Let’s get ready to rhumble. Byker Grove, the cult BBC teen drama that followed a group of young teenagers as they came of age at a youth club in Newcastle, is set to be rebooted in 2024. Ant and Dec, who kicked off their TV stardom playing Byker Grove’s PJ and Duncan, are back on board as the show’s executive producers, and report that they are “beyond excited” for its return.

Returning to Newcastle (with the stripped-back titled Byker) the new series aims to “help shine a spotlight on the north-east and the talent the region has to offer, both in front of the camera and behind it”. With the original show running between 1989 and 2006, it will also need a lot of modernising to chime with the mid-2020s, a task taken on by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s own production firm, Mitre Studios, in partnership with Fulwell 73.

“We owe such a lot to Byker Grove and the north-east, so we can’t wait to start working with Fulwell 73 and the team to bring this iconic series back to life,” says McPartlin, in an announcement video. “Already talking characters and storylines has us all buzzing at the possibilities ahead.” As he points out, the original Byker Grove was a “starting point” for a lot of talent based in north-east England, also including Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam.

Needless to say, current teen shows such as Sex Education and Heartstopper have also propelled their young cast members to stardom, meaning that Byker’s casting details will be awaited with bated breath. Could some better-known names be sprinkled in alongside the undiscovered talent? Is there a world where Kit Connor and Asa Butterfield play a modern-day PJ and Duncan, and go on to release an ill-judged hip-hop album?

It also remains to be seen just how far Byker will go with its characters and storylines. Known for tackling some mature themes and controversial topics for its time, the modernisation could even be poised to become Britain’s answer to Euphoria. Just think: the bleak, grey streets of northern England, but drenched in glitter and neon. The Tyneside Zendaya is out there somewhere, just waiting for her time in the limelight.