4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'I was Grange Hill legend Zammo now I'm a locksmith after horror crash ended my dream'
Zammo McGuire had one of the most infamous story lines on Grange Hill after becoming a heroin addicts, but life for the actor after leaving the show took a different turn
For a generation of viewers, he was the fresh-faced trouble-prone kid of Grange Hill, but since he graduated, Lee Macdonald's life trajectory took a turn after a nasty accident changed his dream.
Ingrained into the memory of a generation who grew up in the 1980s, Lee Macdonald - who played Zammo Mcguire - made his way into houses across the country, and even into the White House as he and some of the cast were invited to Washington DC after Nancy Reagan watched the show.
Zammo was the classic 'cheeky chap' youngster with bags of charm but who was easily swayed down the wrong path, but this time it wasn't getting in trouble for getting into a playground scrap.
The show known for introducing some of the biggest issues of the time to a young audience had storylines centred around racism, teenage pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, and in this case drug addiction.
Zammo's story arc in particular struck with families becoming one of the most popular and controversial stories of the show as he was lured down the path of heroin addiction, leading to the infamous scene of him nearly overdosing when he was found slumped in a toilet.
The character became the face of the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign that swept across the world in the 80s, with the Grange Hill cast even having a top five UK chart hit with their anti-drugs charity track, Just Say No.
But after his five-year spell on the show would come to an end in 1987, his time in front of the camera would take a hiatus. Partly something he claims was done due to the damage of the association with drugs, reports Sky.
But speaking about his time on the show to The Guardian, he had overwhelmingly positive things to say: "I was doing something I really enjoyed, getting paid for it and I was getting loads of girlfriends. My schoolwork never suffered; I was never bullied at school. It was the best thing I ever did, and if I could do it all again I would.'
Instead, he looked to turn his hobby of boxing into a career, however tragedy would strike just years later. When he was 21, Macdonald was left with severe head injuries after being involved in a nasty car crash that rendered his boxing career over before it had even started.
But since then he found things outside acting, buying up a locksmith in Surrey in 2000, with his old Grange Hill days coming in useful for mustering up business. He added: 'I went round local estate agents, and they would go: 'Zammo!' A lot of the work now I've got is from it.'
His website for the business even has the moniker: 'Just say no to the rest!'
But despite the locksmith business paying most of the bills, in more recent years, he's still been popping up on our television screens - most notably with small roles on EastEnders, The Bill and Neighbours.
In June last year, the actor also shared his health battle with the world, revealing that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer after spotting an "unusual spot on my face".
Posting to social media he added: "As we get older please keep an eye on anything unusual and hopefully get it looked at early!!! Booked in to get it sorted over the next couple of days."
