Former EastEnders star Kara Tointon has opened up about her role in the follow-up season to Sheridan Smith's The Teacher, saying she was "overwhelmed by the drama".
The Channel 5 show's first season aired in 2022 and starred Smith as a teacher accused of having sex with her 15-year-old pupil.
The new season, which is set to premiere on September 9, will this time star Tointon as a teacher named Dani Osborne.
Dani's affair with fellow teacher Jimmy (Coronation Street's Will Mellor) leads to tragedy and threatens her marriage to husband Tim (Fool Me Once's Emmett J Scanlan).
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After Dani and Jimmy abandon their supervising duties on a school trip for a night of passion in a boathouse, they return to find that a student has gone missing.
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Discussing the show during a new interview with OK! magazine, Tointon admitted that she initially struggled with the storyline, being a mother of two herself.
"If you're a parent, you can't help but go in that direction. I was so shocked by the first 10 pages," she shared.
"I thought, 'I don't know if I can do that'. I was so overwhelmed by the drama."
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Tointon continued: "I had never played someone who might initially be disliked by the audience but Dominic [Leclerc, the director] helped me with it.
"I couldn't put myself in the mindset of making that decision, but then you think of the reality of this character's life.
"She's in a relationship that has become stale. She's trying her best but there's no connection."
The Teacher season two will air across four consecutive nights. It's been written by Michael Crompton (Silent Witness) and Rebecca Wojciechowski (Death in Paradise).
The Teacher season 2 begins on Monday, September 9 on Channel 5 and will stream on My5.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
