At 72, the Brookside creator is returning to his first and greatest creation. He thinks it could teach the government a thing or two
From Brookside’s bodies under the patio through the Emmerdale
plane crash to Luke Morgan’s rape in Hollyoaks, Phil Redmond has always known how to frame a story. Sitting in his home office, flowing grey locks now thinning a little, the 72-year-old scouser who masterminded them all is gesturing over Zoom to a wall where a 2019 Daily Star front page hangs: “Bring Grange Hill Back to Save
Britain.” Next to it is a print of the comic-strip opening credits still so revered that, in May, Richard Osman got “the Grange Hill sausage” (which appeared, to consternation, in one frame of them) trending on
Twitter. Two sheets of paper, but testament to the series’ enduring popularity 13 years after its cancellation – hence why Redmond has just finished the script for a Grange Hill film due in late 2022.
“It’s astonishing how many people tell me it was their favourite programme. Especially politicians,” says Redmond, before roaring with laughter. “David Cameron told me his favourite character was [school bully] Gripper Stebson. It breaks the ice when you’re trying to get them to do things.”