YMMV / Grange Hill

• And You Thought It Would Fail: In 1975, when Phil Redmond was touting the idea for the series around most of the UK's television companies, no one was prepared to believe that schoolchildren would want to watch a realistic drama series about children at school. Finally taken up by The BBC in 1976 and launched in 1978, the series ran for 30 years, racking up 601 episodes.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Judi Jeffreys was (long story short) locked in a storage room that was on fire. She tried to escape by climbing out of the window onto a nearby fire escape, and ended up falling head first to her death. The actress who played her, Laura Sadler, met her own sad and untimely demise in the exact same way about four years later. (That is, she fell head first out of a building to her death, but while drunk on vodka and high on cocaine — not while trying to escape a fire).
  • A 1996 storyline saw Kevin Jenkins get given a gun by Wayne's gang in order to be accepted and accidentally shoot Sarah Jane in the arm. Two months after it aired, the Dunblane Massacre occurred, prompting the storyline to be dropped.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Mrs Mc Clusky is notoriously inflexible, but she offers the pupils a referendum on flexible school hours. A pupil sees through this at once, and says to his mates "They'll only offer a referendum when they're sure they'll get the result they want." In 2016, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. Many people think this was not the result that the prime minister who called the referendum wanted or expected at all.
  • Grange Hill is considered to be the opposite to the St. Trinian's franchise but Paula Ann Bland who played pupil Claire Scott and Melissa Wilks who played pupil Jackie Wright, would, as adult women, pose in provocative ladies lingerie for different mens magazines.
• Love to Hate: The school's most memorable teacher was the pompous, strict, humourless git Mr. Bronson. He was such a hate figure in Britain that he came third in a poll to find the person they'd most like to see gunged on national television.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • A very young Alex Kingston played an Alpha Bitch.
  • A shopkeeper from a 1986 episode is played by Brenda Cowling, who would later be best known for playing Mrs. Lipton in You Rang, M'Lord?.
  • Mr. Perkins from a 1983 episode is played by James Fleet, who would later be best known for playing Hugo Horton in The Vicar of Dibley.
  • A boy on the stairs from a 1978 episode is played by Perry Benson, who would later be best known for playing Henry Livingstone in You Rang, M'Lord?.
  • A secretary from a 1983 episode is played by Shirley Stelfox, who would later be best known for playing the first Rose in Keeping Up Appearances and Edna Birch in Emmerdale.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: The change of signature tune a third of the way through the run. A generation of Brits who had grown up with the original tinkly Roobarb-style theme tune were alienated overnight. The theme tune changed again after just two more years.
• Values Dissonance:
  • There are many references to casual violence by parents, especially if they find out about misdemeanours at school. One piece of dialogue is particularly notable for a teacher casually dismissing this; nowadays, this would almost certainly be followed up by the school.
    Teacher (To Duane Orpington, who has a black eye): Just a moment. Who gave you that?
    Duane: My dad, sir.
    Teacher: Why?
    Duane: Got my bike nicked, sir.
    Teacher: (shrugs) Go on.
  • There were also many scenes where pupils' personal problems were discussed in front of other pupils, maybe even the whole class, about matters which should be the parents' responsibility. From series 2:
    Mr Mitchell: Shaw has overslept again. Could somebody knock on his door each morning to make sure he is awake? Trisha, you live just round the corner from him.
    Trisha: Couldn't one of the boys do it, sir?
    Mr Mitchell: But you're the nearest! You're just in the next street.
    Trisha: (unwillingly) All right, sir.
    Mr Mitchell: (in usual brusque tone) Thank you very much, Trisha. It's very good of you.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: With her Boyish Short Hair, non-obvious breasts compared to her other female castmates, and her deep voice, it's not uncommon for fans to mistake Jessica Samuels for a boy in a skirt.

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