Series synopsis
Ackley Bridge is a British drama television series that premiered on Channel 4 on June 7, 2017. It ended on July 15, 2022. It was created by Ayub Khan-Din, Kevin Erlis, Malcolm Campbell. It stars Jo Joyner, Paul Nicholls, Liz White and Amy-Leigh Hickman.
A new academy school in a Yorkshire mill town merges the lives and cultures of the largely divided white and Asian community
Premise
A new academy school in a Yorkshire mill town merges the lives and cultures of the largely divided white and Asian community
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Jo Joyner as Mandy Carter
- Paul Nicholls as Steve Bell
- Liz White as Emma Keane
- Amy-Leigh Hickman as Nasreen Paracha
- Poppy Lee Friar as Missy Booth
- Sunetra Sarker as Kaneez Paracha
- Adil Ray as Sadiq Nawaz
- Anneika Rose as Lila Shariff
Supporting cast
- Tom Varey as Will Simpson
- Samuel Bottomley as Jordan Wilson
- Cody Ryan as Hayley Booth
- Fern Deacon as Chloe Voyle
- Arsher Ali as Samir Qureshi
- Maariah Hussain as Alya Nawaz
- Nohail Nazir Mohammed as Riz Nawaz
- Gurjeet Singh as Naveed Haider
- Sam Retford as Cory Wilson
- Adam Fielding as Aaron Turner
- Laila Zaidi as Asma Farooqi
- Jay Saighal as Javid Shah
Guest cast
- Narinder Samra as Iqbal Paracha
- Surinder Kaur as Granny Paracha
- Abdullah Shahid as Mo Ahktar
- Zain Khan as Zain Younis
- Harry Myers as Dan Fairfax
- Matthew Priestley as Jake Earnshaw
- Nathan Green as Neil Sykes
- Hassan Mahmood as Amin Abad
- India Parsan as Tahira Abad
- Arbaz Rashid as Waqar Abdelrahman
- Kainat Butt as Shireen Siddiqui
- Chloe Lumb as Shannon Burns
Episodes
This series spans 5 seasons with 46 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | June 7, 2017 | July 12, 2017 |
| Season 2 | 12 | June 5, 2018 | August 21, 2018 |
| Season 3 | 8 | June 18, 2019 | August 6, 2019 |
| Season 4 | 10 | April 19, 2021 | April 19, 2021 |
| Season 5 | 10 | July 11, 2022 | July 15, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
First Day It's the first day at the newly integrated school, and best friends and neighbours Missy and Nas are now attending the same school for the very first time. Nas's more conservative school friends take against Missy. Nas sides with her school friends and Missy, fuelled by anger, decides to play dangerous liaisons. Meanwhile English teacher Emma Keane gets a shock when she finds out that she'll be working with her ex-boyfriend Samir. |
June 7, 2017 |
| 2 |
Jordan Asks Steve For Help Jordan finds himself in charge of a baby that he has to sneak into school. It's harder to conceal than he anticipated, and he blackmails PE teacher Steve into helping him out. Unable to return it to its mother a stumped Steve ends up taking Jordan and the baby back to his house which causes further issues to his already strained marriage to Mandy, leading her to fall into the ready arms of her boss, Sadiq. |
June 14, 2017 |
| 3 |
Unite The Muslim & White Students Missy convinces Nas to make a play for her teacher, Lila, but Nas is served a curveball when her dad announces that he has other plans for her. Confused and emotional, Nas appeals to Lila for help, but Lila draws a line under their friendship. Missy resolves to show her that there are plenty more fish in the sea, though Nas does not take to Missy's expedition to a gay bar and leaves alone early. Meanwhile, a guilt-stricken Mandy ends things with Sadiq and throws herself back into her marriage, and Emma discovers that Samir is engaged. |
June 21, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Nas has agreed to a sham engagement to Naveed - who is also in the closet. However, reeling from the discovery of a family secret, she struggles to continue the lie and emotions run high at the family engagement dinner. Mandy is under pressure from Sadiq as both the Year 7 intake and exam results have plummeted, forcing her to instigate a strict academic regimen that causes uproar among staff and students alike. |
June 5, 2018 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 It is the day of baby Jamie's christening, and ashamed of Cory's lack of interest, Jordan promises to pay for half. However, when the Murgatroyds splash out, Jordan can't deliver his side of the cash. Meanwhile, Mandy gets jealous over Steve when his ex Claire turns up at the school, but is it too late for their relationship? |
June 12, 2018 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Kaneez is still reeling from the revelation of Iqbal's secret family, and Missy is desperate for her loved ones to come to terms with her boyfriend. |
June 19, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Oxford Dreams Nas secures an interview for a place at Oxford University, while Mandy is overwhelmed when her new boss dumps a load of unmanageable kids from his other schools on her. New hot-headed Deputy Head Martin locks horns with Sam Murgatroyd's mum - fresh from prison - and bad girl Rukhsana runs rings around Sue, the disenchanted and distinctly un-PC new Director of Behaviour. |
June 18, 2019 |
| 2 |
Consequences Kaneez and Simone anxiously wait for news on Nas and Missy. Sam recruits her cousins to seek revenge, and as the reaction rapidly escalates, a chasm opens between Ackley Bridge's white and Asian communities, with the school at the centre of the tensions. Mandy and her staff are reeling when behaviour spirals out of control. Martin is tasked with mentoring cocky new PE teacher Hassan, who's more interested in being liked by the pupils than being an authority figure. Mandy also tries to tempt Emma back to Ackley Bridge. |
June 25, 2019 |
| 3 |
Nothing Else To Say Kaneez is stunned when Rashid proposes, but when wedding fever takes hold of the Paracha house it gets too much for her and she back-tracks - leaving Rashid confused and humiliated. Still keen to unite the two communities of Ackley Bridge, Mandy has written an article for a right-wing local newspaper, and later teams up with Kaneez to go into the community and convince Asian parents to support her school. Naveed has a party while his parents are away, but he isn't pleased when Chloe uses it as an opportunity to pull Cory. |
July 2, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
New Boy Johnny New boy Johnny ruffles feathers throughout the school. Martin experiences a baptism of fire as acting head teacher. |
April 19, 2021 |
| 2 |
The Romany Gypsies The Romany Gypsies are wrongly blamed for robbing the school and an offended Johnny walks out. Kayla inadvertently enters into a pact. |
April 19, 2021 |
| 3 |
Fizza Goes Off The rails Fizza goes off the rails when her mother protests against sex education at the school. Kayla and Johnny get closer. |
April 19, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 A new teacher joins the school, with outspoken views that capture the hearts of Fizza and Hassan. Marina's efforts to boost her standing on social media cause outrage among the parents and puts Martin in a very difficult position. |
July 11, 2022 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Kayla is sent into a spiral of anxiety as she contemplates having sex with Johnny, and receives some devastating news as a consequence of Jules' new job. Kaneez is given the task of heading up the Year 11 sex education classes, while Asma is unwillingly partnered with Hassan to revive the girls' rugby team. |
July 11, 2022 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Johnny spirals down a dangerous path to try to make Kayla stay in Ackley. Martin risks all to help get Johnny out of trouble. Marina's brother Kyle lands at school, causing chaos for Kaneez and persuading Marina to stay with him on the estate. |
July 12, 2022 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Channel 4 |
|---|---|
| First aired | June 7, 2017 |
| Last aired | July 15, 2022 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | Monday |