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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Hannah Roberts & Yakub Qureshi

Loose Women's Denise Welch wonders if Ant & Dec's new Byker Grove reboot could end up being 'too PC'

Denise Welch claims a rebooted Byker Grove will face challenges in the current "PC" era. Byker Grove, the popular BBC teen drama that last aired 17 years ago and starred Ant McPartlin, Declan Donnelly, and Welch, will be rebooted under the new name "Byker," with the comedy duo serving as executive producers and creative consultants.

During an appearance on ITV's Loose Women, ex-Coronation Street star Welch shared her perspective on what the reboot might entail, stating: "Obviously you have to move with the times, there are elements that, you know we’ve become so PC that it’s a little bit more tricky, and I just hope it retains the humor but it was a huge success." Despite this, she expressed her confidence in the project's success, adding: "I'm sure if Ant and Dec have got owt to do with it then it will be a big hit."

Welch also recollected a humorous moment from her past association with McPartlin and Donnelly. While appearing on the biographical TV documentary This Is Your Life during her time in Coronation Street, the duo jokingly credited her with shaping their careers as entertainers, saying: "Denise used to teach us our maths so we failed everything."

Now renowned for hosting shows such as Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, Ant and Dec launched their show biz careers on Byker Grover. They also famously recorded hit song "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" released in 1994 under their Byker Grove character names PJ and Duncan.

Byker Grove featured a talented cast of actors who went on to find fame in other TV shows and films, including Charlie Hunnam, Jill Halfpenny, Charlie Hardwick, Donna Air, and Hollyoaks star Andrew Hayden-Smith.

*You may notice the below message on a small number of Manchester Evening News articles. We like to innovate and this is part of a trial to look at whether AI can help speed up the publishing process, We will always declare where this happens.

This article was crafted with the help of AI tools, which speed up the MEN's editorial research. A Manchester Evening News editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to newsdesk@men-news.co.uk*

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