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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Louise Lavigueur

Where all the Bad Education kids are now - Game of Thrones to soap stardom

Jack Whitehall's school sitcom Bad Education that he credits for launching his career has come back on our screens this Christmas.

The BBC Three series following Mr Wickers and his form of students - Class K, including Stephen, Mitchell, Joe, Chantelle, Rem Dogg, Jing and Cleo - initially ran for three seasons from 2012 and 2014.

Despite more than a decade since the show's departure the Abbey Grove teachers and pupils along with some new faces pulled together to produce a brand-new 45 minute Christmas special.

But that's not the only offering for fans of the show as a new series will return next year reuniting familiar characters and welcome a host of new faces.

Jon Petrie Director of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, said: "The original series helped launch the careers of many talented comic performers we see on TV today, and we hope the new series, written by some of the best young comedy writing talent in the UK, will unearth more gems for BBC comedy fans to enjoy."

So as the cast step back in the classroom once more, let's take a look back at what they've been up to since.

Whitehall is bringing back the show which launched his career with a one-off festive special ahead of a new series next year (We Love TV)

Jack Whitehall - Alfie Wickers

Whitehall credits the show with launching his career although he was still fairly well known before taking on the role of hapless teacher Alfie Wickers.

Since the show he has launched into presenting with big shows behind him including the BRIT Awards and the Royal Variety Performance.

He hasn't turned his back on acting though as he launched his Hollywood career starring in Clifford the Big Red Dog, with a rather questionable American accent. The comedian also has his own Netflix show, Travels with My Father.

He is not appearing in the new Bad Education but will remain an executive producer alongside a new writing team.

Mathew Horne - Mr Fraser

Mathew Horne and Catherine Tate at the Nan Movie screening in March 2022 (Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

Matt was already a household name when he landed the role of headteacher Mr Fraser.

Since the show ended, he has gone on to star in Catherine Tate projects, including movies Catherine Tate’s Nan and This Nan’s Life.

He is best known for playing Gavin in James Corden and Ruth Jones' classic BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey and took part in the hugely successful Christmas reunion in 2019.

Sarah Solemani - Miss Gulliver

Sarah Solemani played Miss Gulliver (BBC/Tiger Aspect/Jonathan Hall)
Sarah at the World Premiere of The Bad Education Movie in 2015 (FameFlynet)

Actress Sarah took on the role of Miss Gulliver who had the unenviable role of trying to guide teens through their GCSEs.

After departing from Abbey Grove she starred alongside Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Baby.

She also starred in her own show Chivalry on Channel 4 alongside Steve Coogan.

Kae Alexander - Jing Hua

Japanese born- British actress Kae moved to London aged 10 and landed the role in Bad Education as Jing Hua.

Her other roles include comedy Pramface and House of Anuibis but by far her biggest role came In Game of Thrones.

She portrays Leaf in the sixth season, taking over from Octavia Alexandru.

Since then she landed main roles in BBC 2 drama Collateral, ITV's Strangers, and Jessica Tamura in espionage thriller TV series Deep State.

Jack Bence

Jack as 'Beanbag' in EastEnders (BBC / Kieron McCarron)

Jack was the one who everyone feared as he took on the role of a school bully. But he has seen appeared in EastEnders as 'Beanbag'.

When not on screen Jack still enjoys treading the boards, with stage credits including S***-faced Shakespeare (Edinburgh Fringe and Tour) and Swimming (Soho Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe).

But the London lad is back starring in Steve McQueen's TV series Small Axe, which is based on the real-life experiences of London's West Indian community spanning across the 60s to 80s.

Layton Williams - Stephen Carmichael

The bright lights of the stage beckoned as Layton is now a big name starring in numerous WestEnd and Broadway shows including Let's Talk about Jamie (BBC / Tiger Aspect Productions)
Jamie appeared in Rent around the UK to rave reviews (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Layton landed his first job at the age of twelve playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical on London's West End.

But he became known to TV for his role as Stephen Carmichael in Bad Education before back to his routes as Jamie New in Let's Talk about Jamie.

He has since continued racking up his stage credentials and from late 2016, he began playing Angel in the 20th anniversary tour of Rent around the UK to rave reviews.

Charlie Wernham - Mitchell

Charlie played Robbie in EastEnders (BBC / Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)

Following his role as class clown Mitchell in the school series he headed to Hollyoaks.

But it wasn't long before he moved on to Walford and landed the role in Eastenders as Aaron Monroe.

And although he enjoyed a stint in the soaps he has more recent works includes The Baby (HBO), Masters of the Air (Apple TV+ Produced by none other than movie legends Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

The Bad Education Christmas Special is available to view on BBC iplayer.

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