Ackley Bridge Season 4 is about to open its doors to staff and pupils for a brand-new term.
While the award-winning Channel 4 show will still focus on all the trials and tribulations of the teens at Ackley Bridge, as the students of the diverse Yorkshire school struggle to both fit in — and stand out! — there are also LOTS of changes. Here’s what we know so far…
Ackley Bridge Season 4 release date
The Ackley Bridge Season 4 release date is Monday April 19 on C4 at 6pm. You can catch up on All4, which also has the previous three seasons available to watch right now.
Ackley Bridge… what’s new?
For starters, the show will now be stripped across two weeks airing as 10, 30-minute episodes rather than the previous hour-long instalments. So as the tension mounts for our staff and students, viewers won’t need to wait a whole week to keep up with the drama.
It has also moved from its original 8pm time slot on Channel 4 to 6.30pm — so just before the Channel 4 news.
Rebecca Holdsworth, Channel 4 Commissioning Executive, says: "Refreshing the format to half hours not only reflects the viewing habits of our young audience, but gives the show a new look and feel as we welcome a brand new cast of characters to our screens."
Ackley Bridge Season 4 cast
Familiar faces confirmed to be returning to the staffroom will be Jo Joyner as head teacher Mandy Carter, Rob James-Collier as Deputy Head Martin Evershed, Sunetra Sarker as dinner lady Kaneez Paracha and Charlie Hardwick as "director of behaviour" Sue Carp.
And following the tragic death of central characters Missy Booth (Poppy Lee Friar), closely followed by the departure of her best friend Nasreen Paracha (Amy-Leigh Hickman), there are three new students to get to know and love.
Robyn Cara (Life) plays mixed-race pupil Kayla, who is torn between her white Mum’s family and her traditional Pakistani Dad’s family. Her best friend Fizza, played by Yasmin Al Khudhairi (Hilda), is described as "a fiercely intelligent, fist-in-the-air firebrand"; and Ryan Dean (The Gentleman) portrays Johnny, a cocky, good-looking member of the traveller community who is deeply suspicious of school, and who catches the eye of both Kayla and Fizza.
Further new pupils set to join include Marina, Kayla’s "mean girl" sister, played by Carla Woodcock (Free Rein Pandora) and Tahir, played by Shobhit Piasa (Londonstani), the smooth talking billy-liar nephew of Kaneez, whose "salesman’s patter hides a family secret".
Also, Coronation Street’s Conor McIntyre will guest star as Johnny’s Grandad.
Is there an Ackley Bridge Season 4 trailer?
Yes, one has finally landed.
Ackley Bridge… What else do we know?
As well as returning as Kaneez, Sunetra Sarker will also act as producer on this fourth series of Ackley Bridge.
Ackley Bridge returns on April 19 on Channel 4.
