lee macdonald aka zammo from grange hill at chessington zoo

[Suppertimepuss]

What series is this?

[Jacksiin1]

Ohh Comon everyone knows that Gingers aint hard!

[cptskellern]

lovin all this! well in lee ;)

[MrNePiS]

"Cumoffit!" I ain't said that in years..lol.. ah the memories.

[lisa3751]

wot ever happened 2 zammos mate gorden jones (jonah) on the programme and in real life past and presant

[chebss]

Whats the name of the girl at the end with the blonde hair, i had a crush on her all those yrs ago LOL.Nice scene lee remember this well.. what year is this from??

[NeedleHitsTheGroove]

@chebss That'll be Fay Lucas (Alison Bettles) who is now, would you believe, 41! Bit of a baby spice thing going on. Nice ... but no Claire Scott :-b

[leemac2121]

Hi thomasinastoybox, i need to check that one if you want more info find me on FB and ill find out for you, lee.

[leemac2121]

Thank you for your comment vistathon and i make you right re health and safety lol

[vistathon]

Thanks for this, it's brought back so many memories. This is the one Grange Hill moment that I can clearly remember as if it was Yesterday - the Classic "Day trip to the Zoo". I honestly don't think you could get away with it these days? Having the Kids doing their own stunts would have the Health and Safety people up in arms!

[thomasinastoybox]

brilliant - we went to Chessington yestarday - wow! how it has changed!! Great memories x

[Edam3000]

Lee, did the BBC give you a copy of all the episodes you were in ?

[MegaScaramanga]

zammo u should have been on eastenders you were a good actor

[leemac2121]

cheers for the comment :-)

you never know MegaScaramanga :-)

[leemac2121]

lol i never thought of that before but i bet he was also the camera's back then were massive and very heavy, cheers for your comment, lee :-)

[leemac2121]

yep she was a very good actress and it was a shame she left, lee.

[byronmills]

This was and is just class - watched it on its first airing as a 10 year old and on the repeat in the 90s - one of my favorite bits of telly ever -was just so well scripted /directed and the performances from everybody involved were just magic. They just dont make them like this anymore -TV to treasure

[leemac2121]

hi byronmills, thank you for your lovely comment, lee :-)

[GrandPrix55]

Zammo had no neck..

[leemac2121]

lol why thank you for that and i still have no neck, lee :-)

[ElBestia73]

I can remember watching this when it was first aired. absolute class and one my favourite episodes. jonah/zammo were a funny pair and roland/janet were always good together to. quality.

[leemac2121]

Hi ElBestia, this was my fav too, it was also the first ever episode i ever filmed on GH, Lee :-)

[imagos]

if that keeper chased them now he be acused of being a paedaphile

[keefybaby2007]

jonah(lee sparke) got written out once he heard that he was gonna drown....so he quit the show....and most of the next series had to be re-written....jonah's cousin drowned instead..........i think.

[womblediehard]

Shame about Jonah him and Zammo made a great double act was gutted when he wasn't in the season afterwards.

[leemac2121]

you are so right he jonah was a top character it was a real shame he was written out, lee.

[leemac2121]

you are so right and not many people know that, how did you? lee :-)

[whatmakesjoey]

Anyone know which series of Grange Hill it was when it showed the scene of the forgery of a bus pass

[leemac2121]

hi whatmakesjoey, not quite sure but they were great episodes :-)

[AeussersteKraft]

@whatmakesjoey Series 7.

[lisa3751]

@AeussersteKraft 

[AeussersteKraft]

@lisa3751 ?

[abhard6]

Rarely watch a video this long, but this had me hooked all the way through, thanks so much for posting this fantastic clip, at a time in the early 80's when Grange Hill was at its best.

You don't get much more classic kids TV than this.

Brillant acting all round - can't fault it!

[leemac2121]

Thanks for the comment!

This is my fav ep and also the first one i ever filmed

Lee

[WheresThePawzButton]

Hi Lee. Just curious, how long did an episode take to film and what was a typical day like? How were the adult actors towards the 'kids'?

Just watched the Just Say No and Mods & Rockers clips on here. Can't help thinking they should have toned down Alison's vocals...her accent stands out like a sore thumb! No offence, Alison, should you ever read this ;-)

Forget the obvious teen dreams of Ali and Mel (who still look hot today), whatever happened to my fave Julie-Ann Steele aka Diane Cooney?

[leemac2121]

i did reply to this but it doesn't seem to have been posted :-(

let me know if you got my reply

lee

[WheresThePawzButton]

Hi Lee

Nope, never got your original reply...

Ah, to be a teenager again instead of a 40 year old with responsibilities... I'd love to go back to '85 and give my younger self a kick in the right direction!

Best wishes from 'sunny' Manchester

Colin

[Andrewshadowy]

This was one of my all time fav episodes

[Andrewshadowy]

I love this vid because i too went to Chessington Zoo with my school, the same year this was filmed. I was about 11 and i remember the dinosaurs where yourself and mr class had lunch. Grange was such a important programme and am sure it will return sometime in the future. Shame it was taken off really. In te 80's it was so realistic and from the 90s onwards it lost that realism and so started to lose its appeal.

[leemac2121]

This is my favourite too and it was the fist ever episode i filmed even though it was screened as episode 12

so you were at the zoo when we were!

cheers for the comments lee.

[womblediehard]

Lee why was Jonah not in the next series of grange hill thought you two were a great double act

[zoemills242]

Those were the days !!! i cant believe its nearly twenty years since i saw these the first time round! You look so young lol

[leemac2121]

This was filmed over 28 years ago!!!!!

[zoemills242]

twenty eight! Ha you old bugger! I only saw these when they were repeated in the nineties lol

[cazbah72]

I remember it first time around - can't believe that's 28 years!! Loved Grange Hill & watched it right through the 80's.

[zoemills242]

Legend. They dont' make them like this anymore

[leef0324uk]

ive got the DVDS everyone i agree with stoob1969

the 80's was gr8 it was the decade for new things i love this

[stoob1969]

That's funny, Lee you look cute there, what went wrong? :o)

Between Tucker, Zammo, Gonch and the sausage, it's hard to say what was my favourite thing about Grange Hill, this clip brings back so many nostalgic moments.

The 80's weren't all bad :o)

[leemac2121]

cute lol i dont know where it all went wrong lol

i think early GH was really good especially when tucker was there!

[stoob1969]

Don´t forget the Gonch, he brought comic relief to the show and unity to all gingers :o)

Do you have any clips from Bring Back Grange Hill you are allowed to show?

[misterbenn011]

zammo you legend !! ...was it hard learning scripts & balancing it with schoolwork?

[leemac2121]

to be honest when your younger it seems a lot easier but im sure if i were to do school and filming now i would struggle lol

[nwlman]

Thanks Lee,

I would like to see a one of Drama made about Zammo and Jonah etc to see how their lives panned out they were the best Grang Hill group ever. Thanks for the reply always wondered why Jonah left the show, was wrong to make him drown Lee was correct not to go along with it.

Alan

[nwlman]

Hi Lee,

Can you tell mw why Jonah left grange hill why was he written out I used to like watching you guys this was my grange hill era.

Alan

[leemac2121]

hi alan, lee sparke was supposed to drown in the swimming pool but he didnt want to do it so he left the show, therefore it was his cousin jeremy that died instead, lee sparke was excellent in GH, cheers for the comment, lee.

[VIRGIN520]

A classic. Can remember watching this

episode back in the day.

[gillo69]

This era of GH is priceless...

[leemac2121]

i think so too.

[leemac2121]

even though this is episode 12 it was the first one i ever filmed and its my favourite one too, lee.

[VIRGIN520]

It was hilarious even watching it today.

Thanks for the memories.

[GeorgeASFTHM]

Esther's nancy Gavin Campbell played a teacher from another school in this episode, the same year as he joined That's Life!

I can't help thinking that the light haired schoolboy from one of the other schools in the clip looks rather like the Milky Bar Kid! Well, I think so anyway...

[leemac2121]

actually now you mention it i think your right about the milky bar kid, cheers lee.

[vern63]

LMAO!! He ain't changed much either! That's my mate Dave! We've ribbed him about this since we first found out he was in it! :)) Thanks for posting. Class! x

[leemac2121]

wow, which one is your mate? is he on facebook? say hi to him for me!

[lisac626]

hi our mate is the ginger one carrots garvey and yes he is on facebook have you got any more of him PLEASE ? HE IS GONNA KILL US ..LOL..X

[dljrbarnes]

got anymore zammo n jonah classic, fantastic clips? loved em then, love em now!! whatever happened to lee sparke?

[leemac2121]

he lives in Australia, i havnt seen him since he left grange hill, lovely guy though, i have got some more stuff to put on here but i need to source it from my mums attic first lol, cheers lee.

[tadge72]

why do you eat so much? Ro land!

[thecritic2007]

Lee so erm what happend in the white house toilet that time mate

[leemac2121]

you would have to ask erkan that question

lee

[Trentyoak33]

This has to be one of the funniest episodes ever!! Chessington has changed so much over the years since this was filmed as well.

[leemac2121]

it was the best and first episode i ever filmed, yeah chessington has changed massively, but i still prefer the old era, lee.

[PadmeAmadildo]

Can't see Naomi Campbell in this...

Mind you, with all the violence - and over a bag too - she must have felt in her element!

[leemac2121]

you know what nor can i, but someone said she was in it, ill have to do some checks, lee.

[blackpoolacer]

and thanx for the upload lee! nice one geez!

[leemac2121]

no worries it brings back some great memories, cheers lee.

[blackpoolacer]

I managed to get all series 8 to 12 converted to dvd, will try and upload some stuff soon.

The canal trip and the Isle Of Wight trip are my first tasks.

plus Zammo's fight on the bus with Banks! all right keep your hair on! (i meam gotta get a chair on) mr bronson!

[leemac2121]

hi, please let me know when you upload some stuff, lee.

[kbohare]

for fucks sake lee dig out the vhs, it would be klass

[leemac2121]

right its at my mums so next time I'm there i will get it and put it on here, there are some classic never seen before cock ups, lee.

[trebor24062008]

So funny, damn I'm old I remember this episode lol.

Bet you had a hell of a time on set?

I would love to see any outakes.

[leemac2121]

hi, i did have a vhs of some out takes but i cant bloody find it, we had such a great time filming it, cheers for the comment, lee.

[spook1916]

what's the chances of zammo being in the very last episode of grange hill

[lyptonvillage1970]

One of My Favourite Episodes also.

Mr Sparke was great as You were also Lee.

Great Memories there

Thanks for uploading

Take Care

Kev

[TangoCharlie27]

If anyones on Facebook, I've started a group called 'We want tv to replay GRANGE HILL from series one!'

Do a search for it. See you there!

Tc

[leemac2121]

yeah all the girls fancied mr sparke and i was gutted lol, you can find him on facebook as he has just joined, cheers lee.

[ADAM10121]

excellent vid lee thanks

... adam

[vinylmasakist]

Thanks for sharing ,I never missed an episode younger,just wish they would rerun this classic series.

[leemac2121]

i would love to see them rerun all these old episodes as they bring back some great memories, lee.

[fuckoffucunt]

UK Gold DID re run the entire series some years back (pre 2000). My bro' and I didn't miss an entire episode of the repeats. Been a fan since the first episode in '78. Whatever happened to Lee Sparke. His character Jonah Jones just disappered! He was the perfect foil for Zammo. The guy who played 'Williamson', Ovid Best, went to my school said Sparke wasn't turning up for rehersals. Is that true?

[leemac2121]

hi, god that name ovid brings back some memories he was a lovely guy, im not sure about lee not turning up for rehearsals as i cant remember that but maybe he did, it was such a long time ago, i remember the reruns in the 90's i think they were bb2, cheers for the comment, like your user name lol, lee.

[fuckoffucunt]

Shame u & Mellisa Wilkes wasn't an item during ur time on Grange Hill. I was convinced u 2 were. Lol yh da user name came about after a late night of joining up social networking sites such as this one. Youtube was the last one and I was feckin fed up and tired by then...

[gpratt999]

Grange Hill. Just the best. Love it

[neilam6]

which series was this is it available on dvd?

[leemac2121]

hi, this is series 5 episode 12 its not been officially released on dvd but you can get it on a website if your interested i can mail you the link, though i dont know what the quality will be like, cheers lee.

[neilam6]

yeah thanx that wud be great just send the link to my youtube mail thing thanx

[hazbrowne]

is that now a theme park

of th M25 just south east of Thorpe park

[leemac2121]

Chessington is situated 12 miles from London on the A243, just 2 miles from the A3 and M25 (junction 9 or 10).

i have just cut and paste this from chessington site so i hope this answers your question, lee.

[hazbrowne]

ok if your trying to say where that was filmed or ment to be yes it does

and

if they didnt move from elstree it would not of been axed come one ve watched since i was 5 i bearly remeber it and i proberly didnt realise about the bad things and

if i done my real age thing and i was on it i would of n from seires erm 27-32 but Zammo era to 1999 ish was best and when i see these old videos jemery drowning 1984

[hazbrowne]

i see that pool and think thats big and deep

[Pennalooloo]

Ha that's so funny and fantastic to watch - brings back loads of memories - thanks for posting it! I had this huuuuuge crush on Jonah/Lee Sparke when I was a kid and I used to pester my mate, Vince, to get me his autograph all the time! Vince played Jonah's annoying cousin in GH. Oh to be a kid again sometimes eh? :)

[lilprecious11]

hi ive been dying to get episodes 5plus

it takes me back!!!

cheers

[Perranporth]

THE funniest episode of Grange Hill of all time!! I was only about 8 or 9 at the time, but I loved it back then and I love it now. Congratualations to all concerned!

[leemac2121]

thank you for your comment as this is my favorite one too, cheers lee.

[wokingfc2]

this has got to be released soon i love this i believe it was 1982 tuckers last year,and the entrance of zammo and roly and jonah and gang.great memories remember coming home from school and about 5 past 5 inthe evening this was on in the week pure class ive emailed the bbc to consider series 5 to8 to be released lets hope so eh cheers mate

[leemac2121]

hi thank you for your comment, your right i think it was broadcast in 82 but i think we began filming in 81 because i was 13 during filming, thanks for the mail to the beeb as i so hope they release 5 to 8 or 9, cheers lee.

[WankityWank]

Oh i think they will release it on DVD Lee, My missus bought me the last box set for christmas and she said she had to order it in the end cos it was sold out at 2 different HMV's. Laughed so hard watching Grange Hill again after all these years.Especially the whole Rolaaand saga.

[leemac2121]

oh i so hope so if you do hear they are releasing them please let me know, thank you for your comment, lee

[romanaii]

one of my fav scenes

[leemac2121]

hi a you tube member left a comment and i stupidly deleted it about if they released it on DVD you would lose the quality and your right but if you read this can you please mail again, cheers lee.

[WorldRecords]

If they released the new 2 box sets of Grange Hill (Series 5-8) let's hope they don't put a digital filmic look on the indoor scenes and keep it original.

You wouldn't lose any quality they would be remastered but with a stupid filmlike look which is what they have done with the Series 1-4 DVD's on the indoor scenes.

[charliedrakes]

Yes, i agree also, so many memories. I too went there to the Zoo about this time on a school trip. I also agree that more early Grange Hill's should be released especially the series up to and with the Drugs series and also The just say no video could be released too. Just am glad so many peopple recorded this and have copies but with a proper dvd release picture and sound can be remastered too. Great clip, never tire of seeing it. Wonder what Jonah is doing now? I guess he's dry now. Thanks Lee

[leemac2121]

yes it would be great to release all these episodes on dvd but i dont think its gonna happen, lol yeah jonah is proper dry now and thanks to LaurelandHardyForum a youtube member who manged to get lee's (jonah) contact details we are back in touch again and lee is now living in Australia, cheers for the comment, lee.

[charliedrakes]

Oh thank you for the upload. This is one of my fav episodes that you was in.

[leemac2121]

me too its makes me chuckle every time i watch it, cheers for the comment, lee.

[WorldRecords]

The BBC should have the next 2 Grange Hill DVD Boxsets released cos this is classic stuff. It feels like since series 5-6 there was a new generation in Grange Hill from the Tucker era.

[leemac2121]

cheers for your comment, i was so hoping they would release the early zammo, jonah, fay, annette and roly stuff but i dont think its gonna happen, i have got such great memories from from these days, thanks, lee.

[mikkifly]

classic episode lee i loved the fight scenes,

with your boxing skills you would have beaten them all up on your own...lol

all the best mate.

[leemac2121]

hi, this is my favourite ever episode its also the first one i ever filmed, hope to get some more early stuff on later this week, cheers for the comment, lee.

[LaurelandHardyForum]

yeh the scene with Janet and Roly was hilarious and made me laugh out loud. Erkan was superb as young 'Roly'. Was also good to hear the 'flippin' eck' catchphrase again from Jonah. Kudos to Linz for providing the footage. Keep it coming I'm loving every second of it.

[LaurelandHardyForum]

excellent Lee, thanks for posting this. I'm glad you found it eventually. Good to see Zammo and Jonah again. Oh the memories.

[leemac2121]

hi, thank you again for getting me the contact details for lee, i must thank a lovely lady called linz who sent me this episode so i could get it on here and its my favourite of all time, also on this clip is a priceless piece where janet is lecturing rol-and about eating too much, cheers lee.