Bad Education: A Christmas Carol is heading to BBC3 and BBC iPlayer, featuring all of our Abbey Grove favourites — including the return of a familiar face!
The one-off festive special, which comes ahead of a fifth season that will transmit in 2024, follows the teachers and pupils of Abbey Grove as they prepare for the Christmas break, but it looks like one of them may be leaving for good unless there's a last-minute change of heart.
Here's everything you need to know about Bad Education: A Christmas Carol...
Bad Education: A Christmas Carol release date
Bad Education: A Christmas Carol will be shown on Wednesday, December 13 on BBC Three at 9 pm, and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
Bad Education: A Christmas Carol cast
You can expect all your favourite teachers and school staff to return for the Christmas special including Strictly Come Dancing 2023 star Layton Williams as drama teacher Stephen Carmichael, Charlie Wernham as PE teacher Mitchell Harper, Vicki Pepperdine as headteacher Bernadette Hoburn, Mathew Horne as former headteacher turned kitchen supervisor Shaquille Fraser — and a guest appearance from Jack Whitehall as Alfie Wickers, following his departure in last year's reunion special.
Class K will all be present too, with Anthony J Abraham (Inchez), Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Blessing), Ali Hadji-Heshmati (Warren), Asha Hassan (Usma), Bobby Johnson (Harrison) and Laura Marcus (Jinx) also return.
Bad Education: A Christmas Carol plot
The special opens at Stephen's funeral — which he is staging, because he's leaving Abbey Grove and wants to see how sad everyone will be without him. He's had an offer to star in a pantomime at a theatre just a stone's throw away from the West End (technically in Swindon) and has decided that his teaching days are over.
However, as Stephen skips the school Christmas lunch in favour of a disco nap prior to meeting his new castmates, he's visited by the ghost of his former teacher Alfie Wickers, who warns him that he needs to learn the error of his ways — and that he will be visited by three more spirits before the night is out, in the medium that he'll understand best: a musical featuring original songs...
Interview with Layton Williams and Charlie Wernham for Bad Education: A Christmas Carol
What can you tell us about the Christmas episode?
Charlie: "A musical episode was something that Layton had pushed for since the original series, and us being on the writing team really helped give us some clout this time and we managed to get it over the line!"
Layton: "Obviously, I've been dying for a musical episode from the word go. And it's actually hilarious how I'm kind of playing Scrooge, so I'm not exactly fully backing the whole musical vibe, as the character. I have a couple of moments, but it was quite nice to watch Charlie doing his thing, and Mat running around jumping and singing and acting. Everyone really rose to the challenge, because it's not easy to do what us musical theatre folk do. You smashed it, Charlie!"
Charlie: "What I loved about it was that all the kids in Class K, and Layton and Mat, had to learn the steps to the song about Mitchell, and I kept going 'surely I should be learning some steps too?' And they said 'no, no, just wait till the end', and I very much get wheeled in and take a lot of the glory! I don't actually have to do much, so I'm really happy with my role!"
Layton: "Don't you have a massive dance break, Charlie?"
Charlie: "Oh yes, I have a massive dance break which was definitely me and not a dancing double."
Was it nice having Jack back briefly for this episode?
Layton: "Jack who?"
Charlie: "Yeah, we don't know a Jack!"
Layton: "Jokes, obviously we love Jack. He's a Hollywood star now, so it's really nice of him to take the time out of his sched — this show is his baby, as much as we all love it. We all began many moons ago, so it's nice to have number one on the call sheet back to show us how it's done, eh Charlie?"
Charlie: "Yeah, he turns up for three hours and he's still number one on the call sheet! It's great to have him back, it really is. We all built up a really good friendship over the years, and like Layton said, this is his baby, so for him to come back and still be involved even though he's very much passed the baton is nice — for us and for the audience!"
Layton: "It's a treat for us as well because it's nostalgic. Whenever I do a scene with Jack, I feel like I'm a kid again!"
What plans do the two of you have for Christmas?
Charlie: "I am very much a couch potato over Christmas. I love all the old Christmas films, and those shows on Channel 5 where it goes back through the favourite Christmas ads of the 80s, or the top Christmas songs of the last 50 years. Christmas is about spending time with family and friends and reminiscing, so I like all the stuff like that — watching them and munching on a box of chocolates is perfect!"
Layton: "I'm usually out and about getting festive cheer with my besties, and I want some sun this Christmas, so I'm hoping to be hopping on a plane pretty soon. And to see my family!"
