Award-winning comedy-drama Boarders, created and written by BAFTA-nominated Daniel Lawrence Taylor, will return for a third and final term on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three. The six-part series will be produced by Studio Lambert for the BBC, in association with All3Media International.
Jodie Campbell (Leah), Sekou Diaby (Toby), Aruna Jalloh (Femi), Myles Kamwendo (Omar) and Josh Tedeku (Jaheim) will all reprise their roles for the final series, alongside writer and creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor who returns as their mentor Gus. Taylor will also make his directorial debut this series, directing the final episode.
Filmed in Bristol, Boarders series three sees the South London teens back at St. Gilbert’s and the pressure is on. They’ve made it to their final term, exams are looming, and they’re determined to achieve big. As they dream of life beyond St. Gilbert’s, a neighbouring school - which also happens to be the one Abby is now attending - provokes an intense rivalry causing chaos and jeopardising their futures. With new enemies, love interests and broken friendship, our teens are forced to face a fresh batch of problems which threaten to trip them up at their final hurdle. What will it take for our scholarship kids to come out on top?
Returning cast from series two also include Niky Wardley (Carol), Assa Kanouté (Abby), Tallulah Greive (Beatrix), Rosie Graham (Florence), Georgina Sadler (Mabel), Zheng Xi Yong (Xiang), Archie Fisher (Cheddar), Andrew Harmon-Gray (Graham), Ruxandra Porojnicu (Yelena), Maxim Ays (Felix), Al Foran (Stanley), William Andrews (Mackers) and Yuriri Naka (Ms Kaneko), with more names to be announced in due course.
Writer, creator and executive producer Daniel Lawrence Taylor, says: “Boarders has been a deeply personal project for me, and it’s been incredible to see how audiences have connected with the characters. From day one, I wanted to create something funny, honest, and proudly Black – and in this final term, I hope to finish their story as they face their final year with greater challenges, deeper friendships and the looming question of life beyond school.”
Studio Lambert Creative Director, Scripted Madeleine Sinclair says: “Daniel’s fearless and sharp writing, as well as standout performances from our cast have meant that audiences have truly embraced our characters and we cannot wait for everyone to see how their stories conclude – with humour, honesty, and a lot of heart."
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: "Boarders has been a fun, sharp and timely addition to our screens since its launch two years ago, with star-making turns from its exceptional young cast. We're so excited to return to St Gilbert's one more time to bring viewers the conclusion of Daniel Lawrence Taylor's hit comedy-drama."
Boarders (6x45) is created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, who serves as lead writer with Cherish Shirley, Temi Wilkey, Alex Straker, Emma Dennis-Edwards and Yemi Oyefuwa writing additional episodes. Boarders is produced by Studio Lambert, part of All3Media. It is directed by Yero Timi-Biu (Three Little Birds) and Satya Bhabha (Big Door Prize, Gossip Girl, Love Life) with Daniel Lawrence Taylor making his directorial debut for episode six. Ali MacPhail will return as the producer and Carleen Beadle-Larcombe as line producer. Mykaell Riley will also return as Musical Director. Executive producers are Daniel Lawrence Taylor and Madeleine Sinclair for Studio Lambert, and Nawfal Faizullah for the BBC.
Tubi, USA and ZDF Germany are the shows lead international partners and the series has also been playing with the previously announced Stan in Australia, Discovery in New Zealand, Amazon Prime Video Africa (pan) as well EITB in Spain, RTP (Portugal), RTL Hrvatska (Croatia), YLE (Finland) and VRT (Flemish Belgium).
Filming is set to begin later this year, with the series expected to air in 2026.
