Kara Tointon leads Channel 5 follow-up to Sheridan Smith’s The Teacher

The Teacher II will focus on two teachers who have an impulsive affair which soon spirals out of control.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Wednesday, 13 March 2024 at 15:55 PM

Channel 5’s original drama slate continues to grow, and the latest project to be commissioned by the broadcaster is none other than a sequel to The Teacher, which previously starred Sheridan Smith.

While the first season of the drama centred on Smith as English teacher Jenna Garvey, who was accused of having sex with one of her male students, the second season will explore the illicit love affair between two school teachers who work together.

The new run, currently known as The Teacher II, stars a variety of well-known TV actors, including Kara Tointon (Too Good To Be True) as Dani, Will Mellor (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) as Jimmy and Emmett J Scanlan (Fool Me Once) as Tim.

After the first season proved to be quite the controversial watch because of its subject matter, this new season will form part of an anthology collection, according to Channel 5.

Thankfully, for a lot of viewers, there won’t be any uncomfortable teacher-student relationships here, with the new season set to hark back to a dynamic that TV dramas know and love – the age-old affair.

Samuel Bottomley and Sheridan Smith in The Teacher standing next to each other looking into camera
Samuel Bottomley and Sheridan Smith in The Teacher.
Channel 5

According to the synopsis: “The Teacher II follows the story of Dani, a teacher who loves her job. She’s a real mentor and inspiration to her students, but what she lacks is a properly functioning marriage with real intimacy and mutual desire.

“This leads her into an impulsive affair with a fellow colleague that at first answers all her needs, but soon spirals out of control. When a pupil goes missing on a school trip, Dani rightly blames herself for being too easily distracted.

“When things start to take a sinister turn, she is forced to lie, and quickly finds her life falling to pieces. She risks everything to right the wrongs that she has, in part, been responsible for.”

Of course, Tointon was most recently seen in another Channel 5 original, Too Good to Be True, and here she’ll be leading the cast in a drama that is set to be packed full of twists, just like The Teacher before it.

Although the first season may have garnered some mixed reactions, there’s no doubt it was a big hitter for the channel, becoming its biggest commissioned drama in terms of share of viewing, averaging 4.3 million for individuals.

The Teacher II will be written by Michael Crompton (The Catch, The Holiday) and Rebecca Wojciechowski (Silent Witness, Death in Paradise), while Dominic Leclerc (Sex Education, The Teacher) will direct.

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Speaking about the second season of The Teacher, Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer for the UK at Paramount, said: “This is another gripping and exciting story evolved from The Teacher, which was a huge success for the channel. We have an incredibly talented cast on board, and I can’t wait for them to bring this story to life.”

Rachel Gesua, senior executive producer at Clapperboard, also said: “We’re delighted to be creating the next instalment of The Teacher, which is breaking new ground as Clapperboard’s first anthology collection.

“We’re honoured to build on the success of the original series, which was such a huge hit with audiences across the UK, with such a brilliant new cast and crew.”