''Jamie Johnson'' is a British

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television broadcast on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

from 8 June 2016 to 17 November 2022. The series followed the self-titled character, portrayed by Louis Dunn, as he negotiates secondary school and issues at home, along with being a talented footballer. A brand new spin off series, Jamie Johnson FC, set in the world of elite academy football, is announced for 2023. The show features several cameo appearances from footballers past and present, including

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...

Steph Houghton Stephanie Jayne Darby (, , born 23 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England women's national team. At club level, Houghton started at Sunderland in her native Nor ...

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...

, Luis Suarez and

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester Ci ...

Synopsis

Jamie Johnson is a seriously gifted footballer capable of going all the way. But after his dad walks out on them, Jamie and his mother are forced to move in with Jamie's grandfather, meaning Jamie has to start at a new school. He makes friends with Jack and Boggy but makes an enemy of Dillon and struggles to impress football coach, Mr Hansard. The series has had many

very special episode "Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television promos to refer to an episode of a sitcom or drama series which deals with a difficult or controversial social issue. The usage of the term peaked in the 1980s. ...

s, covering topics such as

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

, relationships,

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

. The plot is very loosely based on the storyline in the book series of the same name, written author by Dan Freedman, using some of the characters in the books.

Cast and characters

Episodes

Series 1 (2016)

In the series Jeremy is played by Jonathan Race and Jack Marshall is played by Olivia Lava. This would be the only time Jonathan Race and Olivia Lava are able to play these characters as they are replaced by Andrew Williams and Lenna Gunning Williams in the following series. Ian Reacher is played by Santiago Mosquera for only this series.

Series 2 (2017)

In this series, Jeremy is played by William Andrews now and Jack Marshall is now played by Lenna Gunning Williams due to the two previous actors being unable and/or unwilling to return to the programme. Ian Reacher is now played by William Fox in his first actual appearance.

Series 3 (2018)

Series 4 (2019)

The Real Gothia Cup (2019)

Series 5 (2020)

Into E-Sports special (2020)

Series 6 (2021)

All episode of the series were released in the BBC iPlayer on Monday and each episode was aired on CBBC on Mondays and Tuesdays at 5.00pm.

Series 7 (2022)

Each episode will be released every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:00pm on the CBBC channel and will soon be also released on BBC iPlayer after the original airings on the CBBC channel.

Gothia Cup

For the fourth series, the team competed in the

Gothia Cup The Gothia Cup () is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms ...

, an international youth football tournament, which has featured several footballers, including

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

and

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found i ...

. Matches filmed for the show were mostly real contests, with the actors from the show competing in the tournament. Phoenix FC won six matches in four days, scored 25 goals, conceded just seven, and reached the quarter-finals out of 195 teams, with a squad of just twelve. The team arrived in Sweden having never played a competitive game before and having never previously met some of the cast. Phoenix FC's run at the tournament was documented in the series four episode ''The Real Gothia Cup'', with Louis Dunn, Lenna Gunning Williams, Patrick Ward, Maddie Murchinson, Jermaine Johnson and Ellie Botterill sharing their memories of the fairytale run.

Production

Cast members were hired for places on the team from both acting and local schools. Many episodes of the series feature cameos from current and former professional footballers specifically for the show, due to the series being produced by the BBC. Since series four, the production has taken place in Wales.

Conception

The plot is loosely based on the series of books by Dan Freedman about a schoolboy footballer experiencing family issues and playing for the school team. In 2011, the book ''Born to Play'' was published as a prequel to the series, establishing the title character, Jamie Johnson, and his estranged parents.

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, 5698216, Jamie Johnson British children's drama television series CBBC shows BBC children's television shows 2010s teen drama television series 2016 British television series debuts Fictional association football television series Television series about children