PICK OF THE DAY

ACKLEY BRIDGE, 8PM, CH4

AN EVENING of programmes apparently aimed at a younger audience begins with the return of this popular drama, the first series of which aired this time last year. Set in a secondary school in a multicultural Yorkshire mill town, its themes of diversity, friendship, triumph and tragedy appealed to viewers aged between ten and 34 years old and saw ratings rocket. Former Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh looks set to stir things up when she joins Sunetra Sarker, Jo Joyner and Liz White (pictured) for the new term. The opening episode finds Mandy (Joyner) under pressure amid disappointing exam results and a plummeting year seven intake, while pupils Nas and Naveed are hiding something from their families . . .