Where Grange Hill stars are now as Lee MacDonald reveals he has cancer – from fashion fame to booze battles
GRANGE Hill fans have been left devastated after Lee Macdonald revealed that he’s battling skin cancer after noticing an ‘unusual spot’ on his face.
The actor who is best known for playing Zammo McGuire was flooded with support after sharing his diagnosis.
It comes after yet a star from the beloved children’s TV series died after a “long battle with leukaemia“.
Where are the cast of Grange Hill now?
Lee, 56, announced the health news on X, telling fans: “Went to the doctors today to check an unusual spot on my face! Doctor says it’s cancer!
“As we older please keep an eye on anything unusual and hopefully get it looked at early!!! Booked in to get it sorted over the next couple of day.”
The star shot to fame in the 80s on the BBC school drama Grange Hill where he played heroin addict Zammo for six years.
The storyline was one of the most gritty that the show had ever done and saw Lee become the face of anti-drugs campaign Just Say No.
After leaving the show he pursued a career in boxing, but this was cut short after he was involved in a serious car accident when he was 21.
He was thrown 47ft through a windscreen and was told he would never fight again.
Lee has made several TV appearances since leaving Grange Hill, including an episode of The Bill.
The actor previously said that his role of Zammo “ruined his career” as he struggled to find work due to employers not wanting to be associated with drug use.
He took time off the screen and worked as a locksmith, before his agent encouraged him to get back into acting.
In 2019 he played the role of Terry in EastEnders.
In March 2020, Lee got engaged to his long-term partner Jess and they got married in 2022.
Peter ‘Tucker’ Jenkins (Todd Carty)
Todd Carty remains one of the most successful and original Grange Hill cast members.
He landed his own spin-off show Tucker’s Luck from 1983 to 1985 before stepping onto Albert Square.
The actor, 57, starred as Mark Fowler, who was diagnosed with HIV, on the soap from 1990 to 2003.
After EastEnders he portrayed evil serial killer PC Gabriel Kent in The Bill who raped a colleague and then took his own life.
In 2009 he appeared on Dancing On Ice which saw him accidentally skid through the exit on one episode.
Mark also starred on Celebrity Masterchef in 2014 and 2015 and he made a documentary with his eldest son James for Channel 5: Dangerous Adventures for Boys.
Todd has been with his childhood love Dina Clarkin since 1990 and they have two sons James and Thomas.
Roland Browning (Erkan Mustafa)
Erkan Mustafa played Roland ‘Roly’ Browning who was horrifically bullied for his weight.
He played the role for six years, becoming a fan favourite on the show.
Erkan left the show in 1987 and went on to star in Chef! for two series with Lenny Henry.
He also appeared in several episodes of Blackadder.
Erkan is still good friends with Lee MacDonald and they have attended plenty of charity events together.
According to his X profile he still works as an actor but has also stepped into directing and writing.
He’s made TV appearances on Soccer AM and Celebrity Juice.
In an interview with GrangeHillGold he said that the show “made him the person he is today”.
He said: “It made me the person I am today. It gave me some good memories and some bad memories. I never really wanted to be an actor and doing Grange Hill, that made for 10 or 15 years of my life, think I was going to be an actor.
“Now I know I get more pleasure from writing than acting. But it was all good really. I’ve come out with great experiences.
“I’ve done things that other people have never done in their life, but most of all, I’ve come out with some good friends.”
Suzanne Ross (Susan Tully)
Susan Tully played Suzanne Ross on the show from 1980 to 1984.
She was the rebellious daughter of teacher Mrs Ross.
When she was 17 she was cast as Michelle Fowler in EastEnders who got pregnant at the age of 16 by 39-year-old ‘Dirty’ Den Watts.
She was on the show from 1985 to 1995, turning down several offers to return as Michelle after her departure.
In 2016 she gave the show permission to recast her character but returned in 1989 to direct 12 episodes.
She stepped into the role of director and worked on the likes of The Bill, Silent Witness, Lark Rise to Candleford and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
John Alford (Robbie Wright)
In January 2019 Grange Hill star John Alford was handed a community order after resisting arrest in an incident involving a bin lorry.
The former actor and singer, 53, was arrested for “hijacking” the vehicle while it did its morning rounds near his North London home in September 2018.
Judge Gillian Allison ordered Alford to complete a 25-day rehabilitative activity and pay £400 compensation.
Alford was also ordered to serve a 14-day curfew on an electronic tag between 8pm and 6am.
John played Robbie Wright in Grange Hill from 1985 to 1990.
After that he went on to star in Londo.n’s Burning.
Benny Green (Terry Sue-Patt)
Terry Sue-Patt was the show’s first black actor and quickly became a fan-favourite.
Speaking about his experience on the show, he said: “I basically played myself in Grange Hill. There weren’t many black actors about on TV at that time.
“I had a great time, getting time off school to play football. It was a bit of a dream come true, really.”
He was scouted when he was just 14 years old and starred alongside Gary Oldman and Phil Davis in 1989 film The Firm.
After leaving the show he had minor roles in shows like Desmonds, General Hospital and Jackanory.
But tragically for Terry, he battled with alcoholism and was found dead in his London home at age 50.
Todd Carty said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by Terry’s death, writing on X: “Deeply saddened by the news of a dear friend Terry Sue-Patt passing away. Thoughts with his family RIP xxx.”
Alan Humphries (George Armstrong)
George Armstrong, who played Alan Humphries in the kids’ TV drama, passed away last year following a “long battle with leukaemia“
Lee, who played schoolboy Zammo, was amongthe first to pay tribute and wrote ‘RIP George’ along with three heat emojis.
He added: “‘I’ve just heard the very sad news that George Armstrong aka Alan Humphries passed away yesterday. RIP George. A true Grange Hill legend xxxx.”
Linda Magistris, who played the role of schoolgirl Susi McMahon, shared a number of photos alongside Armstrong.
The pair had met at drama school and had remained friends for nearly 50 years.
He starred as Alan from the first episode of Grange Hill in 1978 until its fifth series in 1982.
Armstrong’s other roles included playing PC Driscoll in The Bill in 1989.
He later gave up acting and became a theatre manager at a public school.
Lee Whitlock – Bevis Loveday
Alan’s sad death came just months after the passing of Lee Whitlock, who played Bevis Loveday in series 16 in 1993, in February.
Prior to that, Lee launched his career in the popular TV series Shine On Harvey Moon as Stanley Moon in the 1980s.
London-born Lee, who was 54, went on to appear alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Other film credits included Wish You Were Here, Jack the Giant Slayer, Cassandra’s Dream and Wild Bill.
Lee also had cameos in Casualty, EastEnders, Lovejoy, Boon, The Bill.
Donald Waugh (Hughesey)
Donald Waugh played Joseph ‘Hughsey’ Hughes on Grange Hill from the show’s beginnings in 1978 until 1980, when his life unravelled as he faced alcoholism and homelessness.
Donald is now sober and dedicates his life to helping others who are going through the same thing, with enterprise Pavement to Catwalk.
He told the Mirror: “Being homeless for a period of time has opened my eyes to the potential and talent within this untapped society.
“In this I have learned that the secret to helping yourself is to help others. I still hold this very close to my heart today.”
Paula-Ann Bland
Paula, now 54, looks completely unrecognisable these days since appearing as a fresh-faced ten-year-old on the show.
After Grange Hill, the mother-of-two continued her acting career and portrayed Kelly Brice in Only Fools and Horses, as well as Sylvie in Vanity Fair.
However, the actress soon left her drama career behind as she opened up a shoe store in Chelsea and Knightsbridge called Paola.
Later on, she opened her own PR company in both London and Los Angeles.
Despite finding enormous success, Paula’s life was thrown upside down after she found out she had stage three triple-negative breast cancer in 2018.
In an interview in the Sunday Express at the time, Paula revealed: “When you hear the word cancer, you can’t hear anything else, everything else becomes just white noise.
The actress also lost part of her breast during her procedure.
She added: “I understand it had to be done to save my life and this is better than the worst scenario of a double mastectomy and removal of the ovaries.
“But the procedure still leaves you without an important part of your identity as a woman.”
James Jebbia (Tommy Watson)
James Jebbia played Tommy Watson in 1978 over 40 years ago.
He was around 14 years old when he first appeared on the kids programme but only starred in five episodes in the first series.
It is fair to say he is a lot more successful nowadays.
He moved into retail and opened up his own skate shops in the late 80s.
He founded the brand Supreme in 1994 and the brand grew into a billion pound business over the years.
He has collaborated with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Chanel.