New musical drama Britannia High is set to explode onto ITV1 this autumn in a whirlwind of stunning dance, sensational music and unforgettable drama.
Click on the photos to read our interviews with the actors...
CLAUDINE(SAPPHIRE ELIA)
Total showbiz “fabulosity” is Claudine’s destiny, and she’s determined to make it by any means necessary. She has been training as a performer since the age of ten months, when she took her very first steps! She’s determined to be bigger than Mariah Carey and puts in more rehearsal hours than any of her classmates. As she had little attention growing up, Claudine craves admiration and approval. She wants to stand out from the crowd by being the best at everything she does, whether that’s in the classroom, on stage or in life. Never happy with anything less than an A*, the word ‘failure’ is not in her vocabulary. Claudine has a phenomenal pop singing voice, but sometimes when she sings she loses herself in the music and, without realising it, exposes some of the vulnerability that she strives so hard to conceal.
Claudine is a social butterfly. She loves being Miss Popular and holds the record for the most Facebook and Bebo friends in the school. She can be manipulative and will call anyone her BFF (best friend forever) to get what she wants. When Claudine meets Lauren (Georgina Hagen), who shares her talents, she does her best to try and make school life difficult for her through fierce competition and bitchiness. This rivalry is heightened when Lauren and Danny (Mitch Hewer) begin dating. Claudine tries her best to steal Danny from Lauren, however it’s only when Claudine drops the mask and reveals her true and more vulnerable self that Danny really starts to take notice of her…
LAUREN(GEORGINA HAGEN)
Originally from a small town in the New Forest, Lauren is an all round talent. Not only does she excel in her performance subjects, but she also shines academically. She has an incredibly powerful singing voice, and when she belts out a tune, the whole school stops to listen. Lauren comes from a happy and close family, and moving away from them has an enormous impact on her. She’s never lived away from home before and misses her mum and her pet dogs Billy, Barney and Bobby enormously. She arrives full of naive enthusiasm but is immediately overawed by the uber-confident big city kids who know the latest trends and buzz words.
As she has had no formal performance training before (the Principal spotted her singing at a wedding) she struggles to keep up with the experienced students in dance class. Her raw talent also leads to jealousy from classmate Claudine (Sapphire Elia) who has trained hard all her life in order to secure a place at Britannia High. When Lauren finds herself falling for Danny (Mitch Hewer), she can’t initially imagine he would ever return her affections. Danny in turn falls for her and the pair embark on a fun-filled relationship. Both thrive from taking the mickey out of each other, and more often than not this leads to sparks of teenage passion flying thick and fast between them. It certainly looks like they’re destined to be together. Or are they?
DANNY(MITCH HEWER)
Danny loves the buzz of showbiz, and is an all round talent. He can sing, dance and act to a high level, and quickly becomes well respected as one of the best students in the school. Danny’s full of charm and charisma and is one of the lads. He’s a good-looking guy and knows it. That’s not to say he’s arrogant, but he takes pride in the way he looks and likes to think of himself as the Ronaldo of Britannia High! Danny takes on the role of the joker in the group. He makes everyone laugh and people love hanging around him. He is not the most emotionally aware of his friends, but he has a good heart and as a boyfriend is attentive and romantic.
Originally from Bristol, moving to London is part of the excitement of Britannia High for Danny and he embraces it. He loves the scale and the energy of the city, which reflect his own character as he struggles to keep still for more than five seconds, seeing the potential for fun and excitement in everything. Danny’s motivation for coming to Britannia High is complicated. He’s always believed he was stupid and struggled in academic subjects. Danny always knew he was charming but didn’t think that counted for anything. Then he discovered performing, and realised his ‘charm’ could translate into stage presence and theatrical skill. Suddenly, he found he was good at something, and he’s never looked back since!
LOLA(RANA ROY)
Lola’s more than a little eccentric, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She has absolutely no idea how attractive she is, even when she dances with the freshest moves to shame Beyoncé! Despite also being an accomplished musician, Lola is forever late for class, but the mentors find it difficult to chastise her because she’s genuinely adorable. Lola lives for showbiz gossip and when she’s not got her head stuck in Heat magazine, she’s invariably daydreaming about dating and duetting with the likes of Justin Timberlake or Usher. Because she’s a dreamer with her head in the clouds, Lola has no interest in academic subjects and can’t see why she has to learn who the Prime Ministers of Britain were when all she wants to do when she leaves Britannia High is dance. Like so many young people she wants fame for fame’s sake, and her main ambition is to have her own spread in OK! Magazine.
Lola is great fun and a great friend. She is not the most intelligent of the gang and can sometimes be naïve, mostly because she seems to live on a different planet! However, she is confident and knows what she wants: to be a dancer and not just any dancer but a ‘Superdancer’. Across the series, Lola will have to face up to the fact that instant fame isn’t all its cracked up to be, and she realises that if she does want to have a long and sustainable career that she’s going to have to put the effort in. Lola also learns about the perils of love, when she falls head over heels for the wrong man. Lola’s optimism and energy make her a compelling performer – if she can just reign in her compulsive urges long enough to make it through the rehearsals!
JEZ(MATTHEW JAMES THOMAS)
Jez is the most intelligent and well read out of all our gang. This is reflected in his dialogue as he continually perplexes Lola (Rana Roy) with his use of ‘big words’. Jez is hard working and tenacious. He works and works until he masters something, even if it doesn’t come easy. He also just happens to be a superb musician, being the best pianist in the school and a truly phenomenal singer. Jez is a wry observer, who can’t resist teasing his friends with quips and endless one-liners. As well as being very funny, he also has a lot of substance to his character and is the first to jump in if he feels something’s out of order, even if he places himself in a dangerous position by doing so.
He has a good heart and his wise and non-judgemental attitude mean the others are much more likely to go to Jez to discuss a problem than anybody else. When Jez arrives at Britannia High he tells the rest of the students that he comes from an unremarkable and boring background. In reality he lives in a country mansion with his billionaire father, Sir Jack Tyler (Danny Webb), who runs a successful business. Unfortunately for Jez, having a super rich dad has sometimes meant that people treat him differently. Being accepted for who he is, not what he is, is hugely important to him and being at Britannia High makes him feel like he’s finally found somewhere he belongs. Jez’s father wants him to join the family business, but Jez doesn’t have the heart to tell his dad that he wants to be a performer and so tells him that he is attending an economics college. Being true to himself and revealing that to his father will prove a whole lot harder than he could ever have imagined.
BB(MARCQUELLE WARD)
BB - short for B-Boy - considers himself to be the Jamie Foxx of Britannia High. He is the most mature and grounded of the students. He knows what he likes and what he’s good at and has no interest in anything else. BB always sings from the heart, and is a phenomenal street dancer… but he hates ballet! BB considers himself to be “fresh to death”, keeping himself right at the forefront of the latest trends. As well as having his ear to the ground, BB is insightful and sensitive, sometimes taking more of a back seat in the group as he doesn’t need to fight for centre of attention like some of the others. Still waters certainly do run deep as far as BB’s concerned.
By pure force, ambition and talent BB has dragged himself out of the ghetto and through the door that leads to all his dreams of success. He does not see any problem in segueing seamlessly between the hard world of the bleak council estate where he lives and the intense and exciting world of Britannia High. There is an instant suspicion between BB and Jez (Matthew James Thomas) who appear to be opposites in their tastes and backgrounds. However, a joint love of radio bonds them when they are given a show to present on the school radio station. They soon realise that they are a lot more similar than they thought and become the best of friends. Together they’re a force to be reckoned with, providing much fun and merriment to life at Britannia High. BB is very loyal and will do anything for his friends. Despite trying to keep his home life and Britannia High separate they will inevitably collide and when they do he faces some tough and devastating life changing decisions about where he belongs…
PRINCIPAL NUGENT(MARK BENTON)
Mr Nugent is the antithesis of a stage school head. He is funny, earthy and extremely unconventional. He enjoys bantering with the students, treating them as equals as much as possible. Mr Nugent understands the importance of nurturing young people, and allowing them to discover their strengths and weaknesses for themselves. He therefore avoids preaching to his charges, and tries to give them the emotional space they need to discover who they really want to be. He is passionate about performance and expressionism, and has introduced modern styles of dance and music into the curriculum to co-exist with the traditional classes.
He loves the arts and wants all his students to be as passionate as he is. He hates the way the world has become celebrity obsessed and has no time for any student who has enrolled in his school just to become famous. By attending Britannia High you are committed to learning your craft - hard work and dedication will hopefully lead to a long and successful career in the arts after graduation. Only if you flaunt these rules will you see his stern side. The students love Mr Nugent’s acting classes as he encourages the students to be creative and doesn’t stifle them with restrictive rules. They can talk to him like a friend, rather than a tutor and his students come to respect him just as much as he respects them.
STEFAN(ADAM GARCIA)
Sexy Stefan is passionate about dance. He lives and breathes his profession, as it’s been his life since he saw his first show and caught the performing bug as a young child. Born in Australia, Stefan spent most of his childhood sitting in the audience of various theatres wanting to join the performers on stage. His dream came true aged 18 when he moved to the UK to begin a career in the West End. After a successful stint he decided to share his talent and knowledge with future dancers and turned to teaching.
When Stefan dances he gives 100% and expects his students to follow suit. Stefan can come across as strict with the students as his lessons are relentless. However he’s not a tyrant, and knows how difficult sustaining a career in performing arts really is and so makes them work hard so that they can achieve their goals. The energy and passion he feels for dance is truly inspiring, and his students think his classes are an absolute blast.
ANNA(LORRAINE PILKINGTON)
Anna is beautiful and talented. She truly believes in the power of music and it becomes clear very quickly that anything less than one hundred per cent commitment from her students isn’t good enough. Anna is also very perceptive, understanding the performance, academic and emotional pressures her young charges face. Her students know not to step out of line in her class unless they want to face the firing squad.
However, her bark is worse than her bite and she will always go the extra mile to help a student in need. Anna, above all the other mentors, knows the importance of academic studies – in an industry so full of unemployment she feels duty bound to ensure that her students are fully prepared for all of life’s eventualities.
MRS TROY
(MICHELE AUSTIN)
Mrs Troy runs one of the houses where the Britannia High students live during their time at the school. She is a jolly and eccentric character and her house is a mass of colour. She’s an artist and is forever having a Jackson Pollock moment or Tracey Emin attack. She understands being away from home for the first time is hard for some of the students and is always available to offer them a sympathetic ear. Like Mr Nugent, she allows the students to make their own mistakes, knowing that she will be there for them to help pick up the pieces.
Across the series, Mrs Troy becomes a surrogate mother to the students, even to non-residents BB (Marcquelle Ward), Jez (Matthew James Thomas) and Ronnie (Sophie Powles) who all seem to gravitate there.
RONNIE
(SOPHIE POWLES)
Ronnie works in the school canteen. She’s the same age as the students at Britannia High, and is always there to offer a smile and a kind word as she serves lunch. Originally from Grimsby, Ronnie was attracted to the bright lights of London and has always loved the performing arts, so getting a job at Britannia High seemed like the perfect opportunity. Despite her bubbly personality, Ronnie feels very inferior to the rest of the students; they can sing, dance and act and she just serves chips. However she finds herself drawn to the gang, longing for them to see her as a friend, be a part of their world, and not just a dinner lady.
Sometimes it seems like Ronnie tries that little bit too hard to be liked, but she’s got a good heart, and just needs to learn to have more confidence in herself. Across the series, Ronnie will go on a big journey of self discovery, and finally find the sense of direction and self-worth that she’s been seeking all her life.
