7. Byker Grove
This is another BBC drama for kids which was aired after Newsround at 5.10pm so that it could tackle gritty subjects. It aired from 1989-2006. Aimed at children 12-16 years of age, Byker Grove Is a youth club and the programme deals with the problems they have growing from childhood into adulthood. There was also a foster house featured but the kids were rarely seen in school (leaving that angle to Grange Hill). Topics covered were drug addiction, abortion, child abuse and homelessness. A gay storyline where two boys kissed inevitably led to the reactionary right wing press doing their collective knicker twisting thing. The BBC strongly stood by the programme and it was praised by several gay groups. There was quite a lot of death and sorrow in the programme but it launched the career of Ant and Dec (how joyous!), Donna Air (even more joyous!) and a whole load of Emmerdale actors.