"Wow Dec,that's absolutely brilliant,well done" Patricia excitedly exclaimed as she rushed to be the first to hug him.

Everyone else soon followed with their congratulations and overzealous cuddles.

"I knew you could do it Declan" Anne beamed "I'm so proud of you"

"Yes,very proud my boy" Fonsey chimed in "now tell us all about it?"

They all gathered around Dec as he enthusiastically told everyone all that he knew,which to be honest,wasn't that much yet.

"All i know is they didn't think I was suitable for the part of Winston,so I'm going to be playing a character called Duncan"

"What's this Duncan character like?" Martin asked.

"Dunno" Dec replied shrugging his shoulders "don't know anything about him yet,except that he likes hanging out at youth clubs and he looks alot like me"

Everyone laughed at the grinning youngster.

"When do you start filming?" Anne asked.

"In about a months time,they'll let me know all the details nearer the time" Dec smiled,lapping up all the attention.

"Well,one of us will definitely be taking you,at least at the beginning" Anne informed him.

"But Mam...."

"No buts Declan,this is not negotiable,I want to see exactly where you'll be and how you'll be looked after,it's not much for a mother to want to know"

"Ok" Dec sighed,knowing there was absolutely no point in disagreeing with her on this.

"Our little Decky....an actor" Fonsey smiled while pulling Dec in for a sideways hug "who'd have thought it?"

"Didn't I always say he was special?" Anne grinned.

"Oh God Mam,not again,stop it with all that 'special' stuff will ya?" Dec playfully retorted.

"Alright sweetheart I will,for now,but i can't wait to tell everyone about my soon to be famous son"

Around a month later,Dec couldn't believe that his first day of filming had finally arrived.That month had dragged by so unbelievably slowly that it had been torturous for the young wannabe.

But here he was in his Dads car,with both parents,making his way to the set where Byker Grove would be filmed.

As Fonsey pulled up in front of the impressive mitre building,Decs nerves started to get the better of him.

"I'm not sure if I can do this,I feel sick" he groaned while rubbing his queasy belly.

"Don't be daft Declan" Fonsey warned "this is your dream and you're going to be just fine.I doubt there's a single kid here today who isn't nervous.Come on,let's go in and find out where you're meant to be"

All three anxiously climbed out of the car.If the truth was known,Anne and Fonsey were probably more nervous for their aspiring little star than Dec himself was,but they would never let him know that.

As soon as Dec saw all the other kids and parents milling around in the area he'd been told to wait,he started to relax a little.

Parents and children were chatting with each other,all sharing how anxious they were.

Dec noticed the red haired girl again,he wasn't surprised she'd made the cut.She immediately noticed him staring at her.

"I'm Lyndyann,you can call me Lyn" she announced confidently as she made her way over.

"Err,I'm Declan...Dec" he shyly informed her.

"Who are you playing?I'm playing Spuggie,this is gonna be just brilliant isn't it?"

Dec just stared at her for a few moments,not believing that he actually felt slightly intimidated by a girl.

"Well?who are you playing?" She demanded to know again.

"Err...Duncan" Dec couldn't understand his own discomfort at being in the presence of an over confident child,he was pretty confident himself most of the time,that's what helped him get the part after all.

Lyndyann had obviously decided she'd had enough of this kid who she couldn't get much conversation out of and wandered off to find a more attentive audience,leaving Anne and Fonsey incredibly amused at the childrens little exchange.

"Don't worry Decky" Fonsey mused "you'll settle right in soon enough"

It was soon time for all the parents to leave the kids to their day of acting as well as private tutoring,child working laws making sure education was still a top priority.

"How was it?" Anne asked as she and her husband returned a few hours later to pick up their offspring.

"Was ok" Dec replied nonchalantly.

"Just ok?" Anne queried "how about you tell us all about it on the way home?"

"It was fine Mam honestly" Dec assured her as they drove through the streets of Newcastle "just alot of sitting around and watching other people film and alot of tutoring" he scowled.

Fonsey laughed at his sons dissatisfied face "don't you worry Declan,it's only the beginning,you'll get plenty of lines as time goes on if that's what you're concerned about?it's early days yet and you know tutoring is part of the deal,you still need school and they're only allowed to let you work a certain amount of hours at your age,so you'll probably be doing more resting than working at the moment"

"Resting is boring" Dec groaned "I'm a kid,I'm not meant to sit still"

Anne quickly changed the subject slightly "what were the other kids like?did you like them?that girl you were chatting to this morning seems nice?"

"They're ok I guess" Dec smiled "can't get a word in edgways with that girl though,she never stops talking like"

Anne and Fonsey both laughed

"You'll be just grand Dec,you'll have loads of new friends by the end of the week and they'll tell you soon enough when they plan to give your more lines,can't expect too much on your first day" Fonsey assured him.

"Unless you're bloody Lyndyann," Dec mumbled to himself.

Sure enough,Dec soon loved the days he was to go and film for Byker Grove,although he still had very few lines throughout the first series,the ones he did have,he totally delivered with gusto.

He enjoyed hanging out with the other cast members and the periods he was supposed to 'rest' actually just became their playtime.Happily kicking a football around and playing hide and seek in the extensive grounds of the building.Although this would sometimes make Dec and everyone else late for filming as he would find the best hiding places.It would more often than not,result in the adults,as well as the kids looking for him as the other youngsters searching often proved fruitless,this inevitably resulted in some rather irate directors and producers who were keen to stick to their timetable.

Soon enough,filming for the first series was concluding and Dec had decided he would talk to the big bosses before he went home.

He managed to corner Adele and Angela,the writer and producer.

"Excuse me ladies" he tried to sound as grown up as possible.

"Yes Declan?" Adele smiled at the polite youngster.

Dec took a deep breath.

"Well,I was just thinking and i have been thinking for quite a while now,that I would like to have more lines,more stories,I've only had about five lines in this whole series and I think you're missing a trick"

Decs confidence was growing fast as he spoke.

"I can be great for this show,you've seen I can act well.How about it?wanna give me more to work with?I promise I won't let you down,you can trust me,let me show you,how about it?"

Dec stopped talking,fearing he may be starting to sound slightly whiney.

Adele and Angela couldn't help but be amused by the keen youngster.

"Well Declan" Angela smiled "I have actually just been talking with others about you,we've all been watching you and we agree,you have great potential.So you will definitely be having more lines and plots revolving around your character in the future.Keep an eye out for the script for series two in the post and meanwhile enjoy your break and remember to watch when the first series is aired"

"Oh I will" Dec replied excitedly as he hugged both women.He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to hug them but at that precise moment,he couldn't have cared less about what was appropriate and what wasn't.

A few weeks later,the whole Donnelly clan squeezed into Anne and Fonseys living room,ready to watch Decs first ever on screen moments.

As his cute little face appeared on the small television,everyone cheered and clapped as Dec blushed furiously.The applause was so loud that no one actually heard what was being said on the programme,but no one cared,not even Dec,they were so caught up in the moment.

"Well done Decky" Dermott joyfully praised as the episode drew to a close "you were great,so proud of you baby bro"

"Yeah me too squirt" Martin agreed while ruffling Decs hair.

"Thanks everyone" Dec smiled gratefully as he was hugged over and over again.

"Now" Fonsey announced "as this is such a special day for us Donnellys,we need to mark it properly"

He made his way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne.Well the 'champagne' was actually just cheap,sparkling wine in reality as that was all their finances could stretch to,but the sentiment was the same.

"Wow champagne?can I have some?" Dec asked hopefully.

"You may have a sip" Fonsey smiled.

Although the fact of the matter was,none of them got much more than a sip anyway.One bottle of sparkling wine didn't go far between the large family.

As Dec raised the glass to his lips,he decided to savour every tiny bit of his first taste of alcohol,sipping incredibly slowly and gently.

"Yuk,that's gross" he snapped disappointed "tastes like soap"

Everyone laughed at him.

"Never mind Declan,get yourself a juice from the fridge" Anne suggested.

They all raised their glasses and made a toast to Dec.

"To our little actor" Martin announced "may he go far"

A few months later it was time to start filming the second series.Dec was excited at the prospect of more storylines,he had received his copy of the script a few weeks earlier and was happy with how his character was progressing.

He was also looking forward to seeing his friends again.He'd seen a couple of them during the break who lived nearby,but the others were too far away.

As he sat chatting about what he'd been up to with everyone in the canteen,he noticed a kid in a baseball cap sat alone at a corner table,his nose buried in a comic.Dec thought how miserable he looked before returning to the current conversation,not giving the boy another thought.

The working day was soon over and Dec was making his way home on the bus with the two kids who didn't live too far away.

Fonsey had persuaded Anne it was now time to let Dec make his way there and back alone.She didn't have any choice but to agree.

As Fonsey,Anne,Cam and Dec sat around enjoying their dinner of sausages and mash that evening,the conversation inevitably turned to Byker Grove.

"How did it go today Dec?" Cam enquired.

"Yeah was good" Dec smiled "nice to see everyone again and great to have more lines"

"Glad to hear it" Fonsey smiled

"There's a new kid started too" Dec continued "looks like a right miserable git"

"Declan" Anne snapped "that's not nice,what have a told you?"

"If I can't say anything nice,don't say anything at all" Dec sighed.

"Exactly!Did you even talk to this boy?do you know anything about him?" Anne was curious about the new boy.

"No" Dec admitted "he looked kind of unapproachable.All I know is his name is Anthony,not even Antony,sounds right posh"

"DECLAN!What did i just say to you?"

"Sorry Mam"

"Do you not remember how nervous you were on your first day Decky?" Anne reminded her youngest child "he's probably feeling exactly the same.How about you be nice and try and make him feel welcome next time you see him.You never know,he might be a good kid,the two of you might even become the best of friends if you make an effort"

Dec raised his eyebrows in his Mothers direction.

"Come off it Mam,that ain't ever gonna happen!"