Ackley Bridge | Series 5 Preview (Channel 4)

The award-winning school drama set in a Yorkshire mill town returns for a fifth series, with its trademark mix of funny, heartfelt and hard-hitting stories, as Top Boy's Ashley Walters makes his directorial debut.

Ackley's back with more high-jinx plans, scams and madcap adventures in school and on the estate.

We pick up with our trio, Johnny, Kayla and Fizza, as they try to navigate the second half of the school year - a year already jam-packed with love triangles, catfishing, compulsive liars and one utterly joyous (albeit failed) Romany wedding.

But it's not over until the last school bell rings... And for the adults, life is just as chaotic. Marina (Megan Morgan) pulls a pulse-racing stunt at school, designed to send her social media sky-high.

It causes outrage among the parents and puts Martin (Robert James-Collier) firmly under Ken's (George Potts) boot. But Marina's high is short-lived when she discovers that Jules (Gemma Paige North) has racked up debt and they've been evicted.

Meanwhile, new teacher Asma (Laila Zaidi) arrives with firebrand ideals that capture the hearts of Fizza (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi) and Hassan (Hareet Deol).

The full series will be available to stream or download for free on All 4 following the transmission of this episode on Monday 11th July.