Sheridan Smith’s latest outing as a boozy teacher accused of having sex with a pupil received mixed reactions from viewers after its debut last night, with some branding the drama ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unbelievable’.
The Teacher, airing on Channel 5, follows Jenna, who can’t remember if she had sex with teenager Kyle or not, after drinking too much, and shows her showing up to work hungover, dressed inappropriately and flirting with students.
Sheridan Smith was praised for her performance in the four-part drama, which will air until Thursday.
However, while some viewers said they could not wait to see how the mystery unfolds in the upcoming episodes, others said they found The Teacher ‘unrealistic’.
Viewers slammed Channel 5’s The Teacher thriller starring Sheridan Smith, right, as a teacher accused of sexual assault for being unrealistic
Some said they were left ‘cringing’ at the show’s representation of a party-loving teacher whjo abused the booze
In the first episode, viewers were introduced to Jenna, a relaxed teacher, who likes to give her pupils pep talks and have a few jokes with them,
The outfit she picked for her day in school raised eyebrows among viewers, who remarked her skirt was too short to be in good taste.
And questions about her professionalism arose in the first minutes of the show when she was seen going to a club called ‘Lazarus,’ also frequented by her students, and waking up with a hangover.
One of these students was the shy Kyle, who is played by Samuel Bottomley.
Samuel Bottomley plays Kyle, centre, the pupil who allegedly had sex with Jenna during her night out
She was also heard calling one of her pupils a massive ‘b****’ while speaking to Kyle.
During a one-on-one conversation with Kyle, she referred to other students as ‘b******’ and touched his arm in a show of sympathy, which also struck viewers as an inappropriate gesture.
In spite of these interactions with her students, Jenna was promoted to head of English over her colleague Nina, who resented her for it.
In the show, Jenna, left, is accused of inappropriate relation with her pupil Kyle, right, during a night out drinking
Later on in the episode, the teaching staff had a dinner party to celebrate Jenna’s promotion, where they enjoyed a few too many drinks.
When everyone else headed home, Jenna took her colleague Pauline, played by Cecilia Noble, for a drink at Lazarus, where some of their pupils had managed to sneak in.
There, Kyle accosted a visibly inebriated Jenna on the dancefloor, where the pair exchanged an unintelligible conversation before dancing together.
The next day, Jenna was told at school that someone had reported inappropriate behaviour between her and a pupil.
In the show, Jenna lets loose at her local club after receiving a promotion at work, but she gets a rude awakening the next day
Jenna’s coworker Pauline looks worried, as Jenna is visibly inebriated when they make it to the club
Jenna and Kyle are still talking and dancing together, before she wakes up at home the next day
She was later interviewed by police about the allegations, and admitted she sometimes blacksout when she drinks too much, and had no memory of her evening.
She then found out she was accused of having sex with Kyle.
The episode ended with Jenna receiving a voice message from Kyle left the night before, where he said he was sorry for ‘whatever will happen,’ but that he ‘loved f******’ her.
While some found the intrigued gripping, others just could not realte to Sheridan Smith’s character.
‘Anyone else watching The Teacher and cringing at how unrealistic it is? Imagine, rocking up hungover in THAT outfit,’ one said.
When she shoes up at work the next day, Jenna is told someone had reported inappropriate behaviour, and she subsequently interviewed by police
‘She’s really flirtatious with pupils, I’m cringing,’ another said.
‘When the f*** does she do all her marking? She’s out on the razz every night,’ one said.
‘Half an hour into #TheTeacher and it’s honestly so ridiculous. Going clubbing by yourself ? Speaking to your colleague like that ? Turning up to your teaching job in last night’s clothes ? No one does that,’ another said.
‘A teacher just wouldn’t be allowed to wear such a short skirt. More importantly, a good teacher wouldn’t want to,’ another said.
‘Channel 5, what an absolute travesty this programme is. So unrealistic. If we are supposed to warm to Sheridan’s character it’s not happening,’ one said.
Viewers felt they could not get into the show due to the unrealistic portrayal of the teacher, and that they could not warm up to her
But some people still said they enjoyed the thriller.
‘Completely hooked already,’ one wrote.
‘Last night’s The Teacher was absolutely brilliant, can’t wait for later,’ said another.
‘The Teacher, loved it. Hooked, see you tomorrow miss.’ said one.
The Teachers airs every night until Thursday on Channel 5 at 9pm.
Others said they were ‘hooked’ by the gripping thriller and could not wait to watch its next installment tonight
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