Zammo from Grange Hill confirmed to join EastEnders cast
Kids' TV icon Lee MacDonald has bagged a guest role
Former Grange Hill star Lee MacDonald, who played drug addict Zammo McGuire, is joining the cast of EastEnders, the soap has confirmed.
The actor, who appeared in the iconic BBC children's drama between 1982 and 1987, will appear in a guest role for two episodes later this spring as bus driver Terry who competes against Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) in a competition to win tickets to a concert. With Mick desperate to get his hands on the tickets as a gift for wife Linda (Kellie Bright), will Terry stand in the way?
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MacDonald, 50, now runs a locksmith and key-cutting business in south London, but has been reportedly tempted back to acting for the EastEnders gig. Reacting to the news, he said: “I am absolutely chuffed to bits and so excited to be briefly joining the cast of EastEnders. I can’t say too much yet but watch this space. Top banana!
“My agent wants me to drop the shop. She says I should try and push myself as an actor and not a locksmith. But I’m quite happy to say I’m a locksmith, ’cos that’s what pays the mortgage!”
When was Zammo in Grange Hill?
Boy next door Zammo's descent into drug addiction became the most famous storyline in Grange Hill's history, and was one of the hardest-hitting moments of kids' drama up to that point.
The plot famously led to an anti-drugs campaign including a number one single recorded by the cast, a cover of La Toya Jackson's 'Just Say No' which soared to the top of the charts in 1986 raising money for charity. Stars involved in the storyline were also invited to the White House to meet then First Lady Nancy Reagan to discuss the anti-drugs message.
After Grange Hill, MacDonald became a boxer and continued to act, scoring small roles in The Bill and Birds of a Feather, before devoting his time to his locksmith business. Could the EastEnders gig be the start of 2019's biggest comeback?
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