But in the winner’s room, RadioTimes.com couldn’t resist the chance to quiz the pair on the Byker Grove reboot.
Dec revealed of the new series, which will just be named “Byker”: “We’re still in the process, we didn’t realise how long a process it is to do a drama because we’re so used to live telly. We’re still in development, story development and the characters.”
Dec continued: “It’s a long process but one that we’re really enjoying. Talking about the storylines and all the characters, some would come back and who would come back, where would they have been? It’s been really, really interesting.”
Ant also added: “And no, we’re not going to write ourselves into it just for the sake of it.”
But surely, PJ and Duncan could make a surprise appearance, right? “At some point, yeah, if the writer’s think we’re fit and able then maybe they will,” Ant said.
Of course, the series centred on a group of young people whose lives revolved around a youth centre in Newcastle. At the time of the reboot’s announcement in 2023, Lyndyann Barrass revealed that if the opportunity arose to reprise her role as Kirsty ‘Spuggy’ Campbell, she would “jump at it”.
As for who else in the original cast would be keen to return, we’ll just have to wait and see.
At last year’s NTA’s, the pair reacted to the internet-breaking news of Byker Grove’s return.
Dec said: “Seeing the reaction from everyone online and the reaction when we announced it makes you think, ‘Oh God, we’ve got to be really careful what we do for everybody!’ It’s not just our show, it’s everybody’s show. Everybody’s invested in it and everybody watched it.”
At the time, Dec also admitted that they are “slightly tempted” to make a cameo appearance in the new series, before adding: “We did think when we were first talking about it, ‘I wonder what PJ & Duncan do now… in their mid-40s. PJ moved away and Duncan went off to university…’ I’ve just made that up!
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