A Class Apart comes to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One
8.30pm on Friday 23 March 2007
Introduction
Jessie Wallace returns to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One for the first time since playing Kat Slater
in EastEnders in a brand-new film called A Class Apart.
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The one-off film also
stars Nathaniel Parker (Inspector Lynley) and George Cole (Minder) and is
written by the Bafta-nominated Tony Grounds (When I'm 64, Births, Marriages
And Deaths). It is produced by Paloma Productions.
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Wallace plays single mum Candy, who is trying to keep her 11-year-old son,
Kyle, on the straight and narrow with help from her Grandad George (George
Cole), who isn't the best role model himself.
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When her son, Kyle (Sanchez Adams), is offered a place at the local failing school, Candy is
having none of it. She knows only too well the grass is greener at nearby Park
View and doesn't see why her boy can't go there.
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Feeling frustrated and disenfranchised, Candy decides to mount a one-woman
protest, chaining herself to the Park View gates until her only son is granted
a place.
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However, fate intervenes. The conceited headmaster (Nathaniel Parker) of a
nearby prestigious private school chances to catch Candy on the local news.
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He jokes to his deputy, Charles, that if Kyle attended Haltham, he'd turn him
from "chav-rudeboy" to respectable public schoolboy. Charles doesn't believe
he can do it and they make a bet.
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Headmaster Anthony's first task is to find a way to get Kyle into the school.
Can he win his bet and get one over on his scheming deputy – and how will
Candy and Kyle cope with the culture shock as two worlds collide?
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Producer/director Nick Hurran says: "Candy is just a normal mum trying to do
right by her son, and although it seems at first that Kyle is the victim of a
social experiment, Anthony's heart is in the right place.
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"Initially, he clashes with Candy but she soon begins to warm to the man who
is trying so hard to help her son. It's a heart-warming story with a slight
sting in the tail which will strike a chord with many parents."
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Peter Fincham, Controller of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One, says: "It is great to have Jessie back
home on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One. I know audiences loved seeing her in Albert Square, and I am
really excited about us all experiencing her in a new role."
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Nick Hurran's film and TV credits include the award-winning Girl's Night,
romantic comedy Little Black Book and Take A Girl Like You.
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The executive
producers are Damien Timmer (Paloma Productions) and John Yorke and Jadie
Montgomery (³ÉÈËÂÛ̳).
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