If you think you've seen all of Sheridan Smith’s best performances, we're here to tell you otherwise. Yes, she was absolutely superb in I Fought the Law and her portrayal of Cilla Black was truly iconic, but there’s another “underappreciated” series that might have passed you by. Channel 5’s The Teacher sees her deliver a performance that’s just as compelling – so much so that fans have taken to social media to say they “can’t stop watching it” – and it’s available to watch tonight.
The crime drama, which first aired in 2022, introduces us to Jenna Garvey (played by Sherian) who’s a heavy drinker and experiences alcohol-related blackouts. So when she’s accused of sleeping with a 15-year-old pupil after a heavy night of drinking, her innocence becomes hard to protest given she can’t remember a single thing. It’s an intense, sometimes uncomfortable watch, in which Sheridan delivers what is, in our opinion, one of the best performances of her career.
With the series available to stream in full tonight (or now, if you like!), here’s everything you need to know about The Teacher before you tune in, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is The Teacher about?
The anthology drama, which first aired in 2022, centres around the lives of secondary school teachers who find themselves caught up in personal and professional crises. Sheridan Smith is the star of series 1 as Jenna Garvey, an English teacher at a public school in Bradford who’s accused of sleeping with a 15-year-old student after a drunken night out.
For Jenna, the idea of doing such a thing is implausible - she can't imagine ever doing such a thing - but the problem is, she can’t remember a thing from the night in question. When she’s formally charged with having sex with a minor, her life rapidly falls apart – and her only hope of turning things around is finding out what really happened between her and her student.
Series 2, which aired two years later in 2024, sees Kara Tointon lead the cast as new teacher Dani who, unhappy in her marriage to fellow teacher Tim (Emmett J. Scanlan), starts an affair with her colleague Jimmy Spencer (Will Mellor). But what begins as a spontaneous moment of passion, however, soon turns more sinister when a student goes missing.
Following its success, a third instalment aired earlier this year, in which Victoria Hamilton (pictured above) plays Helen, a respected 50-something drama teacher who’s struggling to keep up with modern social expectations in a reputable private school. Helen has recently been promoted to Head of Drama, but when one of her pupils tragically commits suicide following an argument with her, Helen finds herself in the firing line.
Who’s in the cast of The Teacher?
Alongside Sheridan Smith as Jenna, the cast of The Teacher series 1 includes:
- Samuel Bottomley as Kyle Hope
- Cecilia Noble as Pauline
- David Fleeshman as Roger Garvey
- Sharon Rooney as Nina
- Sarah-Jane Potts as Mary
- Kelvin Fletcher as Jack
- Tillie Amartey as Izzy
- Aaronveer Dhillon as Adnan
- Ian Puleston-Davies as Brian
- Karen Henthorn as DI Sowerby
- Anil Desai as Rick Mills
- Karen Bryson as Ava Mansouri
- Matt Devere as Jojo
- Reuben Johnson as Sean
- Harry Hepple as Gabriel
Is there a trailer for The Teacher?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for the first series of The Teacher below,.
Is The Teacher any good?
Yes – for starters, Sheridan gives a fantastic performance as a dedicated teacher in turmoil, but she’s not the only standout star. Samuel Bottomley, who plays Kyle, the boy Jenna is accused of sleeping with is absolutely fantastic in an incredibly complex role. If you enjoy a crime drama with deeply flawed characters and a premise that feels like it could have been plucked from real life, The Teacher should definitely be on our watchlist.
How can I watch The Teacher?
You can watch all three series of The Teacher now on 5. You can also watch series 1 on Disney+.
What other Sheridan Smith dramas can I watch now?
For one of Sheridan’s most moving performances, we’d recommend The Moorside. The two-part series is based on the real-life disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 2008. Sheridan plays Julie Bushby, a concerned community member who organised the search party for Shannon and she’s as brilliant as you’d expect in the role. You can watch The Moorside now on ITVX. For something more recent, we’d suggest The Cage. Sheridan steps into the shoes of Leanne, a casino worker who discovers that she and her colleague Matty (Michael Socha) are both robbing from the safe - and when they do, things take quite the turn. The Cage is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
