The late queen was a big fan of Grange Hill – and even performed a skit doing impressions of the hit show in her final years – royal insider reveals

The Queen was a big fan of the children's program Grange Hill and still performed her own ten-minute routine for the main characters in her final years.

The late royal, who died 16 months ago aged 96, entertained dinner guests with her sketch on the programme, years after the 31 series concluded in 2008.

The monarch, who also loved impersonations, would impersonate the voices of many of the main characters from the show, which centers around a school community and features favorites such as 'Tucker', Roland and Zammo.

A lot of his actors subsequently achieved fame on television, including roles in EastEnders.

The Queen's depth of knowledge was revealed today by biographer Gyles Brandreth during a discussion about Grange Hill on his Rosebud podcast with comedian and actor Rob Brydon, who is also known for his expert impressions.

Despite being 51 years old when the series first aired on TV in 1978, the Queen became an avid viewer, Gyles was told by close friends of the former monarch.

The presenter and former politician, who wrote a biography in 2022 called 'Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait', said: 'Only recently did I hear from real friends of the Queen that – not many years before her death – she was at a dinner at Windsor Castle with the Queen, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, and just two other people.

'And the subject of Grange Hill came up. And the Queen performed a routine, a ten-minute routine on Grange Hill.

“She played all the characters with the accents as a complete set piece.”

Rob then revealed that when he started at Porthcawl Comprehensive in Wales he was scared because his perception of what to expect was based on his viewing of the hit show – and Gyles said he was in good company.

“It wasn't just you who enjoyed Grange Hill,” the royal writer added. “While you watched, Elizabeth II watched too.”

Gyles also surprised Rob when he said the Queen was an admirer of his work – with the Welsh comedian famous for impersonating stars such as Sir Ronnie Corbett and impersonating other voices in his TV series The Trip, alongside Steve Coogan .

“One of the people who was an admirer of yours was the late Elizabeth II,” Gyles said.

“I recently wrote a biography of the Queen, and she was very much into impressionists, and she loved impressions.”

The late royal, who died 16 months ago aged 96, entertained dinner guests with her skit on the programme, years after the 31 series concluded in 2008. The photo shows the cast from 2003

The Queen's deep knowledge was revealed today by biographer Gyles Brandreth (pictured earlier this month) during a discussion about Grange Hill on his Rosebud podcast

Gyles spoke to comedian and actor Rob Brydon (pictured in July), who is also known for his expert impressions

Last spring, Grange Hill creator Sir Philip Redmond confirmed a big-screen reboot of the hit series, with the surprise return of some of the drama's beloved original stars.

The BBC announced that the gates on the London television series would close in 2008, almost thirty years after the first episode, claiming that the series no longer reflected the lives of children.

Although details of the new reboot have been kept under wraps, Philip, 74, revealed that the feature film will be based on the character Jessica Samuels.

The idea was sparked by actress Sara Sugarman, 61, who played the role of the rebellious leader of the School Action Group.

In its heyday, Grange Hill featured heavy stories of drug addiction, teenage pregnancy and school bullying

Speaking in a new interview with DeadlinePhilip said that after Sara reached out, it was like “a light bulb in my head” to restart the show.

He explained: 'I thought, “Why don't I look beyond the main characters, which is obvious, and we'll have them all there for nostalgia, but where has Jessica gone?”

“We don't want it to be like a lot of these things where they just take the characters, use the brand and throw something together. I wanted to think about how we could best revisit the show.”

Sara said she won't necessarily reprise her role for the film, explaining that she had to audition like everyone else.

She teased the return of other cast members such as Todd Carty, Sheila Chandra and Sean Maguire, adding: “It wouldn't be Grange Hill without the Grange Hillers, and there will be some surprises.”

In its heyday, Grange Hill featured heavy stories of drug addiction, teenage pregnancy and school bullying.

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth is released every Friday on all major platforms and can be listened to on