Donna Air has shared details of her birthday celebrations in her native Newcastle, where she enjoyed what she called 'much need family time'. The former Byker Grove actress returned to her home turf and visited several favourite spots, including the Mediterranean restaurant Fuego, located inside the city's famous Fenwick department store.
A return to familiar ground
It has been more than 30 years since Donna, who later hosted shows like The Big Breakfast and MTV's TRL, rose to TV fame alongside Ant and Dec as a cast member on Byker Grove. The Newcastle-shot CBBC drama became a teatime favourite for many British children and their parents. Donna played aspiring model Charlie Charlton on the show until 1995, after she and co-stars Jayni Hoy and Vicky Taylor tried their hand at pop stardom in the trio Byker Groove.
That was not Donna's only brush with the charts, as she and Jayni later formed the duo Crush, whose singles included Jellyhead and Luv'd Up. In the last decade, Donna has been a contestant on Dancing on Ice and made a return to TV drama in BBC's The Split.
High praise for Fuego
Sharing a series of photos on Instagram, Donna documented some of the places she visited, including Fuego, which is championed for serving up a '5 star experience'. She said she 'loved' the restaurant, having been taken there by her best friend. As well as serving dishes inside, this summer Fuego also provides food at the Roof Thirty Nine terrace bar on Fenwick's rooftop, offering 'a taste of holiday'.
Donna also spent a day in Tynemouth, where she called into Riley's Fish Shack, a haunt familiar to many celebrities before her, and visited another of her favourite spots, Jesmond Dene House.
Summarising her time back in Newcastle, Donna wrote: 'Always fun to stomp the streets where you grew up, with the people who you grew up with.'
