Ackley Bridge series 5 coming to Channel 4 in 2022 – watch first trailer

Ackley Bridge is on its way to Channel 4 with series 5 – here’s all you need to know.

The school drama aired its fourth outing in 2021 and now a brand new series is coming soon.

Series 5 of Ackley Bridge will air on Channel 4 and stream on All 4 in July with an exact start date to be announced.

A synopsis for the ten new episodes shares: “Ackley’s back for more high-jinx plans, scams, and mad-cap adventures in school and on the estate. We’ll pick up with our trio – Johnny, Kayla and Fizza – as they try to navigate the second half of the school year.

“Elsewhere, life gets complicated for Marina, Kayla’s popular Queen Bee sister, just as her younger brother Kyle, Ackley’s newest pupil and troublemaker, turns up at school, fresh out of juvie.

“It’s been a year already jam-packed with love triangles, catfishing, compulsive liars and one utterly joyous (albeit failed) gypsy wedding. But it’s not over until the last school bell rings and there’s still plenty of time before the sun breaks on the summer holidays…”

“And for the adults, life is just as chaotic. Martin finds his role as Head under the spotlight as Ken – true to form – continues to be a raging pain in the proverbial. Things get trickier still for Martin when Asma, Ackley’s new hotshot teacher joins the staff to immediately ruffle some feathers.

“Kaneez is back at the beating heart of the school and is presented with her biggest challenge yet, in the form of new boy Kyle. Sue does her best to impress Ken which could lead to a change in career.”

Returning to the cast for series 5 are Sunetra Sarker (Kaneez Paracha), Charlie Hardwick (Sue Carp), Ryan Dean (Johnny), Yasmin Al Khudhairi (Fizza), Robyn Cara (Kayla), Rob James Collier (Martin Evershed) and George Potts (Ken)

They’ll be joined by Laila Zaidi (new hotshot teacher Asma), Adam Little (Kayla’s young brother Kyle) and Megan Morgan (Marina).

You can watch a first trailer below….

Rebecca Holdsworth, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor said: “I’m thrilled to be revisiting Ackley Bridge to see what is in store for our pupils and teachers. Series 5 promises the same trademark mix of funny, heartfelt and hard-hitting stories.”

George Ormond, Executive Producer at programme makers The Forge, added: “We’re delighted to be back for another series in our rowdy school and our left-behind town. It’s been a lot of fun coming up with series 5 and we can’t wait to share it.”

Ackley Bridge series five will be produced by The Forge and will film in Halifax from November 2021.

The new series will see Ashley Walters (Top Boy, Bulletproof) make his directing debut for 5 episodes and Reza Moradi (Teachers, Hetty Feather) will direct the other 5 episodes.

For now you can catch up on past series of Ackley Bridge on All 4 here.