Jack Whitehall returning to Bad Education for festive musical episode
- Jack Whitehall has shot a musical episode of Bad Education, returning to the BBC Three school sitcom for its Christmas special
- The episode features original songs and choreography, with current Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams taking centre stage
- Whitehall is also preparing to shoot his latest Netflix series, Fatherhood With My Father, about his experiences of becoming a dad, once again working with his father Michael
Jack Whitehall is returning to Bad Education for a musical episode.
A Christmas special of the revived BBC Three school sitcom was shot this summer alongside next year's fifth series, and Whitehall will once again be making a cameo in the all-singing, all-dancing one-off.
The episode features "a number of original songs and choreographed dances performed by the cast, certainly something a bit different for fans of the show" a production spokesperson told British Comedy Guide.
"We've got a little Christmas special as well, that's like a musical episode that I feature in" Whitehall told the BBC's Morning Live last week. "We make the most of Layton [Williams]'s musical ability."
Whitehall wrote and starred as teacher Alfie Wickers for the first three series of Bad Education, which originally ran from 2012-2014 and spawned a 2015 film, before he returned to executive produce and cameo in this year's revived fourth series.
The sitcom's leads are now Williams, who appeared in West End musicals such as Billy Elliot and Michael Jackson: Thriller Live before landing the role of camp Stephen Carmichael, and Charlie Wernham as Mitchell Harper, who have both now graduated from being pupils in the original series to becoming teachers at the school. The current series also features Mathew Horne as demoted-to-caterer Fraser and Vicki Pepperdine as headteacher Hoburn.
Williams is currently appearing on the BBC's flagship Saturday night show Strictly Come Dancing. And Whitehall told Morning Live that his co-star was "unbelievable".
He said: "I knew that this guy had some incredible moves and loved watching him on the first live show. Quite enjoyed the feedback when [Strictly judge] Craig Revel Horwood told him he needed to work on his downstairs.
"That certainly made its way into a couple of our group chats that we're on. But no, I'm so proud of him and I think he's going to go very far in the competition."
The BBC will reveal transmission details of the Bad Education Christmas special in due course. The corporation announced a Ghosts festive special earlier this week.
Elsewhere in the Morning Live interview, Whitehall also reflected on his latest Netflix series, Fatherhood With My Father, following the birth of his first child last month.
Once again pairing the comic with his father Michael, after five series of their travelogue Travels With My Father for the streamer, he described the four-part series as "a documentary, that makes it sound so grand.
"It will just be us bickering, an extension of the Travels With My Father thing, it's going to be a documentary about parenting and fatherhood in the modern age" he said.
"Documentary maker and executive producer, what's happened to me? I hate the words coming out of my mouth."
As BCG revealed in July, Whitehall has filmed his current stand-up show, Settle Down, for Netflix, and will conclude the tour at Wembley Arena on December 21st.