Sheridan Smith is returning to TV in a role that's set to leave viewers unsure whether they can trust her character or not. In The Teacher, she plays Jenna Garvey, a well-liked and much-respected English teacher who has just about managed to keep her chaotic personal life and her drinking problem from interfering with her career.
However, everything changes for Jenna after one drunken night out in town when she wakes up with no memory of what happened and is horrified to learn that she has been accused of sleeping with one of her pupils, 15-year-old Kyle (played by Ackley Bridge's Samuel Bottomley).
Here Sheridan reveals why she was excited by the challenge of playing Jenna — and why she wants the audience to be suspicious of her character.
Sheridan Smith on why 'The Teacher' appealed to her...
"We'd all been in lockdown, I'd had my son [Billy, born in May 2020] and I'd been reading lots of different scripts — then this one came along and I was gripped. Jenna is such a complex character, there are so many layers to her, and I love the fact that you don't know if she's telling the truth or not. All these twists and turns came along in the story that I did not expect, and I couldn't put it down, which is rare — I read it all in one go."
Was Jenna an intriguing role to play?
"Yes, because sometimes characters written for women can be quite bland, but I love playing people who are flawed and complex like Jenna. She's got a drink problem, she's lost her mum, she has a really strained relationship with her dad and she's just gone off the rails and lost herself a bit. When she finishes work, she clocks out and has a chaotic life. I always want to make a character likeable because I want to find the heart in them, no matter how flawed someone is, but I do want the audience to doubt Jenna and to feel unsure about where they stand. It's exciting to play that in a role."
What is Jenna like as a teacher?
"I think she's a bit naive. She's on a mission to save working-class kids, because that's where her mum comes from, and she really hates the fact that privileged kids can get further in life. She tries to be a mate to her students, which is her undoing in the end. There are teacher/student boundaries, and she has maybe let that slip.
"And then of course her life outside the classroom is chaotic. I really hope people don't know what to think about her. There were scenes where I was thinking, 'this is so terrible, you'd be fired immediately', her actions didn't sit right with me — but I enjoyed playing them as well! It will make incredibly uncomfortable viewing, and you won't know if you like her or not."
Did you enjoy working with your co-stars on 'The Teacher'?
"Yes, it was a really great cast! Sharon [Rooney, who plays Nina] is the loveliest girl, but our characters are so horrible to each other — we'd do our scenes and then apologise and hug afterwards! I've always been a fan of hers, she's great and not like her character at all. I hadn't worked with Kelvin [Fletcher, who plays Jack] either, but I championed him on Strictly Come Dancing and I'd seen him on Emmerdale for years, I always thought he was a great actor. He's a really nice guy, and Jenna has a really complex relationship with his character. She's so lost, she's craving love but in all the wrong places, and he's a married man."
Did filming this series make you think about your own school days?
"Seeing all the kids on their phones made me laugh because when I was at school we didn't have mobiles, let alone social media. It was funny to see these kids because they had this sass about them, and I was so not like that at school — I was such a dweeb! Thank God they didn't have social media when I was there, but these kids now are so wised-up and tech-savvy. It was just interesting to see that and then to remember what we were like, we were just playing conkers!"
How do you hope viewers will react to 'The Teacher'?
"Hopefully there will be lots of people not knowing if they trust me as Jenna — there are bits where it looks like I could be quite sinister. I hope there are a lot of conversations about whether or not she is guilty, especially as all the twists and turns come out, it gets so complicated and dark. I just can't wait for the audience to see it — when I first read it I was gripped, and I hope they feel the same and come on the journey with us."
- The Teacher begins on Monday, Jan. 31 at 9pm on Channel 5, and airs every night until Thursday, Feb. 3.
