Byker Grove star who was 'beaten up by fans' now has £17-an-hour job

Daily Record

26-05-2025

Lyndyann Barrass was just 11 years old when she was cast as Spuggie in Byker Grove and was soon a household name
She was the fiery, red-headed dynamo of Byker Grove, yet over 30 years later, Lyndyann Barrass has hung up the mantle of the teen idol known as Spuggy. Nowadays, she embraces the world of cleaning with the occasional side act – and claims she's never been more content.
Now 47, the erstwhile juvenile sensation who charmed audiences as Kirsty "Spuggie" Campbell in the celebrated 90s youth soap, operates her own cleaning enterprise in Sunderland.
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Her current situation is worlds apart from rubbing shoulders on set with Ant and Dec, but she maintains a relationship with the Tyneside twosome, even sharing that she's messaged Declan Donnelly about the possibility of a guest appearance in the recently publicised revival of Byker Grove, now titled Byker, slated for development in 2023.
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"I'd go back in a heartbeat," she told to The Sun in 2023. "But it would have to be streamed, and appeal to a TikTok generation now."
Entering the Byker Grove scene in 1989, Lyndyann became an instant darling of the show. Her portrayal of the forthright Spuggy captured hearts nationwide, and she looks back at those days with affection – not least due to the camaraderie she shared with a youthful Dec, whom she endearingly calls "Deccie-poos", reports Chronicle Live.
"There was an instant chemistry between all of us," she said. "If we weren't filming or in school, we were all in a holding room playing pool."
Her time on the programme ended when she was 16, which she attributes to a hesitance by producers to elevate her salary: "They couldn't suddenly have everyone turning 16 on that sort of money".
After her stint on Byker Grove, Lyndyann briefly joined a girl band named Angel and ventured into some theatre and TV work. However, following a savage attack on the street in her twenties, where she was knocked unconscious by individuals who recognised her as Spuggy, she decided to leave the limelight permanently.
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"That was the final straw," she said. "Thankfully I wasn't badly injured, but I just thought, 'I'm done.'".
Her life has taken quite a turn since her time as Spuggy. Having married her childhood beau Allan Power and brought up two children - Joe, now 23, and Scarlette, 18 - Lyndyann took a completely different path.
Post-divorce, she found herself working at a bank call centre, which was followed by her launching her own cleaning business, Dusty Springclean. The company faced challenges when the pandemic struck just a year after its inception, leading her to dip into savings set aside for home improvements, yet she persevered.
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In a recent update on the firm's Facebook page, she announced an increase in their hourly rates to £17.5, citing escalating costs as the reason. "I'm not just cleaning houses," she expressed back in 2023, referring to a previous rate hike to £14.
"I'm supporting my kids. That's always been the most important thing."
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She is immensely proud of her offspring: Joe has become a qualified plumber, and Scarlette is showing promise as a goalkeeper with Sunderland's academy, the same nursery that produced four Lionesses.
Decades on from her days in Byker Grove, Lyndyann still finds herself being recognised, even while cleaning a client's house. During one memorable encounter, her client did a double-take before asking, "Are you...?" to which she responded, "Yes, that's me. Spuggy."
'I will always love the character and appreciate how much she meant to people", she said, "It's not something I ever want to forget."
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Currently, Lyndyann continues to pursue her passion for acting by participating in theatre productions now and again and featuring as a guest on various British TV programmes.
News emerged earlier this year about Ant and Dec's plans to reboot Byker Grove, although it remains unconfirmed if they will return as their characters PJ and Duncan. Nevertheless, Lyndyann admits to reaching out to Dec, saying, "I'd love a cameo. I think people would get a kick out of seeing some of us again."
Having kept in touch with the duo since their time on set, Lyndyann revealed that when her daughter Scarlette was in urgent need of surgery for a dangerous brain condition, she turned to Dec for support. In an incredible show of thoughtfulness, a signed I'm A Celeb Bushtucker Trial star from Ant and Dec arrived at their doorstep shortly after.
Lyndyann said: "She's their biggest fan, and she just burst into tears. She keeps it on her bedroom mirror. To do that for her meant so much."