Big School (TV series)

Last updated

Big School
Big School TV Series Titlecard.jpg
First series titlecard
GenreSitcom
Created by David Walliams
Written byDavid Walliams
Dawson Bros.
Directed by Tony Dow (2013)
Matt Lipsey (2014)
StarringDavid Walliams
Catherine Tate
Philip Glenister
Frances de la Tour
Joanna Scanlan
Daniel Rigby
Steve Speirs
Jocelyn Jee Esien
Composers David Arnold
Michael Price
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerMark Freeland
ProducerJo Sargent
Production locationSalisbury
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesKing Bert Productions
BBC
Original release
Network BBC One
Release16 August 2013 (2013-08-16) –
10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)

Big School is a British sitcom, starring David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Steve Speirs, Frances de la Tour, Joanna Scanlan and Philip Glenister. It is set in a secondary school and follows the comedic relationships of the teachers. [1] The first series began airing on BBC One on 16 August 2013, [2] and was met with polarised reviews. The final episode of the first series aired on 20 September 2013. On 2 December 2013, BBC One controller Charlotte Moore announced that Big School had been renewed for a second series, which concluded on 10 October 2014. [3] In June 2015, it was officially announced that Big School would not be returning for a third series. [4]

Contents

Plot

The series follows Keith Church (David Walliams), a socially naive chemistry teacher at the fictional Greybridge Secondary School, near Watford, who falls for new French teacher Sarah Postern (Catherine Tate), who believes herself to be an inspirational teacher, in tune with youth culture and a beautiful woman. However, she is also getting attention from the arrogant and rude sports teacher Trevor Gunn (Philip Glenister). Other staff members include Ms Baron (Frances de la Tour) as the alcoholic 'no nonsense' headteacher, Mr Martin (Daniel Rigby), a music teacher with ambitions to be a singer-songwriter, Mr Barber (Steve Speirs), a geography teacher who is having a nervous breakdown and is employed as a caretaker in the second series and Mr Hubble (James Greene), the elderly and unwell head of science. The pupils at the school are portrayed as being mainly interested in social networking, texting and partying and as being bored by the attempts of Mr Church and Miss Postern to engage with them. The most prominent of them in the first series is a streetwise pupil called Manyou, played by Joivan Wade, who is asked for advice on how to succeed with women by Mr Church. [5]

Production

The show was written by David Walliams (who had previously produced Little Britain ), along with Dawson Bros., and directed by Tony Dow. [6] Many scenes for the series were shot at Bishopshalt School, Hillingdon, West London. [1] The pupils gave up their school holidays to come to the school and be extras. [7] Other inside shots were filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. [8] The titles were scrapped in Series 2 and were replaced by simple text at the centre of the screen.

Cast

ActorCharacterProfessionDurationYear
David Walliams Mr Keith ChurchDeputy Head of Science (2013–14)
Head of Science (2014)		1x01–2x062013–14
Catherine Tate Miss Sarah PosternFrench Teacher1x01–2x062013–14
Philip Glenister Mr Trevor GunnPE Teacher
Geography Teacher (2014)		1x01–2x062013–14
Steve Speirs Mr Gareth BarberGeography Teacher (2013, 2014)
Caretaker (2014)		1x01–2x062013–14
Joanna Scanlan Mrs Janine KlebbDrama Teacher1x01–2x042013–14
Frances de la Tour Ms Margaret BaronHeadmistress1x01–2x062013–14
Jocelyn Jee Esien DaphneSecretary1x01–2x062013–14
Daniel Rigby Mr Luke MartinMusic Teacher1x01–2x052013–14
James Greene Mr. John HubbleHead of Science1x01–2x052013–14
Matthew FentonNicholasPupil1x01–2x062013–14
Cheryl Fergison JoLab Assistant2x01–2x062014
Julie T. Wallace Pat CarringtonLab Assistant1x01–1x062013
Joivan Wade [9] ManyouPupil1x01–1x062013
Georgia ThompsonBeyoncéPupil1x01–1x062013
Carla RyanTinaPupil1x01–1x062013
Connor GoodliffRyanPupil2x03-2x062014

Guest characters

CharacterActorProfessionDurationYear
Mr. Rupesh Kulvinder Ghir Bus Driver1x062013
Fenella Forbes Morgana Robinson Author2x012014
Dr. Dalton Jimmy Akingbola Geography Teacher2x022014
Trish Karen Taylor —2x032014
Ms Steele Sylvestra Le Touzel Ofsted Inspector 2x042014
Dean Jack Carroll Pupil2x052014
Rita Gunn Michele Dotrice Retired (presumed)2x062014

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 616 August 2013 (2013-08-16)20 September 2013 (2013-09-20)
2 629 August 2014 (2014-08-29)10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)

Series 1 (2013)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [10]
11"Episode 1" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros. 16 August 2013 (2013-08-16)5.28
Mr Keith Church decides it's his time to leave the school as none of his pupils seem interested, but the arrival of a new, young, French teacher Sarah Postern has him change his mind; however, the new teacher is catching the eye of all the staff. Meanwhile, the pupils decide to play a prank on Mr Barber, with a slightly imaginative picture.
22"Episode 2" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros.23 August 2013 (2013-08-23)4.50
The school decides to hold a staff talent show; however, some of the staff's 'talents' are not as amazing as hoped. Keith decides that if he performs with Sarah they may get 'closer'. Meanwhile, the students decide to play judge, giving the best Simon Cowell impression they can muster when commenting on the quality of the teachers acts.
33"Episode 3" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros.30 August 2013 (2013-08-30)3.68
Sarah is landed with running the draughts club and suggests merging with Keith's chess club, creating the school's first 'chaughts' club. She goes to his place to discuss a merger and watch Strictly, but Keith is about to regret his first attempt at social networking. Meanwhile, a drugs scandal looms when gym teacher Trevor Gunn is seen with a dealer.
44"Episode 4" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros.6 September 2013 (2013-09-06)2.89
Sarah warns the other teachers to be careful around troubled student Josh, whose mother has run off and divorced his father whilst on holiday in Kenya to fall in love with a Masai tribesman. Keith is fired from the job as theatre critic for the school, and so Sarah has to watch Mrs Klebb's production of "Juliet & Romeo", taking Josh's dad with her. Could Keith be... jealous?
55"Episode 5" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros.13 September 2013 (2013-09-13)2.93
Sarah puts herself down for an Ironman competition, but realises all too late what is involved. Trevor offers to help her train, and Keith tags along, taking an unusual interest in PE suddenly. Mrs Klebb tries to stop violence at school, but the teachers aren't listening. Meanwhile, Mr Barber has taught the wrong Geography course.
66"Episode 6" Tony Dow David Walliams & Dawson Bros.20 September 2013 (2013-09-20)3.85
Keith bargains his way onto Sarah's school trip to France, and events on tour do not go as planned for the staff.

Series 2 (2014)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [10]
71"Episode 1" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros. 29 August 2014 (2014-08-29)2.90
When Miss Postern sets up a careers workshop, it seems her 'Which Way Now?' slogan applies as much to her as it does her pupils.
82"Episode 2" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros.5 September 2014 (2014-09-05)2.60
It's Miss Postern's birthday and she is upset when everyone forgets. But the arrival of a new teacher (who just happens to be blind) changes everything and puts her day into a different light. Mr Church and Mr Gunn hear this news and are not happy about it.
93"Episode 3" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros.12 September 2014 (2014-09-12)2.30
It's parents' evening and all the staff want to make sure it is over before the new episode of 'Great British Bake Off'. Mr Gunn thinks that he has a secret child at the school, and sets out to make his days as fun as possible. Miss Postern struggles to stop people looking at her cleavage and is told by Ms Baron (who tries to avoid the event all together) that she is a "Parisian prostitute".
104"Episode 4" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros.19 September 2014 (2014-09-19)2.60
When Ofsted arrive to conduct an impromptu inspection, Greybridge School is thrown into even more chaos than usual.
115"Episode 5" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros.3 October 2014 (2014-10-03)2.40
The staff celebrate when Mr Hubble chalks up 40 years of service at Greybridge School—although no sooner has he accepted his gift, he drops dead without anyone realising. When Mr Gunn and Mr Church finally cotton on, it's left to the bumbling duo to get the body out of the school before anyone else notices. Meanwhile, Miss Postern has a new poster boy for her anti-bullying campaign—a disabled boy who was moved from his last school because of intimidation. But the well-meaning French teacher soon discovers nothing is as it seems.
126"Episode 6" Matt Lipsey David Walliams & Dawson Bros.10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)N/A
A homeless Mr Barber spends the night in the school, only for disaster to strike when he causes a fire in Miss Postern's classroom. It falls on the reluctant Mr Gunn to put a roof over his head. The disaster is good news for Mr Church, as Miss Postern moves into his laboratory while her room is redecorated—but they soon find sharing doesn't come naturally.

Overnight ratings are not official and do not include views on BBC iPlayer, BBC HD or recorded catch-up services. They are just a note of the number of viewers on the BBC channel at the time of airing, and therefore are not an accurate representation. Official accurate figures are released 10 days after original transmission by BARB.

Reception

The series was met with mixed feedback. Dan Owen of MSN described it as "An amusing and pleasant way to spend 30 minutes", [11] and The Guardian said of Walliams: "This performance, and his writing, gives the show good jokes and heart."

There was negative feedback to the opening of the series, with The Daily Telegraph stating: "A bit tired, perhaps, the school thing, but surely a straightforward setting for a sitcom" before concluding "Let's just put it this way: amusing it was not. Mission aborted." [12] MSN UK said, "Like most BBC comedies aiming to please mass audiences, there were plenty of moments that didn't work, but the writing avoided being outright terrible. A family show like this (even one inexplicably broadcast post-watershed) simply can't please everyone all the time". [11]

The series opened to 4.2m viewers. The second instalment scored 3.63m (17.4%) for BBC One, making it the most watched programme of prime time outside of the soaps and news for the night.

DVD release

The first series of Big School was released on DVD on 23 September 2013. [13]

The second and final series was released on DVD on 13 October 2014. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Little Britain</i> (TV series) British character-based sketch comedy

Little Britain is a British sketch comedy series that began as a radio show in 2000 and ran as a television series between 2003 and 2006. It was written and performed by David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Financed by the BBC, the radio series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, with the initial two television series premiering on BBC Three and the third and final series on BBC One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Vegas</span> English actor, ceramicist and comedian

Michael Joseph Pennington, better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Walliams</span> English comedian, writer and actor (born 1971)

David Edward Williams, known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Come Fly With Me (2010–2011). From 2012 to 2022, Walliams was a judge on the television talent show competition Britain's Got Talent on ITV. He is also a writer of children's books, having sold more than 37 million copies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Lucas</span> English actor and comedian

Matthew Richard Lucas is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Come Fly with Me (2010–2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Tate</span> British actress, comedian and writer (born 1969)

Catherine Jane Ford, known professionally as Catherine Tate, is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007), as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTAs. Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of Doctor Who, and later reprised her role for the fourth series in 2008, and the 60th anniversary episodes in 2023.

<i>The Catherine Tate Show</i> TV sketch comedy show

The Catherine Tate Show is a British television comedy sketch programme written by Catherine Tate and Derren Litten featuring a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show aired on BBC Two and was shown worldwide through the BBC. Collectively, the show has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards, two British Comedy Awards and an Emmy Award, and it has won two Royal Television Society Awards, two British Comedy Awards and a National Television Award since its debut in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Glenister</span> British actor (born 1963)

Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor. He is known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series Life on Mars (2006–2007) and its sequel Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). He also played DCI William Bell in State of Play (2003) and Reverend Anderson in Outcast (2016–2018).

Nichola Petra "Niky" Wardley is an English stage and screen actress. Her most notable role is schoolgirl Lauren Cooper's sidekick in the BBC's Emmy and BAFTA-nominated sketch series The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007). She also appeared alongside Catherine Tate in the Netflix mockumentary sitcom Hard Cell (2022) and played the lead role in the BBC One sitcom In with the Flynns (2011–2012). As a voice actress, she is best known for her role as the Eighth Doctor's companion Tamsin Drew in audio dramas based on the BBC's long-running science fiction series Doctor Who.

Steve Speirs is a Welsh actor and writer who has appeared in films such as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Mathew Frazer Horne is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and narrator. He is best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably Gavin & Stacey, The Catherine Tate Show, Horne & Corden, and Bad Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Fergison</span> English actress (born 1965)

Cheryl Fergison is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Heather Trott in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role in which she starred in from 2007 until 2012.

<i>Outnumbered</i> (British TV series) British TV sitcom (2009–2016)

Outnumbered is a British sitcom about the Brockman family, starring Hugh Dennis as the father, Claire Skinner as the mother and their three children played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez.

Dawson Bros. - strictly speaking two brothers, Steve Dawson and Andrew Dawson, and childhood friend Tim Inman - are a team of British comedy writers who have written on a wide range of award-winning narrative and entertainment shows including That Mitchell and Webb Look, MTV Europe Music Awards, Total Wipeout, The Jonathan Ross Show, Take Me Out, The BRIT Awards, Happy Finish, Skins, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, Derren Brown's Trick or Treat, Balls of Steel, The Friday Night Project, The Royal Variety Performance, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. They regularly contribute centrepiece sketches to Children in Need, Sport Relief and Comic Relief – such as the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sketch for Children in Need 2016 and the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em sketch starring Michael Crawford for Sport Relief 2016. They also wrote for BBC One's The One Ronnie, notably the Blackberry Sketch.

Aschlin Haydon Ditta, often credited as Ash Ditta, is a British television and film screenwriter and actor.

<i>Come Fly with Me</i> (2010 TV series) British mockumentary television comedy series

Come Fly with Me is a British mockumentary television comedy series created by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Narrated by Lindsay Duncan, the series launched on 25 December 2010 on BBC One. A spoof of British documentaries Airport and Airline, the series follows the activity at a major airport and three fictional airlines: low-cost British airline ‘FlyLo’, low-cost Irish airline ‘Our Lady Air’, and major British airline ‘Great British Air’.

<i>Barking</i> (TV series) 1998 British comedy television series

Barking is a late-night sketch comedy show broadcast on Channel 4 in the summer of 1998. It starred and was written by David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Peter Kay, Omid Djalili, Mackenzie Crook, Marcus Brigstocke and more up-and-coming comedians, most of whom went on to successful careers.

The Café is a British sitcom written by and starring Ralf Little and Michelle Terry broadcast by Sky1.

Isabella Rose M. Blake-Thomas is an English actress, known for her roles as Princess January in Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, Young Zelena in Once Upon a Time, Peggy Kendall in Game Shakers and Sam in Maybe I'm Fine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Carroll (comedian)</span> English comedian and actor

Jack Carroll is an English comedian and actor. He competed in the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent at the age of 14, finishing as the runner-up. As an actor, he appeared in two series of the CBBC series Ministry of Curious Stuff and from 2014 to 2018, he starred in the Sky sitcom Trollied. Carroll, whose cerebral palsy is often a subject of his act, won a Pride of Britain award in 2012.

<i>Catherine Tates Nan</i> Season of television series

Catherine Tate's Nan is a BBC One spin-off series of specials which follows the character of Joanie Taylor from the original sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show. When the initial series ended in 2007, a Christmas Special was broadcast in 2009, Nan's Christmas Carol, which is now established as the first episode of the Nan specials, and was followed by three subsequent specials in 2014 and 2015 under the title Nan.

References

  1. 1 2 "Remains of the school day: David Walliams and Catherine Tate in Big School - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent". independent.co.uk. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "BBC One Sets Premiere Date For 'Big School' - TVWise". tvwise.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "David Walliams comedy Big School gets second series on BBC One - TV News - Digital Spy". digitalspy.co.uk. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Nicola Methven (7 July 2015). "David Walliams to write new sketch show 10 years after Little Britain ended". mirror.
  5. ↑ "Big School at BBC Media Centre". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Big School - Production Details & Cast and Crew - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "BBC One - Big School, Series 1 - Interview with Catherine Tate". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Big School Information". Philipglenisterfans. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "BBC One - Big School, Series 1, Episode 2". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB. Archived from the original on 12 July 2008.
  11. 1 2 "Big School: decent David Walliams and Catherine Tate sitcom". tv.uk.msn.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Big School, BBC One, review - Telegraph". telegraph.co.uk. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Big School - Series 1 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Big School - Series 2 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.