10 thanks to Ryan Murphy’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story in which Charlie portrays the titular serial killer. Other notable TV roles of Charlie’s include Queer as Folk (1999-2000) in which he played Nathan Maloney, Undeclared (2001-2002) in which he played Lloyd Haythe and Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) in which he played Jax Teller.
Film-wise you may have spotted Charlie as the titular Nicholas Nickleby in the 2002 adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ novel, as Raleigh Becket in Pacific Rim (2013), as King Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) and as Raymond Smith in The Gentleman (2019).
Caspar Berry – Martin ‘Gill’ Gillespie
One of the original members of The Grove, most of the rebellious Gill’s storylines revolved around his on/off relationship with Julie Warner (Lucy Walsh). When Julie returned to her native London, Gill went into a downward spiral and eventually stole a car to drive down to the capital to see her. He was sadly killed when his car collided with a lorry.
Following his stint on Byker Grove, Caspar continued acting appearing in the Emmy Award-winning film The Black Velvet Gown (1991) and the BBC TV drama Spender (1991-1993). Caspar also joined the writing room for the later series of Byker Grove as well as Hollyoaks.
A series of rather random career choices followed Caspar’s work in the entertainment industry. First, he became a professional poker player in Las Vegas which led to him presenting a series of TV poker shows including Sky Poker (2007-2009). Caspar also co-founded the production company Twenty First Century Media which he eventually sold in 2008.
Nowadays Caspar works as a motivational speaker specialising in the subjects of risk, decision making, innovation and leadership.
Chelsea Halfpenny – Lucy Summerbee
The niece of Jill Halfpenny (more on her in a second), an acting career was pretty much inevitable for Chelsea Halfpenny. Chelsea joined the cast of Byker Grove in 2004 as Lucy Summerbee.
Since then, Chelsea has become a successful soap actress appearing in Emmerdale as Amy Wyatt from 2010-2013 and Casualty as Alicia Munroe from 2015-2019. For her role as Amy in Emmerdale, Chelsea was nominated for Best Newcomer at the NTAs in 2012 as well as Best Actress at the British Soap Awards.
Chelsea has been dating Emmerdale star James Baxter aka Jake Doland since 2018 with the pair announcing their engagement in 2021. Weirdly though, the pair’s time on Emmerdale didn’t actually overlap.
Dale Meeks – Greg
For five series of Byker Grove, Dale played Greg – the leader of a gang from rival youth club Denton Burn.
Other notable roles of Dale Meeks include Hips in Breeze Block and Simon Meredith in Emmerdale. In 2005, Dale and his Emmerdale co-star Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) won Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes as the Blue Brothers.
Sadly, Dale passed away from heart failure on 22 April 2023, at the age of 47.
Declan Donnelly – Duncan Sperring
The second half of PJ and Duncan… And Ant and Dec!
The biggest sweetheart, Duncan was another member of the illegal pirate radio station at The Grove called Radio Rocket. His biggest storyline came when he joined a cult called Psychandrics because of his crush on their member Leah Carmichael (Jayni Hoy) and nearly moved to Mexico.
Since Byker Grove, Dec hasn’t continued to pursue acting, but is instead a hugely successful presenter alongside his BFF Ant McPartlin. The duo has been the face of shows like I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! (from 2002), Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (2002-2024), Britain’s Got Talent (since 2007) and Limitless Win (from 2022).
Alongside Ant, Dec is currently in the Australian jungle filming series 25 of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
Dec has been with Ant and Dec’s manager Ali Astall since 2014, with the pair tying the knot 1 August 2015 - naturally Ant served as their best man. In September 2018, Ali gave birth to their daughter Isla. Their son Jack was born in July 2022.
Denise Welch – Polly Bell
We’d completely forgotten that Denise Welch made several brief appearances in Byker Grove as Polly Bell – the wife of Donna Bell’s (Sally McQuillan) dad Jim Bell (Colin MacLaughlan).
Honestly though, we should have realised sooner because there aren’t many British soaps that Denise hasn’t made an appearance in. We’re talking Coronation Street (1997-2000) as Natalie Barnes, Hollyoaks: In the City (2006) as DCI Fisher, Waterloo Road (2006-2010, 2026) as Steph Haydock, EastEnders (2016) as Alison Slater, Hollyoaks (2021-2022) as Trish Minniver and Emmerdale (2024) as Heidi. And those are only a few of the iconic TV shows that Denise has acted in.
But Denise’s most famous TV role to date has actually been Denise Welch, because the mother of The 1975’s Matty Healy has been a regular panellist on Loose Women since 2000.
Donna Air – Charlie Charlton
The gorgeous Charlie Charlton set up the television station Grove TV at The Grove alongside her BFF Leah Carmichael because she always had hopes of working in TV.
And fiction mirrored reality for actress Donna Air who went on to host The Big Breakfast (2000-2001), as well as star in Breeze Block (2002) as Kiki, and The Split (2020) as Fi Hansen.
Thanks to Byker Grove, Donna also had a short-lived career as a singer with the band Byker Groove! alongside her co-stars Jayni Hoy (Leah Carmichael) and Vicky Taylor (Angel O’Hagan). In 1994, the group released the single Love Your Sexy which charted at 48 on the UK Singles Chart.
Following a relationship with businessman and animal conservationist Damian Aspinall – with whom she welcomed daughter Freya, now a model and conservationist, in September 2003 – Donna began dating James Middleton aka the younger brother of Catherine, Princess of Wales in 2013. The pair eventually split in 2018.
Holly Matthews – Emma Miller
Holly started her career by playing the horoscope-obsessed Emma in Byker Grove from 1997-2003. Across the six series Emma dated Greg Watson (Gary Crawford) and Paul Skerrett (Joe Caffrey).
After leaving Byker Grove, Holly went on to star in Waterloo Road (2007) as Leigh-Ann Galloway and several other TV shows in small, cameo roles.
Nowadays, Holly works as a self-development coach through the online course The Bossing it! Academy and an author, releasing The Happy Me Project – The No Nonsense Guide to Self Development in 2022 and Find Your Confidence – The No Nonsense Guide to Self Belief in 2024.
Jill Halfpenny – Nicola Dobson
Nicola and Paul (Joe Caffrey) were the ultimate love story on Byker Grove although it’s fair to say that the duo had their issues over the years – namely when Paul was arrested for campaigning with the Green Brigade and gluing leaflets to cars. Their relationship was built to last though, and the pair tied the knot in series four with their wedding reception held at The Grove.
Since first coming to attention as Nicola in Byker Grove, Jill Halfpenny has had a hugely successful acting career both on stage and screen. TV-wise you may recognise Jill from Coronation Street (1999-2000) in which she played Rebecca Hopkins, EastEnders (2002-2005) in which she played Kate Mitchell, Waterloo Road (2006-2007) in which she played Izzie Redpath.
She also played Gail in Breeze Block (20020), Jennifer in Liar (2017-2020), Roisin in Everything I Know About Love (2022), Emma Bartlett in The Feud (2025) and of course, won the second series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.
Libby Davison – Gloria Caseley
Not only was Gloria Caseley the mother of Ed Caseley (Grant Adams), but she was also the fitness teacher in series seven and eight of Byker Grove.
Following her TV debut in Byker Grove, Libby Davison went on to appear as DI Liz Rawton in The Bill (1996-1999), and also appeared briefly in Hollyoaks in 2010 as Rose Townsend.
Nowadays however, Libby prefers to avoid the spotlight.
Victoria Hawkins – Claire Rivers
Victoria Hawkins first acting job was playing tomboy and DJ Claire in Byker Grove, having auditioned for a part as an extra to earn pocket money.
Victoria left the show in 2002 after four years, but has continued to work as an actor appearing in ITV’s Steel River Blues (2004) in which she played control room officer Sandra Harris. Other notable roles of Victoria’s include Sharon Lambert in Emmerdale and a part in Moreland’s Firm (2019).
A true Geordie at heart, when she’s not acting, Victoria works for the Newcastle-based bank Northern Rock.
Where can I watch Byker Grove?
All episodes of Byker Grove land on ITVX on 16 November. Time to get a real dose of nostalgia!
Is there going to be a Byker Grove reboot?
In 2023, Ant and Dec announced that their company Mitre Studios was developing a reboot of Byker Grove in partnership with Fulwell 73, and that they would both serve as executive producers.
It was subsequently teased that the reboot would work like the Waterloo Road reboot, with a new cast of students, but a few returning faces. However, since the pair's exciting announcement, no further news has come about the Byker Grove reboot.
Daisy Hall became a writer for TVChoice after realising that she could make a career out of her incredible ability to extensively name an actor's credits when they randomly pop up in whatever she's watching. Her friends find it infuriating, but hopefully you find it useful!