News / television
BBC drama based in Bristol returns for series two
Boarders, the hit BBC comedy-drama filmed in Clifton, will soon be back for series two.
The BBC Three TV show follows the lives of five Black state school students (Jaheim, Leah, Toby, Femi and Omar) from inner-city London who are given sixth-form scholarships to St Gilbert’s College, an elite private boarding school.
The main cast is made up of Josh Tedeku as Jaheim, Jodie Campbell as Leah, Sekou Diaby as Toby, Aruna Jalloh as Femi and Myles Kamwendo, a former UWE Bristol student, as Omar.
is needed now More than ever
The second series will return to BBC Three and iPlayer on February 3.
A private school in Clifton is the set of the series’ fictional St Gilbert’s College – photo: Seun Matiluko
Actor and comedy writer Daniel Lawrence-Taylor, who is an executive producer and lead writer on the show, was inspired to create Boarders after reading an article in the Times about the experiences of five Black boys from East London who were given scholarships to Rugby School, in Warwickshire, which counts Neville Chamberlain and Lewis Carroll among its alumni.
When series one aired in February 2024, Lawrence-Taylor told Bristol24/7 the Times article “really resonated” with him.
He said: “I grew up in south London but went to Royal Holloway in Surrey, which was very white and very middle class.
“It was a real culture shock to me and there were lots of parallels between my experience and experiences of the five boys who went to Rugby.”
The first series of Boarders received rave reviews from the likes of The Guardian and the Telegraph. The show saw the main characters deal with racism and the realities of the socioeconomic divide between them and their middle-class classmates.
In series two, the five leads will face new challenges as the acting headmistress of St Gilbert’s announces their five scholarship places will be cut down to three.
A trailer for the new series was released on Friday.
Much of Boarders is filmed in Bristol and all of the scenes set at St Gilbert’s are filmed at a private co-educational day and boarding school in Clifton.
The second series of Boarders was shot in August 2024.
At the time, the cast told Bristol24/7 they enjoyed being back in the city and returning to some of their favourite spots during downtime, including the Watershed, Brandon Hill (or more specifically ‘Cassie’s Bench’ ) and the Downs.
Jodie Campbell, who plays Leah on the show, said that during filming for series two she was approached on Park Street by a Boarders fan.
She said: “Me and some of the girls (from the cast) were chilling out and then this Black lady came up to us and she was like, ‘I went to a private school here in Bristol’.
“And we were sat there talking for a long while but, just to know that she appreciated it, and she felt seen was incredible…I’m very grateful for the love that we’ve received.”
Main photo: BBC / Studio Lambert Media Ltd / Jonathan Birch / Russell Kirby
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