Jack Bence

Bad Education's Christmas special saw Alfie Wickers facing another big problem, as he'd been tasked by the headmaster (Matthew Horne) to direct the school play or face being sacked by the governors. Inevitably his ramshackle group of students are roped in to be the stars of the show with Stephen (Layton Williams) being the only one with any discernible talent to speak of. Alfie is then shocked when school bully Frank (Jack Bence) auditions for his production and delivers an incredibly awful audition. But because Alfie is incredibly scared of Frank he casts him as the human lead opposite Stephen in his original production Robocracker a combination of Robocop and The Nutcracker.

Elsewhere, Alfie is attempting to impress Miss Guilver (Sarah Solemani) by volunteering at a soup kitchen where his class are insulted by a mouthy tramp (played by Whitehall's Fresh Meat colleague Greg McHugh).

Right at the start of the Bad Education Christmas Special, Horne and Whitehall warn us that festive editions of shows are often sloppily written with a loose seasonal feel. I would say that was true of Bad Education to an extent as it just didn't have the energy the sitcom normally possesses. The funniest moments were provided by Steven, whether it be his one-man production of Precious or his performance in the incredibly entertaining Robocracker.

Overall, while I can't say I wasn't entertained, I just expect a little bit more from Whitehall and his class of talented young actors.

Jack Whitehall's hapless teacher Alfie, the indomitable deputy head Miss Pickwell (Michelle Gomez) and master of the one-liners Grayson (Jack Bence) are back for a new term at Abbey Grove, where kids and staff are as gleefully caricatured as ever. That's gleefully in the proper sense of the word, not in the Glee sense, where the caricatures might be more subtle but the lines are a lot less funny.

Plotwise, everything centres around Alfie's ongoing infatuation with Miss Gulliver and a swimming competition, with the two strands fusing beautifully in a rip-roaring conclusion. But the plot is throwaway, something to hang a load of laugh-out-loud, knowing one-liners on, as delivered by a deft cast that breezes through them.

Chuck in a load of cultural references that anyone aged ten to 30 will easily get, and star and writer Jack Whitehall can put his feet up and relax. Job done. Grayson's withering 'Oi, Mumford & Sons called. They want their gay one back!' to Whitehall's Alfie stood out for us, but there are so many more. As far as school sitcoms go, Bad Education is top of the class.

The first episode kicked off with hapless teacher Alfie Wickers trying to get into the good books of the headteacher while gearing up for parents evening, where he has to break the bad news that all his pupils have failed their mock exams.
Jack Whitehall gives a good physical comedy performance throughout - twitching, gurning and blinking his way through foppish stances in a beige cardigan that could easily achieve cult status. However the really funny performances came courtesy of the supporting cast.

Matthew Horne was delightfully cringeworthy as Wickers' colleague Fraser; Jack Binstead as Rem Dogg and Ethan Lawrence as Joe made a double act that it'd be good to see more of in upcoming episodes; and Jack Bence's Grayson gets the medal for the best line of the show: 'You learn to defend yourself when you're the only kid in the playground with a Sadé ring tone'. More of him as well, please.

The attempts at gags came thick and fast - attempts, that is - but often they ended up falling flat. One 'joke' involving a Chinese student called Jing who speaks mostly in her native tongue (a running gag clearly lifted from American Dad), is made to sport an oriental headband in a lesson on Pearl Harbour. You can see the punchlines coming from a mile off.

While the inclusion of social networking was a nice touch (follow Whitehall's Wickers on @Alfie_Wickers - no tweets as yet, though) ridiculous Alfie just irritated.

'Shut up, Downton Abbey' spat the school bully at one point. Can't help but agree.