Daniel Lawrence Taylor

The series stars Josh Tedeku (Supacell), Jodie Campbell (No Return), Sekou Diaby, Myles Kamwendo (The School for Good and Evil) and Aruna Jalloh as schoolkids Jaheim, Leah, Toby, Omar and Femi. The talented teens were admitted to private boarding school St Gilbert’s after earning scholarships. Once there, it became clear the scholarships were a thinly veiled attempt at good PR… but the five are still determined to make the most of it. Creator Lawrence Taylor plays Gus, the new recruits’ mentor.

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.

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.

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).

Entitled Boarders, the six-part series follows five disadvantaged black students from inner-city London who all win scholarships to an elite boarding school.

Like fish out of water, the move from the urban jungle to a school resembling Hogwarts is a shock to their zone 3 systems. But together they take on the highs and lows of their new lives as boarders, learning about themselves, their identities and how the other half live.

Timewasters has charmed critics and attracted healthy audiences with its mix of jazz, time travel and good jokes. Notably, it also has an all-black leading cast but, according to its creator, Daniel Lawrence Taylor, it is, “first and foremost”, a comedy.

Avoiding the usual tropes audiences have come to expect, the comedy series tackles issues surrounding race, gender and culture through the lens of a black time travelling jazz quartet.

Sitting down with three quarters of the Timewasters cast, it’s clear the chemistry flows off screen for Daniel Lawrence Taylor, Adelayo Adedayo and Kadiff Kirwan. Along with Samson Kayo, the group are back on screens as the time travelling jazz band from South London this week.

The comedy sitcom follows a London jazz quartet who reluctantly travel back in time to the 1920s, encountering a host of bizarre characters and situations.

Among the band is Nick (Daniel Lawrence Taylor), Jason (Kadiff Kirwan), Lauren (Adelayo Adedayo) and Horace (Samson Kayo).

The previous series ended with the group reuniting with the mysterious Homeless Pete (John Stoate) and the relentless Curtis (Kevin Garry) as they try to get back to the present.

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