Denise Welch talks Byker Grove reboot and whether she thinks it will be ‘PC’

Denise Welch has discussed the return of TV show Byker Grove and what the reboot might look like, considering “we’ve become so PC” now.

Byker Grove was a BBC teen drama that last broadcast 17 years ago and starred British TV personalities Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, as well as actress Welch.

McPartlin and Donnelly will serve as executive producers and creative consultants of the reboot, which will return under the name Byker.

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women panel about what she thinks the reboot will be like, Welch said: “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 humour but it was a huge success.

“I’m sure if Ant and Dec have got owt to do with it then it will be a big hit.”

During the show, the actress also recalled the moment McPartlin and Donnelly jokingly revealed to her that she had assisted their career as entertainers.

She said: “When I was in Coronation Street, I was very flattered to do This Is Your Life, remember, This Is Your Life (the biographical TV documentary) where and Ant and Dec came on and they said, well the reason that we’ve had to go on and become entertainers is because Denise used to teach us our maths so we failed everything.”

Welch has also starred in the teen drama Waterloo Road, which made a return to screens this year, after its original run ended in 2015.

McPartlin and Donnelly are known for presenting Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, among other TV shows.

The duo also had a stint in the music industry and became known for the phrase Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble, which was a song they released in 1994 under their Byker Grove character names PJ and Duncan.

Other actors to have appeared in Byker Grove include Charlie Hunnam, Jill Halfpenny, Charlie Hardwick, Donna Air and Hollyoaks star Andrew Hayden-Smith.