Bad Education (TV series)
Bad Education is a British television sitcom set in a dysfunctional secondary school broadcast on BBC Three. Running from August 2012 to October 2014, the first three series were written by Jack Whitehall, who starred as Alfie Wickers, "the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system". Set at the fictional Abbey Grove School in Hertfordshire, the series follows Wickers' class of misfits, Class K, headed by the eccentric headteacher Shaquille "Simon" Fraser, and Wickers' ploys to win the affection of crush and fellow teacher, Rosie Gulliver.
Despite a mixed reception from critics, the show remained "a hit with the target audience", and was adapted to a 2015 film starring the original cast. In January 2023, a fourth series aired, though no longer starring Whitehall. In the revived show, former pupils Stephen Carmichael and Mitchell Harper return to teach Class K at Abbey Grove, now headed by Bernadette Hoburn, with their pupils caught amid their schemes and rivalries. Mathew Horne also returned now as the school cook. A fifth and final series premiered in January 2024 following a 2023 Christmas special.
Premise
The sitcom focuses on Class K, a class of misfits at the fictional Abbey Grove School, a failing secondary school in Watford or Tring, Hertfordshire, and their incompetent teachers.Series 1-3 focuses on Alfred "Alfie" Wickers – a posh, newly graduated history teacher. Ever determined to impress his crush, fellow teacher Rosie Gulliver, Alfie makes repeated efforts to appear "cool", such as by coaching the school football team, organising a weapons amnesty, and fielding a candidate for the school elections. He turns to Class K for help in these efforts, despite them often being unsupportive. The class includes shy Joe, wannabe hard man Mitchell, paraplegic rude boy Rem Dogg, sexually promiscuous Chantelle, camp Stephen, intelligent but snooty Jing, hot-tempered Cleopatra, and school bully Frank who often bullies Alfie.
At the same time, Alfie finds himself having to cope with the antics of his eccentric, laidback headmaster, Shaquille "Simon" Fraser, and meet the expectations of a string of deputy heads: at first ruthless authoritarian Isobel Pickwell, then the cruel yet pathetic Professor Celia "Pro Green" Green, and then his own father, goofy and naïve Martin Wickers. It is clarified in the third series that the three series spanned a single academic year - the final year of secondary school.
Series 4 focuses on Stephen and Mitchell, who return to Abbey Grove to teach a new cohort of Class K. The school also has a new headteacher, Bernadette Hoburn, with Fraser now working in the canteen. The new pupils are the glamorous Usma, the hustling Blessing, the wannabe-rapper Inchez, the dim-witted Harrison, the smart and introverted Warren, and the socially-conscious Jinx.
Production
Development
The first series started airing on 14 August 2012. At the time of the series launch in August 2012, Bad Education broke BBC Three's record for the highest viewing figure for a first episode of a comedy, which was previously held by Horne & Corden, but is now held by Cuckoo.On 23 August 2012, it was announced that Bad Education would have a second series. The second series premiered on BBC iPlayer on 27 August 2013, a week before the television air date of 3 September. This was part of BBC Three's plans to premiere all its scripted comedy programmes online. The experiment proved successful, as the first episode of the second series received 1.5 million requests prior to its television airing. A Christmas special aired on 17 December 2013.
A pilot for a U.S. adaptation of Bad Education, named An American Education, was ordered by the American Broadcasting Company with Whitehall set to reprise his role as Alfie Wickers. The pilot began filming in Los Angeles in January 2014. However, ABC passed on the pilot on 22 May 2014. Whitehall would continue with the original UK series of the show.
The third series of Bad Education began transmission on 16 September 2014, and ended on 21 October 2014. In late 2014, Whitehall confirmed that the show would not receive a fourth series.
Film adaptation
On 27 February 2015, Whitehall confirmed that a feature film edition of Bad Education was in production. Filming took place in Cornwall, with the majority of the main cast reprising their roles for the film. The Bad Education Movie was released on 21 August 2015 in the UK, and saw Alfie Wickers and Class K travel to Cornwall. Entertainment Film Distributors, who also handled the release of the box-office 2011 hit The Inbetweeners Movie, dealt with the release of the Bad Education Movie.Return
On 11 May 2022, to celebrate the show's tenth anniversary, the BBC confirmed that a special reunion episode would be broadcast on the recently relaunched BBC Three channel. The special followed the characters Stephen Carmichael and Mitchell Harper becoming teachers. The BBC also announced that the special would be followed by a new six-part series "written by a team of breakthrough writers" following the BBC's plans to invest more money in high-impact comedy programming. The special episode aired on 15 December 2022.Cast and characters
Series 1–3
Alfred Prufrock "Alfie" Wickers stars as a newly qualified history teacher of Class K. An incompetent but fun-loving teacher, he struggles for authority in his form. He has a crush on fellow teacher Rosie Gulliver, a socially-conscious Biology teacher with whom he enjoys a will-they-won't-they relationship through most of the series. Alfie is good friends with headteacher Shaquille Banter "Simon" Fraser, the school’s eccentric, laidback and incompetent headteacher who invests the school's money in unprofitable schemes.While Alfie enjoys a good relationship with Fraser, he clashes with the school's deputy headteachers, beginning with the strict disciplinarian and fascistic Isobel Pickwell, who fakes her death. She is replaced in Series 2 by Professor Celia "Pro Green" Green, who begins a relationship with Alfie's father, Martin Wickers, who in turn replaces Green as deputy headteacher after they marry and Green leaves Martin destitute.
The Class K pupils are:
- Chantelle Parsons, a sexually-suggestive pupil who teases Alfie.
- Jing Hua, the most intelligent and serious pupil of Class K, of Chinese descent, who grows to appreciate Alfie as a "good and decent man". She helps Alfie expose Pickwell's fraudulent expenses claims, and convinces Alfie to continue teaching at the end of Series 3.
- Joe Poulter, Alfie's closest ally, who willingly humiliates himself to help his teacher. He is the butt of jokes and pranks by other pupils, although they seem to have affection for him, and he grows in confidence by the end of Series 3.
- Mitchell Harper, the tough guy of Alfie's class, who pokes fun at fellow pupils and Alfie, who often retorts back. Mitchell shares a close, banterous friendship with Rem Dogg. Alfie and Mitchell develop their friendship in Series 2 and especially in Series 3, after Alfie successfully helps Mitchell impress Cleopatra, with whom Mitchell is infatuated. In the second episode of Series 3, Mitchell leaves Abbey Grove after his father's fairground is shut down by the council. He returns in "The Exam", in which he is shown in a youth detention centre.
- Leslie "Rem Dogg" Remmington is a pupil who uses a wheelchair. He comes across as a cheeky chap who pokes fun at Alfie, and is very close friends with Mitchell. In Series 3, he becomes an emo and rarely speaks. He becomes emotional when Mitchell gives him an impassioned goodbye, but is called "gay" in response, referencing their light-hearted relationship.
- Stephen Carmichael is a camp, gay member of the class. He has a passion for fashion, dancing, musicals and films, and is best friends with Chantelle. In the Christmas special, he begins a relationship with Frank Grayson. He appears not to get on with Frank in Series 3, but Frank agrees to be his date for the prom and they are later crowned Prom King and Queen. He stuns others by breaking homosexual stereotypes, including being good at football and advanced martial arts.
- Frank Grayson is the school bully, who intimidates his fellow pupils as well as Alfie. At times, he appears to be insecure about himself, breaking down in Alfie's arms after Pickwell dies and exploring his sexuality in the Christmas special, culminating in a relationship with Stephen. Martin moves Grayson to Class K in order to avoid expelling him, which would have upset his new girlfriend, Grayson's mother. In Series 3, he appears no longer to get along with Stephen, but agrees to be his date to the prom and they are crowned Prom King and Queen.
- Cleopatra Ofoedo is introduced at the start of Series 3. She is aggressive and especially hostile to Alfie and Mitchell. She is black and sensitive to racial issues, frequently accusing others of racism. She agrees to make out with Mitchell, but still does not like him. After Mitchell leaves, she begins making jokes at Alfie's expense like Mitchell used to. Despite her hostility, she admits in the final episode that she likes Abbey Grove.
- Olive Mollinson, an elderly Art and Maths teacher.
- Preet van der Plessis, a South African self-defence tutor who is arrested for attacking Alfie, and later returns to teach PE and declares his infatuation with him.
- Katherine Grayson, Frank's mother, who begins a relationship with Martin after his breakup with Green. Grayson has a pedigree chihuahua called Coco whom she considers a princess, showing more affection towards Coco than her son. Her relationship with Martin ends after Cleo may have unknowingly killed Coco while she was in Martin's care.
- Richard, an ex-boyfriend of Rosie's, who becomes Alfie's love rival.
- Mrs Carmichael, Stephen's mother, a nurse.