.120 youngsters win roles in television series

THERE may be a few familiar faces in the background when the new series of popular Channel 4 comedy hits the small screen.

A total of 120 children from Swindon were chosen as extras for the filming of Teachers, starring Andrew Lincoln.

The youngsters, aged 11 to 18, are all members of the Swindon agency A Little Extra and were selected at casting sessions in Bristol, where the programme is made.

Filming took place from May 31 to September 26, but it wasn't all glamorous according to Julia Dickinson, who runs the agency.

She said: "One of the children, Michael Sherlock who is 14, spent a whole day playing a boy who was stuck in concrete up to his knees.

"He was standing there for hours and it was such a hot day that somebody had to stand holding an umbrella over his head."

As well as children from the agency, pupils from Swindon's Churchfields secondary school will also feature in the series, which is a comedy about a group of teachers with a wild lifestyle.

Julia said: "At Church-fields there is a strong emphasis on drama and the headteacher was keen for the children to take part.

"In the end 35 children from the school took part and they did an excellent job. They were really on the ball and were always there when we needed them to be very reliable."

All the local children in the show play extras in the school where the show takes place. And background parts are key to the plot.

Julia said: "The children do all kinds of weird activities in the background when the teachers are teaching in the classroom or when they are in the play-ground.

"Each of the children are given a different quirky character and some of them appear regularly in certain classes."

The opportunity came up because Julia is a friend of the assistant director Julia Segal.

All the filming took place in a disused school in Bristol and the children were taken there by coach from Bristol.

The series starts next Tuesday at 10pm and there are nine episodes.