STAR PUPILS
As Zammo joins EastEnders here’s why the soap is the number one employer of Grange Hill graduates
GRANGE Hill legend Lee MacDonald AKA Zammo McGuire has landed a job on EastEnders.
The former child star is making his acting comeback after 32 years since retiring from telly - but he's not the only one who left the famous school and ended up in Albert Square.
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The show, which kicked off in 1978, spawned lots of young actors who then went on to have TV careers in adult life, with many of them joining the cast of EastEnders.
The kids TV programme was a good starting block for many young actors and some went straight from Grange Hill to Walford.
Sean Maguire
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Aged just 11 when he took on the role of lovable Tegs, Sean was later homeless druggie Aidan Brosnan in EastEnders.
He then moved to America where he played Donovan Brink in the sitcom Eve - and had a swashbuckling role in 2008 action movie spoof Meet The Spartans.
He played PC Sean McCartney in Scott and Bailey from 2012-13 and has starred in US fantasy series Once Upon a Time as Robin Hood from 2013-18.
Todd Carty
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Todd was just 14 when he joined Grange Hill and went on to be one of the show's most famous faces.
He was so popular as the lovable rogue Tucker that he got his own series, Tucker’s Luck, for three years.
He then played Mark Fowler in EastEnders until 2003 before joining The Bill as evil Gabriel.
Todd also famously appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2009.
In 2018 he starred in movie Birches.
Michelle Gayle
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After playing Fiona, Michelle was part of rap duo Fresh ’n’ Fly and went on to star in London’s Burning and as Hattie Tavernier in EastEnders.
But she is most famous for her singing – with seven top 40 singles in the Nineties, including big hit Sweetness.
She has written four novels and in 2019 can be seen in CBBC drama Almost Never.
Patsy Palmer
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Having had just a bit-part as Natasha in 1987, Patsy became a household name through her portrayal of troubled Bianca Butcher in EastEnders.
She held the role from 1993 to 2014 and her legacy still lives in her on-screen daughter Tiffany (who even wears the same famous puffer jacket as mum Bianca).
Bianca was also famous for her romance with Ricky Butcher and her endless screeching of "Ricccckkkkaaay" across Albert Square.
Today she lives in Los Angeles where she has become a successful DJ.
Lee MacDonald
Leticia Dean
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These days Letitia Dean is best known for playing Sharon Mitchell in EastEnders.
She landed the part in 1985 and had a brief few years away from 1995, before rejoining in 2001 for good.
But before all that she played Lucinda Oliver from 1983 to 84 in Grange Hill, before heading for EastEnders.
Susan Tully
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Susan played Letitia's on-screen best friend Michelle Fowler in EastEnders from 1985.
But before that, she was best known for playing rebellious teenager Suzanne Ross in Grange Hill.
Susan left EastEnders in 1995, and decided not to reprise the role in 2017 when her character was brought back on to the show.
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And now Lee is joining EastEnders.
He will feature in two episodes of the BBC One soap this summer. He will play a bus driver who competes against Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in a radio competition to win gig tickets.
After starring as heroin addict Zammo, actor Lee later tried to become a boxer.
Unfortunately, a car accident in the early Nineties left him unable to return to the ring.
He now runs a key-cutting shop in Wallington, Surrey.
Grange Hill began its run in 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended its run in September 2008.
It was created by Phil Redmond, who is also responsible for the Channel 4 soaps Brookside and Hollyoaks.
After 30 years, the show was cancelled in 2008 as it was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course.
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