Broadcast history

For nearly all of its run Grange Hill was normally first broadcast on BBC One in the weekday afternoon Children's strand in the first few months of the year. From September 1985 (starting with the repeat of Series 8) the strand was branded as "Children's BBC" (later "CBBC") and presented by an in-vision continuity announcer. Occasionally children's programmes were moved over to BBC Two due to BBC One being needed for a major event and so some individual episodes would instead debut on this channel. There were also some schedule variations in Scotland and/or Wales. Series 29 was first broadcast on the digital CBBC Channel in the autumn of 2005 with a BBC One screening the following spring. Series 30 was only shown on the CBBC Channel. Series 31 was first shown on BBC One over the summer of 2008.

In the early and middle years of the show each series was repeated later in the same year though some individual episodes were skipped over. Series 20 did not get such a repeat. Series 24 & Series 25 instead had second screenings at the weekend. Series 26 to Series 28 had no second screenings or repeats on the analogue channels. Series 29 debuted on the digital CBBC channel with a subsequent repeat on the analogue BBC One. Series 30 had no analogue screenings at all. Series 31 debuted on the analogue BBC One with a second screening on the digital CBBC channel.

During the 1990s a run of classic repeats reshowed the first sixteen series.

Series 1
This was first broadcast weekly on Wednesday afternoons from 8 February 1978 to 5 April 1978.

Most of the series was repeated on weekday mornings during the school summer holidays with separate arrangements in Scotland where the summer holidays begin and end earlier.

Five episodes were repeated on BBC One Scotland on 3, 10, 14, 17 and 19 July 1978. The Radio Times listings do not identify which five were selected.

The series was repeated on BBC One on a mix of weekday mornings on 14, 16, 21, 23, 25, 28 & 30 August and 1 September. Omitted from the repeats was Episode 4 which had attracted many complaints.

Series 2
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 2 January 1979 to 2 March 1979.

It was repeated on BBC Two on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 29 October 1979 to 18 December 1979. Omitted from the repeats were Episode 15 & Episode 16.

Series 3
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 8 January 1980 to 29 February 1980. The slot that would have been filled with Episode 17 instead saw the transmission of The Great Grange Hill Debate.

The series was repeated on BBC Two on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 29 October 1980 to 18 December 1980.

Series 4
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 30 December 1980 to 27 February 1981. On BBC One Wales the odd numbered episodes were instead broadcast on Wednesdays.

The series was repeated on BBC Two on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 27 October 1981 to 23 December 1981.

1981 Christmas Special
This was first broadcast on Monday 28 December 1981 and not repeated.

Series 5
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 5 January 1982 to 5 March 1982. On BBC One Wales the odd numbered episodes were instead broadcast on Wednesdays and the even numbered episodes on Sundays.

The series was repeated on BBC Two on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 25 October 1982 to 21 December 1982. The Christmas Special was not included in the repeats.

Series 6
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 4 January 1983 to 4 March 1983.

Episode 18's transmission was followed by Speak Out on Grange Hill, a special edition of a series where younger viewers expressed their opinions. This episode looked at how true to reality Grange Hill's depiction of race relations in schools at the time was.

The series was repeated on BBC Two on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 17 October 1983 to 14 December 1983.

Series 7
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 3 January 1984 to 2 March 1984.

It was repeated on BBC One on Thursday afternoons from 6 September 1984 to 3 January 1985. Starting with Episode 3 BBC One Wales instead showed the repeats the following Monday until Episode 15 then Episode 16 was shown the next day (Tuesday) before its repeat in the rest of the UK. The final two episodes were repeated on the same day as the rest of the UK but an hour later.

Series 8
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 18 February 1985 to 22 April 1985. No episode was shown on Monday 8 April as this was Easter Monday.

BBC One Wales instead showed the series weekly on Monday evenings from 18 February 1985 to 29 July 1985. Episode 5 appears to have been shown twice on 18 & 25 March. Several Mondays were skipped including 8 April (Easter Monday), 6 May (May Day Bank Holiday), 27 May (Late May Bank Holiday), 17 June (a football match) and 22 July (The Royal Welsh 1985).

The series was repeated on BBC One on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 22 October 1985 to 20 December 1985. This was the first broadcast of the series since the creation of the "Children's BBC" brand.

1985 Christmas Special
This was first broadcast on Friday 27 December 1985 and not repeated.

Series 9
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 7 January 1986 to 1 April 1986. Episode 6 went out on BBC Two as Children's BBC had been moved over to make room for UK-wide coverage of multiple by-elections in Northern Ireland. Episode 21 also went out on BBC Two; this time because of the Budget Statement. No episode was transmitted on 28 March as it was Good Friday.

Episode 24's transmission was immediately followed by It's Not Just Zammo, a Newsround/Drugwatch Special combining the children's news programme with the BBC's anti-drugs campaign which looked at the issues raised by the drugs storyline.

The series was repeated on BBC One on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 7 October 1986 to 30 December 1986. No episode was shown on Friday 26 December as this was Boxing Day. It's Not Just Zammo was also repeated, again immediately following Episode 24. The Christmas Special was not included in the repeats.

Series 10
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 6 January 1987 to 27 March 1987. Episode 21 went out on BBC Two because of the Budget Statement.

The series was repeated on BBC One on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 29 September 1987 to 18 December 1987.

Series 11
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 5 January 1988 to 11 March 1988.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 13 September 1988 to 14 October 1988 and then only on Tuesday afternoons from 18 October 1988 to 20 December 1988.

Series 12
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 3 January 1989 to 10 March 1989.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 12 September 1989 to 10 November 1989 and then only on Tuesday afternoons from 14 November 1989 to 19 December 1989.

Series 13
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 2 January 1990 to 9 March 1990.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 11 September 1990 to 12 October 1990 and then only on Tuesday afternoons from 16 October 1990 to 18 December 1990.

Series 14
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 8 January 1991 to 15 March 1991.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 10 September 1991 to 18 October 1991 and then only on Tuesday afternoons from 22 October 1991 to 10 December 1991.

Series 15
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 7 January 1992 to 13 March 1992.

The series was repeated on BBC One primarily only on Wednesday afternoons from 2 September 1992 to 23 December 1992. Episodes 3, 4 & 5 were all repeated in the same week on Tuesday 15, Wednesday 16 and Friday 18 September respectively. Episode 19 was shown on Tuesday 22 December.

Series 16
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 5 January 1993 to 12 March 1993.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 14 September 1993 to 8 October 1993 and then only on Wednesday afternoons from 13 October 1993 to 22 December 1993. Episode 19 was shown on Tuesday 21 December.

Series 17
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 4 January 1994 to 11 March 1994.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 16 September 1994 to 14 October 1994 and then only on Wednesday afternoons from 19 October 1994 to 21 December 1994.

Series 18
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 3 January 1995 to 10 March 1995.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 4 September 1995 to 27 September 1995 and then only on Monday afternoons from 2 October 1995 to 18 December 1995. The repeats now went out at 16:35 rather than the normal 17:10 slot.

Series 19
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 23 January 1996 to 28 March 1996.

The series was repeated on BBC One initially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 6 September 1996 (unusually starting on a Friday) to 27 September 1996 and then only on Friday afternoons from 4 October 1996 to 20 December 1996. Again the repeats went out in the earlier 16:35 slot.

Series 20
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 21 January 1997 to 27 March 1997.

There was no autumn repeat that year.

Series 21
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 27 January 1998 to 2 April 1998.

The series was repeated on BBC Two with two episodes each Sunday morning from 18 October 1998 (taking over from the classic repeats - see below) to 20 December 1998.

Series 22
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 26 January 1999 to 1 April 1999.

The series was repeated primarily on BBC Two with two episodes each Sunday morning from 14 November 1999 to 23 January 2000. No episode was shown on 26 December 1999 (Boxing Day) and the 2 January 2000 repeat was scheduled on BBC One due to the conclusion of a full repeat of People's Century; however the repeat appears to have been postponed and was shown the following week on BBC Two.

Series 23
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 25 January 2000 to 30 March 2000.

The series was repeated on BBC Two with two episodes each Sunday morning from 12 November 2000 to 21 January 2001. No episodes were shown on 24 December 2000 (Christmas Eve).

Series 24
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 23 January 2001 to 29 March 2001. Each week both episodes were shown again on BBC Two on Sunday mornings from 28 January 2001 to 1 April 2001.

From this series onwards there was no separate repeat in the autumn.

Series 25
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 29 January 2002 to 28 March 2002. Each week both episodes were shown again on BBC Two on Sunday mornings from 3 February 2002 to 31 March 2002.

Series 26
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 28 January 2003 to 3 April 2003. From this series onwards there was no second showing or repeat on the analogue channels in the same year.

Series 27
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 6 January 2004 to 11 March 2004.

Series 28
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 10 January 2005 to 23 March 2005.

Series 29
This was first broadcast each weekday afternoon on the CBBC Channel from 7 November 2005 to 2 December 2005. It was then shown on BBC One on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 27 February 2006 to 20 March 2006.

Series 30
This was first broadcast twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on the CBBC Channel from 16 January 2007 to 22 March 2007. It was not shown at all on BBC One.

Series 31
This was first broadcast weekly on BBC One on Monday afternoons from 14 April 2008 to 15 September 2008. Episodes were shown again on Saturday afternoons on the CBBC Channel from 19 April 2008 to 27 September 2008. No episode was shown on 5 May (May Day) or repeated on 10 May, 26 May (Late May Bank Holiday) or repeated 31 May and 25 August (Late August Bank Holiday) or repeated 30 August. The repeat of the very last episode was held back one week to 27 September 2008.

1990s classic repeats
From 4 April 1993 there was a long continuous repeat run that ultimately reshowed the whole of Series 1 to Series 16 mainly in the Children's strand on Sunday mornings on BBC Two. Episodes dropped from previous repeats were reinstated; however neither Christmas Special was shown. Due to coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics from 13 February 1994 to 27 February 1994 the Children's strand was moved to BBC One; however no episode of Grange Hill was shown on 13 February. From 6 March the strand and repeats returned to BBC Two.

In each year from 1996 to 1998 the repeats would transfer to BBC One on Saturday mornings for the summer before returning to BBC Two on Sunday mornings in the autumn. These transfers occurred on 20 April 1996 & 22 September 1996, 26 April 1997 & 28 September 1997 and 25 April 1998 which ran until 29 August 1998. There was then a gap of a few weeks before the repeats resumed on BBC Two Sunday mornings on 27 September 1998 with two episodes now shown each week until the initial run concluded with the end of Series 15 on 11 October 1998. The following Sunday saw repeats begin from the current Series 21. Classic repeats resumed from Sunday 3 January 1999 with Series 16 shown in full, concluding on 7 March 1999.

No repeats were shown on the following days:


 * 26 December 1993 (Boxing Day).
 * 13 February 1994 (Winter Olympics)
 * 25 December 1994 (Christmas Day)
 * 10 March 1996 (the Australian Grand Prix)
 * 6 September 1997 (the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales)
 * 15 February 1998 (Winter Olympics)
 * 22 February 1998 (Winter Olympics)

CBBC Channel
Details of screenings on the CBBC Channel are limited by the information available in the Radio Times listings. Which episodes were shown is almost never included; nor is it clear what relationship if any there was between weekend screenings and any contemporary weekday screenings on either CBBC or BBC One.

From 28 October 2002 to 24 January 2003 episodes were shown each weekday on the CBBC Channel. From 11 January 2003 to 5 April 2003 a double bill repeat was also shown on Saturday evenings. A double bill was also shown on Sunday 30 March 2003.

Weekday showings resumed from 7 April 2003 to 22 August 2003 with no episode shown on 1 August 2003.

Series 29 was first shown on the CBBC Channel each weekday afternoon from 7 November 2005 to 2 December 2005. Series 30 was exclusively shown on the CBBC Channel on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 16 January 2007 to 22 March 2007.

A repeat of Series 30 on each weekday afternoon began on 25 February 2008 and lasted until at least 7 March 2008.

Series 31 had a second screening on the CBBC Channel each Saturday from 19 April 2008 to 27 September 2008. No episode was shown on 20 September 2008 with the second screening of the final episode postponed by one week.

It is not yet clear if there were other screenings

Later repeats
Episode 14 of Series 9 was repeated on BBC Four on 21 December 2015 as part of an evening devoted to children's television of previous years.