Let's get ready to rumble again

Ant and Dec to bring back Byker Grove

- NICOLA METHVEN

ANT McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are to reboot Byker Grove 30 years after they last appeared in the kids' drama that gave them their break.

The TV duo are to bring back the show 17 years after it ended, with the aim of pumping work opportunities into the North East of England.

The BBC series, in which they played loveable scamps PJ and Duncan, ran from 1989 until 2006.

The new version will be renamed Byker and be set in a present day youth club in Newcastle. No broadcaster is yet attached, but it will be aimed at a family audience in a prime time slot.

Ant and Dec, both 47, will work as creative directors and executive producers via their company Mitre Productions. It will be made in conjunction with James Corden's firm Fulwell 73.