One of the stars of new BBC Three comedy-drama Boarders has been talking about his role.
The show follows five gifted Black teens from London who are parachuted into prestigious private school St Gilbert’s, supposedly because of their "Black excellence" but it's as much a move to rehabilitate the school's public image in the wake of a social-media scandal.
When we meet Jaheim, played by Josh Tedeku, he's leading a chase through the streets of Lewisham. When the group finally catches up to the runner, our ringleader drop-kicks the guy to the floor and snaps a picture on his phone, smiling.
Tedeku told Digital Spy signing on to play the character was a "no-brainer". For him, that first introduction was a snapshot of Jaheim as a product of his environment.
"Some things come down to circumstance, circumstance, circumstance. Is it necessarily him as a whole? No." Once Jaheim and his four friends – Leah, Omar, Toby and Femi – are shipped off to St Gilbert's, a significantly more vulnerable side of his character starts to emerge.
This complexity was a large draw for Tedeku, that and the fact that he also attended "heavily white schools" – although Tedeku hastened to add he didn't go through quite the same emotional and physical wringer.
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At the end of the premiere episode, Jaheim is violently attacked in the toilets by a group of schoolboys – scenes that Tedeku said required him to go to a "grimy place" mentally.
"I could see similarities," he said. "I felt it'd be a really good character to play and also revisit some stuff to get the most authentic version."
But he also came to the conclusion that if he had been sent to St Gilbert's, he would have handled the whole thing "very, very differently".
He explained: "I never really was in an environment to be that violent. I'd say I'm a bit of a pacifist, so I don't know if I'd be getting into that many scraps and stuff. There's similarities between me and Jaheim and then there's hardcore differences."
Boarders creator and writer Daniel Lawrence Taylor (who played Searle in Code 404) plays mentor Gus in the show, who negotiates the five scholarship spots at St Gilbert’s, but Tedeku stressed there wasn't any "added pressure" with his presence on set, saying that it instead gave the actors the opportunity to talk about the material – including its inspiration.
"I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this," Tedeku admits. He explained his understanding that the germ for the show had been an article about five Black boys who went to a boarding school.
"I think Daniel just picked off where that person left off. He said when he was writing it he drew on experiences of his university life."
That may be in part why, when reading the scripts for the show, Tedeku said he wasn't particularly shocked by any of the events. "It's gonna sound crazy, but it all sounded and felt quite believable," he said.
"And that's the selling point, that it's so real and authentic."
Boarders also stars Harry Gilby (The Last Kingdom), Derek Riddell (Happy Valley), Tallulah Greive and Niky Wardley.
Jaheim is the ostensible heart of the group – if cheeky chappy Toby (Sekou Diaby) is the 'comedy' of the piece, then Jaheim is very much the 'drama' of it.
Tedeku praised that balance in the light and shade across the characters, adding: "I think sometimes comedy is how people handle things and people see things in an easier, clearer light."
The (fictional) St Gilbert's looks much like a location that wouldn't be amiss in The Crown – lush playing fields, grand cloisters and redbrick turreted buildings.
During the show's 12-week filming in Bristol, at an actual school whose identity Tedeku said they're not allowed to name, the five actors formed a tight-knit group, "running around and doing whatever" during their downtime from shooting.
Tedeku said after the quintet were cast, Myles Kamwendo, who plays Omar, did some "detective work" and tracked down all of his soon-to-be co-stars on social media to set up a FaceTime introduction.
He said the Boarders cast still FaceTime one another most days in the lead-up to the show's release.
"The web just started building from there," said Tedeku. "It was very quick. They became that family, so I see them as brothers and sisters almost."
Boarders airs on BBC Three from February 20 and is available to stream on iPlayer.
Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
