Jack Whitehall’s Bad Education to air 10-year anniversary special and brand new series

Virgin Radio

11 May 2022, 16:35

Big things are happening for BBC comedy shows.

As part of the new plans for the future of comedy on the broadcaster, Jack Whitehall is bringing back fan-favourite BBC Three sitcom Bad Education. 

Jack will be back as terrible teacher Alfie Wickers in a 10th anniversary special, followed by a new six-part series. 

Announced by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy, during the BBC Comedy Festival in Newcastle, the special will reunite Alfie with one of old students one last time as they return to Abbey Grove for a careers today. 

In the upcoming series, a new intake of students will arrive as two former pupils, Stephen (Layton Williams) and Mitchell (Charlie Wernham) find themselves at the other side of the desk as newly qualified - or not - teachers.

In a statement, Jack Whitehall said: “I’m so pumped for a ten-year anniversary special of Bad Education, the show that launched my career. I have such fond memories and it will be great for the fans to check in and find out what class K have been up to since they left and if Alfie Wickers is still as much of a melt as they remember.

“The new rebooted series is so exciting. I’m so old and irrelevant I’ve decided it’s best I take more of a producer role with Bad Education, but we’ve assembled a young, talented group of writers led by the brilliant Nathan Bryon who will be carrying the torch.

“Charlie Wernham is his generation’s Danny Dyer but with less royal heritage. Hopefully being a lead in this will be a springboard to him doing a decade of violent Brit flicks about hooliganism. Layton Williams is a superstar. I honestly think one day he will be an EGOTT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, TV Choice Award winner). Abbey Grove and the new class K couldn’t be in safer hands.”

Meanwhile, after a five-year absence, Detectorists is also making a comeback with a 75-minute special. 

The series followed two metal detecting hobbyists, Lance and Andy, as they traversed through the English countryside.

Director, writer and star of the show, Mackenzie Crook, is looking forward to this film length version of his creation, he said: “It was 2017 when we were last in Danebury and I miss my old friends in the DMDC. 

“I’ve had a story percolating for a while and I thought it was worth getting Lance, Andy and the rest of the band back together. The affection expressed for Detectorists over the years has been incredible and I hope fans of the show will enjoy this new, extended episode.”

The plans are part of the BBC’s push for their comedy output, with an extra £10 million being invested over the next two years.