Produced by Richmond Film & Television for Central, it screened on the ITV network in its regular weekday afternoon children's strand, CITV,[1] typically in a 4:45 pm slot (days varied over the course of the run).

[2] Written by ex-teacher Steven Moffat, more than half the episodes were directed by Bob Spiers, a British comedy director who also worked on programmes such as Absolutely Fabulous and Fawlty Towers.

Critical reception was very positive, particularly for the quality of the writing, and the series has attracted a cult following with a wide age range.

In the final episode of the third series, "Holding On", Spike unwittingly expresses his strong feelings to Lynda while being taped.

Amongst lighter stories, such as one about Colin accidentally attending a funeral dressed as a pink rabbit, the show tackled many serious issues.

Some critics also compared it with Hill Street Blues, Lou Grant "and other thoughtful US dramas, thanks to its realism and its level-headed treatment of touchy subjects.

[9] The team were held hostage by a gun enthusiast in series three's "The Last Word",[10] while the final episode approaches drug abuse.

[11][12] The issue-led episodes served to develop the main characters, so that "Something Terrible" is more "about Colin's redemption [from selfish capitalist], rather than Cindy's abuse.

"[13] According to the British Film Institute, "Press Gang managed to be perhaps the funniest children's series ever made and at the same time the most painfully raw and emotionally honest.

David Jefford (Alex Crockett) was resurrected from 1989's "Monday – Tuesday" to appear in the final episode "There Are Crocodiles",[11] while the same actress (Aisling Flitton) who played a wrong number in "Love and the Junior Gazette"[19] was invited to reprise her character for the third series episode "Chance is a Fine Thing.

[11]The main adults are deputy headmaster Bill Sullivan (Nick Stringer), maverick editor Matt Kerr (Clive Wood) and experienced Gazette reporter Chrissie Stewart (Angela Bruce).

[16][38][39] Producer Sandra C. Hastie liked the idea and showed it to her future husband Bill Ward, co-owner of her company Richmond Films and Television.

[41] Central Independent Television had confidence in the project, so rather than the show being shot at their studios in Nottingham as planned, they granted Richmond a £2 million budget.

[29] These high production costs almost led to its cancellation at the end of the second series, by which time Central executive Lewis Rudd was unable to commission programmes by himself.

[26] More than half of the episodes were directed by Bob Spiers, a noted British comedy director who had previously worked on Fawlty Towers amongst many other programmes.

[28] The opening titles show the main characters striking a pose, with the name of the respective actor in a typewriter style typeface.

"[51] Comedian Richard Herring recalls watching the show as a recent graduate, commenting that it "was subtle, sophisticated and much too good for kids.

[14] It was also nominated for two Writers' Guild of Great Britain awards, one Prix Jeunesse[53] and the 1992 BAFTA for "Best Children's Programme (Fiction)".

[5] On the first transmission of the latter on 11 June 1991, continuity announcer Tommy Boyd warned viewers that it contained stronger than usual language.

Edited by Stephen O'Brien, it contained a range of interviews with the cast and crew (notably with producer Hastie), theatre reviews and fanfiction.

[58] Scholar Miles Booy observes that as Steven Moffat was himself a fan of Doctor Who, he was able to ingrate the elements that TV fans appreciated, such as: series finales with big cliff-hangers, rigorous continuity and a slew of running jokes and references which paid those who watched and rewatched the text to pull out its minutia.

[59]Booy points out that Chris Carter and Joss Whedon would be acclaimed for these elements in the 1990s (in the shows The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but "Moffat got there first, and ... in a children's TV slot.

The events, in aid of the NSPCC, were each titled "Both Sides of the Paper" and were attended by Steven Moffat, Sandra Hastie, Dexter Fletcher, Paul Reynolds, Kelda Holmes and Nick Stringer.

[28] Big Finish Productions, which produces audio plays based on sci-fi properties, particularly Doctor Who, was named after the title of the final episode of the second series.

His 1997 sitcom Chalk refers to a neighbouring school as Norbridge High, run by Mr Sullivan, and to the characters Dr Clipstone ("UneXpected"), Malcolm Bullivant ("Something Terrible") and David Jefford ("Monday-Tuesday"/"There are Crocodiles"),[63] a pupil who Mr Slatt (David Bamber) reprimands for masturbating.

[67] The name "Inspector Hibbert", from "The Last Word", is given to the character played by Nick Stringer in "Elvis, Jesus and Jack", Moffat's final Murder Most Horrid contribution.

[68] Most recently, in the first episode of Moffat's Jekyll, Mr Hyde (James Nesbitt) whistled the same tune as Lynda in "Going Back to Jasper Street".

"[70] At the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August 2008, Moffat told how he got drunk after the wrap party for Jekyll and pitched the idea of a Press Gang reunion special to the Head of Drama at the BBC, John Yorke.

"[74] The third book, Checkmate, covered "Breakfast at Czar's", "Picking Up the Pieces" and "Going Back to Jasper Street", and reveals that Julie left the graphics department to go to art college.

Four episodes of the second series DVD features an audio commentary by Julia Sawalha and Steven Moffat, in which the actress claims to remember very little about the show.