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BAD REPUTATION (THE TEACHER)

© Channel 5

It seems Channel 5 has to shout a bit louder than its rivals in the UK to get attention for its dramas.

And that's why it can sometimes veer towards the sensational.

Lacking the same pedigree as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, it has often struggled to land a really memorable series.

And when a Channel 5 show does capture attention, it is usually for something like the colourblind casting of 'Anne Boleyn' rather than for the quality of the writing itself.

© Channel 5

Mike Benson and Barunka O'Shaughnessy's 'The Teacher' hit our screens earlier this year looking to cause a stir with its titillating storyline about a schoolteacher who is accused of having sex with a 15 year old pupil.

Sheridan Smith plays in the show Jenna Garvey, a popular English teacher at a highly regarded school in Bradford whose personal life is, well, a bit of a mess.

One night while out with colleagues in a nightclub, she is guzzling lots of alcohol when she comes across one of her students, Sam Bottomley's working class lad Kyle.

Security cameras subsequently show her and Kyle going into a stall of the ladies' loos and after a complaint is received, the police come a calling.

© Channel 5

Jenna's world turns upside down as she is charged by Karen Henthorn's DI Moody with having sex with a minor despite having no memory of any tryst.

The teacher's fall from grace is very public and very swift, with the tabloids revelling in her discomfort.

On the advice of her lawyer Karen Bryson's Ava, Jenna decides to plead guilty.

Inevitably, she loses her job.

© Channel 5

This is no heavyweight exploration, however, of the consequences of an inappropriate relationship between teacher and pupil.

No because this is a Channel 5 thriller and, therefore, doubt is cast on whether Jenna actually had sex with Kyle.

As she tries to pick up the pieces of her life, Jenna begins to doubt the wisdom of having pleaded guilty and she tries to appeal to Kyle's better nature to reveal if he is lying about the encounter.

Jenna also comes to suspect that one of her teaching colleagues set her up.

But who?

© Channel 5

Sharon Rooney's Nina seems to be getting a lot of pleasure out of her downfall, having previously moaned about her getting a promotion as the head of the English department.

Her close friend, Cecilia Noble's Pauline was with her on the ill fated night out but has always sprung to her defence in the past, so isn't an obvious enemy.

Surely it couldn't be Kelvin Fletcher's Jack - a married colleague who lends a sympathetic ear but who has also flirted with her in the past?

'The Teacher' is one of those shows that takes a story that pops up occasionally in the headlines and really mishandles it.

© Channel 5

O'Shaughnessy and Benson's treatment of the story is just a bit too soapy to really convince and the cast is weighed down by some really ear scraping dialogue.

They are given stiff lines like "One bad word and your reputation could crumble".

Scenes between Jenna and her stuffy father, David Fleeshman's Roger Garvey also don't convince.

And if that isn't bad enough, director Dominic Leclerc has the mammoth task of trying to convince audiences that the show's Budapest locations are actually Bradford.

© Channel 5

Despite his best efforts, he just isn't fooling anyone.

What 'The Teacher' does have going for it is Smith who delivers a committed and sympathetic performance as Jenna.

One of the most versatile actors currently working in British television, a lot rests on her shoulders but she ultimately cannot elevate Benson and O'Shaughnessy's flimsy material.

Bottomley, Noble, Rooney, Fletcher, Fleeshman, Bryson and Henthorn do exactly what Leclerc expects of them but they cannot shine because of the flaws in the show's script.

© Channel 5

Nor can Tillie Amartey as one of Kyle's fellow pupils Izzy, Sarah Jane Potts as his mum Mary and even a character actor as experienced as Ian Puleston-Davies who plays Pauline's partner Brian.

'The Teacher' just feels too frivolous to really make an impact.

It doesn't work because its script isn't up to the task.

If they were in school, O'Shaughnessy and Benson might be unlucky enough to be given detention for their work.

The last thing, though, they ought to be given as a punishment is lines because God knows what they would do with them.

('The Teacher' was broadcast on Channel 5 from January 31-February 3, 2022)

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