ON SET WITH... Jo Joyner

as Tanya Jo, 40, who’s best known appears as Branning in EastEnders, in new headteacher Mandy Carter

Ackley Channel 4 school drama us behind Bridge. Here she takes which is the scenes on the show, Yorkshire... filmed in Halifax, West

1

MONDAY

My character Mandy has worked hard to make Ackley Bridge College a success for its pupils, who are drawn from Asian and British families. I’ve had talks with the production team about making her someone viewers will care about. So she’s a bit lighter than was originally planned – which is more than can be said for her bag! It’s weighed down with documents. I’m married to a teacher in real life and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the workload is considerable.

2

TUESDAY

We’re filming in a disused school in Halifax which the production team turned into Ackley Bridge College. They’ve worked hard to give the school its own identity, right down to the colours of the school uniform, a mixture of blue, purple, orange and white. To add authenticity, a lot of the pupils were picked off the streets and invited to take part by our casting team who were out and about recruiting before filming began. They bring real energy and enthusiasm to the production.

3 WEDNESDAY

Mandy’s been having an affair with Sadiq [Adil Ray, right], the school’s sponsor, and her marriage to Steve, a teacher at the school, is in trouble. Today, in one of the most challenging scenes I’ve filmed, I tell him about the affair. Paul Nicholls, who plays Steve, is great and it goes well.

4

THURSDAY

Because a lot of us are filming away from home there’s a great sense of camaraderie among the cast. We organise special ‘days’ on set where we agree to wear certain items of clothing – today is leopard-print day. I’m good friends with Sunetra Sarker, who plays Kaneez Paracha, the mother of one of the pupils. We’ve known each other since we appeared in the nursing drama No Angels together more than a decade ago and we’re sharing a house in Hebden Bridge during filming. Sadly, we only have one scene together during the series.

5

FRIDAY

It’s freezing cold today and the scenes we’re filming centre on a rugby match involving the Ackley Bridge College team. It would be easy to moan about the conditions but a lot of those taking part in the game or watching from the sidelines are acting for the first time, the young extras who caught the eye of the casting team. Their excitement is infectious and keeps us all going, despite the cold. They remind us how fortunate we are to be doing the job that we’re doing and that we shouldn’t be complaining about it! Ackley Bridge, Wednesday, 8pm, Channel 4.