School for scandal

Sheridan Smith stars as a teacher accused of sleeping with a pupil in a new four-part drama

- SEAN MARLAND, STEVEN PERKINS

NEW DRAMA

The Teacher

Mon-Thu, Channel 5 HD, 9pm

Jenna Garvey is one of the most popular teachers at Earlbridge, a selective grammar school in Bradford – her pupils love her empathy and her engaging lessons, while her headteacher admires her ability to bring the best out of her students.

Outside of the classroom, however, it’s a very different story. Jenna, played by Sheridan Smith, has a messy and chaotic personal life, and she often wakes up with only vague memories of the drunken night before.

In new Channel 5 drama The Teacher, the two sides of Jenna’s world collide catastrophically when, after celebrating her promotion to Head of English at a nightclub frequented by several of her pupils, Jenna arrives at school to find herself accused of sleeping with 15-year-old Kyle (Ackley Bridge’s Samuel Bottomley).

Unable to clearly remember what happened that night, Jenna is completely horrified…

CASTING DOUBT