The Teacher is a British anthology drama, produced by Channel 5, created by Mike Benson and Barunka O'Shaughnessy. The first four-part series stars Sheridan Smith as Jenna Garvey, a secondary school teacher accused of having sex with a pupil. The episodes were shown over four successive evenings from 31 January 2022 and received positive reviews.
The programme was renewed for a second series, which began airing on 9 September 2024. The following year, it was renewed for a third series, which aired from 30 March to 2 April 2026.
Contents
Plot summary
Series 1
Jenna Garvey is an English teacher in a state school in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She is good at her job and popular with her pupils but has a shambolic personal life. She is charged with having sexual intercourse with one of her pupils, 15-year-old Kyle, after a drunken night out.
Jenna decides to plead guilty since she was too drunk to remember what happened on the night in question, and she wants to avoid forcing Kyle to give evidence. She receives a suspended sentence and a community service order. Soon after, she discovers that the evidence against her was fabricated. After conducting the investigation herself with the clues she found, Jenna finds the real culprit who framed her with the crime.
Series 2
The series focuses on a new teacher, Dani, who is in an unfulfilling marriage with fellow teacher Tim. During a school trip, she sneaks off for a moment of passion with her colleague Jimmy Spencer. While they are gone, one of the students goes missing. Things begin to unravel as Dani is forced to lie to the police in order to cover up her affair.
Cast
Series 1
Sheridan Smith as Jenna Garvey, an English teacher at Earlbridge School
Samuel Bottomley as Kyle Hope, a pupil at Earlbridge
Cecilia Noble as Pauline, Jenna's colleague
David Fleeshman as Roger Garvey, Jenna's father and a retired teacher
Sharon Rooney as Nina, another English teacher who is jealous of Jenna
Kelvin Fletcher as Jack, Jenna's colleague
Sarah-Jane Potts as Mary, Kyle's mother
Tillie Amartey as Izzy, a pupil who is the daughter of Nina
Ian Puleston-Davies as Brian
Karen Henthorn as DI Sowerby
Aaronveer Dhillon as Adnan
Anil Desai as Rick Mills, Earlbridge's headteacher
Karen Bryson as Ava Mansouri, Jenna's solicitor
Matt Devere as Jojo, a barman
Reuben Johnson as Sean, Jenna's boyfriend
Harry Hepple as Gabriel, a teacher
Series 2
Kara Tointon as Dani Oxley, art teacher
Will Mellor as Jimmy Spencer, Dani's colleague and Matt's father
Emmett J. Scanlan as Tim Oxley, Dani's husband and colleague
Cal O'Driscoll as Zac Webster, a student
Forrest Bothwell as Matt Spencer, Jimmy's son
Gwynne McElveen as DI Linda Calgetti, detective
Lila Coleman as Bel Clarke, Dani's colleague
Ebby O'Toole-Acheampong as Chloe Novak, a student
Joni Morris as Sienna Ryan, a student
Niamh McCann as Nina Webster, Zac's mother
John Nayagam as Robert Caufield, Dani's headmaster
Callum Jess as Stan Oxley, Dani and Tim's son
Series 3
Victoria Hamilton as Helen Simpson, Drama teacher
Steve Edge as Terry Simpson, Helen's husband
Rochenda Sandall as Tessa Gibson, Helen's colleague and friend
Alice Grant as Cressida Bancroft, a student
Olly Rhodes as Sam Simpson, Helen's son
Peter Ash as Sebastian Blake, a teacher
Navin Chowdhry as Simon Cookson, Headteacher
Ellis Jupiter as Dee Rainford-Thomas, a student
Shak Benjamin as Leo Dalton, a student
Malek Alkoni as Miles Crawford, a student
Natalie Gavin as DS O’Brien
Production
Although the first series is set entirely in Bradford, it was actually filmed mainly in Budapest, Hungary, due to the financial savings offered by both lower overseas operating costs, and the financial support of the Hungarian Government and the Hungarian Film Institute.
With filming taking place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, executive producer
Mike Benson, the cast and crew had to adhere to severe restrictions in order to lessen the risk of infection in Hungary, without it being noticeable in the film. The final editing process combined the Hungarian material with a smaller number of scenes shot outdoors in and around Newcastle/Gateshead to add local landmarks for setting the scene.
Episodes
Reception
Series 1
The first series received generally positive reviews. Carol Midgley of The Times gave the first series four out five stars, dubbing it "highly entertaining" thanks to Smith and the lurid plot elements. Sean O'Grady of The Independent also gave it four out five stars, praising Smith's performance. Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph gave it three out of five stars, also commending Smith but questioning the script and direction.
Series 2
The second series received mostly negative reviews. Emily Watkins of i News was critical of the series' writing and characters, dubbing it "heavy handed silliness". Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph awarded two out of five stars, saying "the ending isn't bad" but "the quality of the drama is pretty schlocky".