Boarders

BBC comedy Boarders gets a sophomore series

Following a scholarship for ‘talented kids from disadvantaged backgrounds’, five black teenagers from inner city London find themselves at a predominately white boarding school, ‘St Gilbert’s’.

The five scholars will return for series two, with Josh Tedeku (A Town Called Malice) as Jaheim, Jodie Campbell (No Return) as Leah, Sekou Diaby as Toby, Myles Kamwendo (The School for Good and Evil) as Omar and Aruna Jalloh as Femi. Lawerence Taylor will also be back as the five’s mentor, Gus.

Our Friend in Wales: Edward Russell

Edward Russell looks into the camera, smiling slightly with sunlight shining on his face

It doesn’t matter where we are in our career, we never stop networking. I was with a colleague at the RTS Programme Awards in March. As we watched Charlotte Moore presenting the ­Outstanding Achievement Award to Stephen Lambert, we mused how, irrespective of Studio Lambert’s run of successes with shows such as The Traitors, Squid Game: The Challenge and Boarders, even someone at that level is still probably having conversations about the next commission or series they’re working on.

Cultures collide in Daniel Lawrence Taylor's new series Boarders

Five schoolchildren look around at their school, disorientated

As five scholarship students nervously enter their prestigious new boarding school, mentor Gus – played by the show’s writer and creator, Daniel Lawrence Taylor – offers some wise words: “Don’t be who they expect you to be.” Our leads duly oblige, and that motto applies to Boarders itself. Entering unusual territory in television, the culture-clash series roams freely between high laughs, subtle observations and heavy drama, surprising us every step of the way.

Casting announced for new Daniel Lawrence Taylor comedy Boarders

Boarders will follow five black teenagers from underprivileged backgrounds who receive scholarships to an elite boarding school, St Gilberts. Leaving their homes in inner-city London for the roller-coaster of boarding school, they go on personal journeys and find out how the other half live.

Two of the lead actors, Sekou Diaby and Aruna Jalloh, will be making their screen debuts alongside Josh Tedeku (A Town Called Malice), Jodie Campbell (Bulletproof), and Myles Kamwendo (The School for Good and Evil).