EastEnders and Hollyoaks stars lead The Teacher series 2 on Channel 5

Kara Tointon and Will Mellor in The Teacher on Channel 5

by Arabella Horspool |
Published on

Back in 2022, Sheridan Smith led the popular Channel 5 show The Teacher, which saw her character being accused of having sexual relations with a 15-year-old student after a drunken night out.

After receiving millions of views, the show is returning for its second series, featuring former soap stars from EastEnders and Hollyoaks. Here's everything you need to know:

What is The Teacher series 2 about?

The second series of The Teacher will focus on an illicit love affair between two secondary school teachers, Dani Oxley (played by Kara Tointon from EastEnders and Mr Selfridge) and Jimmy Spencer (played by Mr Bates vs The Post Office actor Will Mellor).

Their affair lands them in deep water as while chaperoning kids during a school trip, the pair sneak off for a spontaneous moment of passion. During this time, one of the children goes missing, raising questions about Dani's conduct.

©Steffan Hill 2024

Here's the official synopsis from Channel 5: "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."

The Teacher series 2 cast

Leading the cast as Dani is Kara Tointon, who's best known for playing Dawn Swann on EastEnders from 2005 to 2009. She won Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, not long after she left the soap and also played Maria on ITVs The Sound of Music Live.

Will Mellor is Jimmy. Fans will recognise him as Gaz Wilkinson from the sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks or Warren Stamp in EastEnders. He also appeared in the ITV drama Broadchurch, and more recently, he played sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in Mrs Bates vs The Post Office.

Dani's husband, Tim, is played by Emmett J. Scanlan, who played bad boy Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks. He has since gone on to star in Peaky Blinders, The Tower and Harlan Coben's Netflix series Fool Me Once.

Tim (Emmett J. Scanlan), Dani (Kara Tointon) and Jimmy (Will Mellor) ©Steffan Hill

When is The Teacher on Channel 5?

The second series of The Teacher will begin on Channel 5 on Monday 9th September at 9pm, with subsequent episodes rolling out nightly that week. The finale will air on Thursday, 12th September.

You can also watch series one of The Teacher on My 5 now.

The series has been written by The Catch's Michael Crompton alongside Death in Paradise writer Rebecca Wojciechowski. The director is Dominic Leclerc.

Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.

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