''The Demon Headmaster'' is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same title. Made for
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 ...
, the drama was first broadcast on 14 October 2019, and is the second adaptation of the books, following the 1996 series.
Nicholas Gleaves
Nicholas Gleaves (born 2 January 1969) is an English actor and playwright.
Career
Gleaves's first theatre part was as an extra in '' Don Carlos'' at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. He did several plays there including the lead in '' ...
plays the titular character, a mysterious head teacher with strange powers and dreams of world domination.
The series is a direct sequel of the original series, and features Charlotte Beckett and Sally Oliver as Dinah Hunter and Rose Carter, roles originally portrayed by Frances Amey and Kathryn Wyeth. Amey was approached to reprise the role of Dinah, though no longer acts, whilst Wyeth is based in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It has been renewed for a second series.
Production
The series, adapted by Emma Reeves, is based on the newest series of books, beginning with ''Total Control'' (2017). These books focus on a new protagonist, Lizzie Warren, rather than Dinah Glass from the original books and series. The series was filmed on location in
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Reeves pitched a second series to CBBC, using further elements of ''Total Control'', as well as its sequel, ''Mortal Danger''. As of June 2021, filming on the new series has been delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Cast
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Nicholas Gleaves
Nicholas Gleaves (born 2 January 1969) is an English actor and playwright.
Career
Gleaves's first theatre part was as an extra in '' Don Carlos'' at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. He did several plays there including the lead in '' ...
as The Headmaster
*Ellie Botterill as Lizzie Warren
*Jordan Cramond as Tyler Warren
*Dijarn Campbell as Ethan Prendergast / Adebayo
*Jordan Rankin as Blake Vinney
*Shonagh Price as Beata Maron
*Lori Stott as Angelika Maron
*Kevin O'Loughlin as Rick Warren
*Sally Oliver as Mary Warren/Rose Carter
*Lola Aluko as Becky Whittaker
*Jade Chan as Sophie Johnson
*Sarah Paul as Auntie Beryl
*Manjot Sumal as Mr Wasu
*Euan Mitchell as Jakub
*Charlotte Beckett as Dinah Hunter
*Jasmine De Goede as Young Dinah
*
Terrence Hardiman
Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail