David Walliams plays Keith Church, a deputy head of science whose hormones override his lesson plans when Catherine Tate’s self-styled “super-teacher” Sarah Postern arrives at Greybridge Secondary. Between exploding experiments and playground duty, Church competes for her attention with Philip Glenister’s swaggering Trevor Gunn, a PE teacher who treats the staff room like a singles bar. The triangle is watched by Frances de la Tour’s gin-swigging headmistress, Joanna Scanlan’s permanently exasperated drama teacher and a clutch of pupils more interested in Snapchat than subjunctives.
Shot on location at Bishopshalt School, Hillingdon, with classrooms borrowed during the summer holidays, the series swapped traditional opening titles for plain centre-screen text in its second run. Writers Walliams and the Dawson Bros. kept the gags broad, the innuendo gentle and the running time tight at thirty minutes, producing six episodes per series for BBC One between August 2013 and October 2014. Ratings opened at 4.2 million, dipped to 3.6 million, yet still beat every other primetime slot outside soaps and news.
Critics split along generational lines: MSN called it “an amusing and pleasant way to spend 30 minutes,” while The Telegraph dismissed it as “tired” and “mission aborted.” The BBC quietly closed the register in June 2015, releasing both series on DVD the same year and leaving Greybridge’s whiteboards permanently switched off.
Production Details
BBC One / 2 Seasons / 12 Episodes / 2013
Created by: David Walliams
Showrunner(s): Mark Freeland, David Walliams
Writer(s): Andrew Dawson, Steve Dawson, David Walliams
Producer(s): Jo Sargent
Music: Michael Price, David Arnold
Main Cast
David Walliams as Mr Kieth Church
Catherine Tate as Miss Sarah Postern
Frances de la Tour as Ms Baron
Philip Glenister as Mr Gunn
Steve Speirs as Mr Barber
Joanna Scanlan as Mrs Klebb
Matthew Fenton as Nicholas
James Greene as Mr Hubble
Daniel Rigby as Mr Martin
Jocelyn Jee Esien as Daphne
Julie T. Wallace as Pat
Joivan Wade as Manyou
