The Teacher season 3 director explains they didn't want to 'pit groups of characters against each other' in gender politics drama

Content warning: This article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find distressing.

When a pupil at a private boarding school dies by suicide in the third season of anthology series The Teacher, a member of staff finds themselves in the firing line.

"The story explores queer culture from the perspective of younger and older generations," said director Dominic Leclerc. "The impact of words on representation and identity is a cultural conversation that is alive right now and we wanted to continue that in a sensitive way."

In the series, Helen Simpson (Victoria Hamilton), the newly promoted head of drama at the prestigious Cheetham Hall, berates Dee Rainford-Thomas – a non-binary student who has been having a particularly tough time of late, and whose pronouns Helen repeatedly gets wrong – during detention.

Though she's challenged by pupil Cressida about her attitude, Helen is stubborn in her stance.

The synopsis adds: "A sinister grudge match quickly develops between teacher and pupil and, when Dee takes her own life following an argument with Helen, Cressida resorts to blackmail to make Helen pay for her 'outdated' views."

What ensues is "a really intense warfare and cat-and-mouse game between one student and one teacher, whilst looking at the wider issue," added Leclerc.

"From the very beginning we were looking at ideas around gender identity and how young people have brought pronouns into our culture. The story is nuanced; we didn’t want to pit our groups of characters against each other with a single point of view because that’s not real.

"The way pronouns are used is an ongoing conversation, it’s not something everyone suddenly gets right, and addressing it takes away any fear or trepidation."

The cast is led by Victoria Hamilton (Unforgotten, The Crown, Doctor Foster), who plays Helen. She's joined by familiar faces including Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty) and Steve Edge (The Madame Blanc Mysteries), alongside a host of newer talent, including Alice Grant as Cressida.

"She hits all her triggers," said Hamilton of her sparring partner in the series. "It's an example of the fact that the people we are most repelled by in life are often those we see something of ourselves in.

"Helen knows she's a really good teacher... so when somebody then picks at that, and the students don't want to learn the texts she has set, it's like they’re saying she has no understanding of the generation she used to be so brilliant at teaching... that's terrifying for her."

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The Teacher season 3 premieres on 5 at 9pm on Monday 30 March. The remaining three episodes will air across three consecutive nights. All episodes will also be available to stream from 10pm.

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