New four-part drama The Teacher stars Sheridan Smith as Jenna Garvey, a popular English teacher at a secondary school whose career and reputation are left in tatters when she's accused of sleeping with 15-year-old pupil Kyle (Ackley Bridge's Samuel Bottomley) during a drunken night out that she can't remember.
The series also stars former Emmerdale actor and Strictly Come Dancing 2019 champion Kelvin Fletcher as Jack, a colleague and romantic interest of Jenna's, and Finding Alice and My Mad Fat Diary star Sharon Rooney as Nina, Jenna's professional rival.
Here's our guide to the cast and characters of The Teacher...
'The Teacher' cast list — who stars alongside Sheridan Smith in the new four-part drama?
Sheridan Smith as Jenna Garvey
Who is Jenna Garvey? Jenna is a popular and well-respected English teacher in her mid-30s who works in a selective grammar school, and is approaching a point where her chaotic personal life is starting to affect her at work. Although she cares deeply for her students and will go the extra mile to help them succeed, when she clocks off she usually goes out drinking, and frequently wakes up with only partial memories of the night before. Her father Roger is a retired teacher, who has a tendency to judge Jenna according to his own expectations of what a teacher should be. Her mother died many years ago, and Jenna's relationship with Roger has been strained since then.
What else has Sheridan Smith been in? Sheridan's breakthrough role was as Emma, the girlfriend of Antony (Ralf Little) in BBC sitcom The Royle Family. She followed this up with a starring role as Janet Keogh in comedy Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps from 2001-2009, as well as playing Ruth 'Rudi' Smith in Gavin & Stacey from 2008-2010, Brandy in the third series of ITV's Benidorm and paranormal investigator Joey Ross in three feature-length episodes of BBC1 mystery drama Jonathan Creek.
Sheridan is also well-known for her portrayals of real people, including Charmian Biggs, wife of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs in ITV's Mrs Biggs (for which she received a BAFTA Best Actress award), Cilla Black in ITV's Cilla, journalist Lisa Lynch in BBC1's The C Word, Julie Bushby in BBC1's The Moorside (a drama about of the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews) and most recently Sarah Sak, the mother of murder victim Anthony Walgate in BBC1's Four Lives.
She will soon be on our screens again in the upcoming ITV drama No Return.
Samuel Bottomley as Kyle
Who is Kyle? 15-year-old Kyle is a scholarship pupil at the school, which has led to him being singled out for mockery by some of his more privileged peers — but his good-natured charm and aptitude for sports have made him popular in his own right. He wants to be an actor and has asked Jenna to help him with his audition for the National Youth Theatre.
What else has Samuel Bottomley been in? Fans of C4's Ackley Bridge will know him as Jordan Wilson in the first two series of the school drama, but Samuel has also appeared in the film Tyrannosaur, the BBC adapation of Wolf Hall, ITV drama Jericho, C4/Netflix thriller Kiss Me First, and BBC3 comedy Ladhood. Samuel also starred as school bully Dean Paxton in the film version of hit West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
Kelvin Fletcher as Jack
Who is Jack? Jack is a friendly, easygoing ICT teacher at the same school as Jenna, who is very conflict-averse and prefers to avoid awkward conversations. He and Jenna have a fairly flirty workplace relationship, although this is complicated by the fact that he is married.
What else has Kelvin Fletcher been in? Kelvin is best known for playing farmer Andy Sugden in ITV's Emmerdale from 1996 to 2016. Since leaving the soap, he's appeared in BBC1 dramas Moving On and Death In Paradise, and can currently be seen in BBC1's Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure. He also won the 2019 series of Strictly Come Dancing with pro partner Oti Mabuse.
Sharon Rooney as Nina
Who is Nina? Nina is a fellow English teacher, and Jenna's main rival for the position of Head of English. Unlike Jenna, Nina is very strait-laced and disapproves of the general atmosphere of chaos that Jenna brings to the staff room.
What else has Sharon Rooney been in? Her breakthrough came in 2013 as Rae in E4's My Mad Fat Diary. Since then she's appeared in Sherlock, The Tunnel, Stag, The Capture, No Offence and McDonald & Dodds, as well as starring roles in BBC2 sitcom Two Doors Down as Sophie, the long-suffering daughter of Christine (Elaine C Smith), ITV drama Brief Encounters as Dawn, Dave comedy Zapped as Barbara, BBC3 comedy Jerk as Ruth, and ITV comedy-drama Finding Alice as Nicola.
Cecilia Noble as Pauline
Who is Pauline? Kind-hearted biology teacher Pauline is one of Jenna's best friends at the school. Despite her close relationship with Jenna, Pauline has noticed that Jenna's drinking is starting to interfere with her professional life, and tries her hardest to steer her pal onto the right path. She has also recently met a man named Brian and started dating him, which she is very excited about.
What else has Cecilia Noble been in? Cecilia has previously appeared in Thief Takers, The Bill, Holby City, Waking The Dead, Call The Midwife, Father Brown, Death In Paradise and Doctors. Recently, her credits include playing Sandy in BBC2 comedy Semi-Detached, Mrs Isaacs in the 'Alex Wheatle' episode of BBC1 anthology drama Small Axe, and Dionne Selwyn in a 2021 two-part Silent Witness story.
Anil Desai as Ken Mills
Who is Ken Mills? Mr Mills is the headteacher of the school where Jenna works. He's a big supporter of her professionally, because the students like and respect her and their exam results reflect the hard work she puts in. He encourages her to apply for the Head of English position, but when he receives the allegation of improper conduct, he's forced to suspend her while he investigates.
What else has Anil Desai been in? Anil has appeared in sketch shows Goodness Gracious Me and The Slammer, as well as the films Laajool, Sensation, and Lair. He has also filmed an episode of the upcoming BBC1 comedy-drama This Is Going To Hurt.
Tillie Amartey as Izzy
Who is Izzy? Izzy is one of the queen bees of the school, popular and outgoing, who has a habit of making jokes about Kyle's less privileged background whenever he's in earshot. She is also Nina's daughter.
What else has Tillie Amartey been in? Tillie has previously appeared in guest roles in Doctors, Moving On and CBBC's The 4 O'Clock Club. She also played Tina Trotts in Sky One's 2017 adaptation of David Walliams' book Ratburger, which also starred Sheridan Smith, and starred as vlogger Chloe in CBBC musical drama Almost Never.
Aaronveer Dhillon as Adnan
Who is Adnan? Adnan is a school friend of Kyle's, who is impressed when he hears Kyle's story of allegedly sleeping with Jenna.
What else has Aaronveer Dhillon been in? The Teacher is Aaronveer's first screen credit.
- The Teacher launches on Channel 5 at 9pm on Monday, Jan. 31, and continues every night at 9pm until Thursday, Feb. 3.
