Blurring the line between sitcom and drama, Teachers included many farcical elements and the kind of heightened melodrama of a comedy, but was shot like a drama without a studio audience.
Created by Tim Loane, it followed the activities in and out of school of a group of twenty-something schoolteachers who were trying to find some direction in their lives.
The first series focused on Simon Casey (Andrew Lincoln), who was serving his probationary period at Summerdown Comprehensive. He often found himself making excuses for not doing work, just as his students would explain away their lack of homework.
At heart, he wanted to be one of the kids and resented the imposition of grown-up things such as responsibility, punctuality, and conformity. He eventually left the school, hoping to travel the world, but briefly returned to teaching after wasting his year out.
Simon’s similarly immature friends, Kurt (Navin Chowdhry) and Brian (Adrian Bower), weren’t much better – always ready for a drinking session and, on one occasion, realising they had forgotten to prepare for a parent-teacher evening.
As new characters joined during the third series, the original cast drifted away.
In the final series, an amalgamation of schools saw the remaining teachers facing rivalries among pupils while trying to organise Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, Fat Week, and Racial Awareness Week – all the while being undermined by their own lack of enthusiasm for their subjects.
Carol Schicklgruber
Ursula Holden Gill Simon Casey
Andrew Lincoln Bob Porter
Lloyd McGuire Clare Hunter
Gillian Bevan Liz Webb
Ellen Thomas Penny Neville
Tamzin Malleson Brian Steadman
Adrian Bower Kurt McKenna
Navin Chowdhry Lindsay Pearce
Vicky Hall Kayla
Marsha Leanne Crosby Adam Grint
Jason Boyd Susan Gately
Raquel Cassidy Jenny Paige
Nina Sosanya Matt Harvey
James Lance Brandon
Tyronne Lewis Arnie
Peter England
