Ant and Dec will return to Byker Grove as producers of Newcastle based TV series reboot

Ant and Dec announce that they will return to Byker Grove in a new reboot of the popular TV series. The duo shot to fame as PJ and Duncan on the Newcastle-based children’s series.

The news comes 17 years after the original run of the show ended. The original BBC series ran from 1989 to 2006, and followed a group of young people who all attended the same youth club in the North East. The reboot will be titled “Byker” with Ant and Dec set to return as executive producers.

The duo made the announcement via a video on the Instagram page of Fulwell 73, the production company behind the reboot. Dec began by reassuring fans: "Don’t worry we’re not making another album." Before adding: "17 years after it closed its doors for the final time, Byker Grove is opening them up again."

Ant chimed in, sharing that the pair are working together "on a reboot on the ‘90s classic, bringing it back for a whole new audience as well as those of us who are old enough to remember it so fondly".

Declan Donnelly said the show will "help shine a spotlight on the North East and the talent the region has to offer both in front of the camera and behind it".

Donnelly added: "Byker Grove will always be very special to us as the show which gave us our break, so we are beyond excited. We are looking forward to bringing this fresh incarnation to a whole new generation as well as those who remember it as fondly as we do."

The production company said that the reboot will be aimed at an older audience and hope to "engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today". There is no confirmed release date as of yet but it’s been reported that the show will one again air on BBC.

It’s also not been confirmed whether any of the original cast members are set to return for the reboot. The star studded cast of the original also included Chelsea Halfpenny, Laura Norton, Donna Air, Jill Halfpenny and Andrew Hayden-Smith.