GRANGE Hill Roland ‘Roly’ Browning actor Erkan Mustafa looks very different 29 years after his debut on the popular teen show.
The actor – who played Roly for six years – became one of the most inspiring characters during his time on the programme.
Fans loved how despite horrific bullying, the youngster always stood up for himself and discovered he had a talent for foreign languages.
Fast forward nearly three decades later, the 50-year-old actor looks unrecognisable from his appearance on the show.
After Grange Hill he starred in Lenny Henry’s 90s sitcom Chef! and also made appearances on Soccer AM and Celebrity Juice.
Erkan, who is now also a writer and director, also landed appeared in several episodes of Blackadder – where he played one of the “enormous orphans” in the Christmas Carol episode.
The TV star also worked as a presenter for E4 Music and previously did some interviews and presenting for a film website.
Erkan, who starred in the show from 1982 until 1987, said: “I was just a normal child attending school.
“The national press were advertising the fact that they couldn’t find a fat child at stage school to appear in Grange Hill. A teacher put me up for the role and said “Go on. You can do it.”
The star also hosted a Grange Hill cast reunion in a nightclub in Leicester Square back in 2009.
Set at a comprehensive school in a fictional north London suburb, Grange Hill was one of the longest running shows in British television history.
The storylines focused on hard-hitting issues for its time – including teenage pregnancy to alcoholism and drug addictions.
Erkan starred alongside other famous faces including former EastEnders star Todd Carty who played Peter ‘Tucker’ Jenkins, Casualty’s Amanda Mealing, who portrayed Tracy Edwards and Lee MacDonald as Samuel ‘Zammo’ McGuire.
