Sheridan Smith is set to return to screens in a new drama called The Teacher, as Channel 5 has given viewers a first look at the four-part psychological thriller.
Sheridan, 40, who became a TV mainstay after roles in Gavin & Stacey and most recently Four Lives, will play senior school teacher Jenna Garvey in the new series.
Outside the classroom, Jenna is emotionally troubled and seeks to numb her pain with alcohol and promiscuity.
Celebrating a promotion with a boozy night out, Jenna is accused of an illicit relationship with one of her 15-year-old pupils, Kyle, played by Ackley Bridge star Samuel Bottomley - but she has no memory of it.
A drunken blackout leaves Jenna forced to unearth the truth about what happened herself before the scandal upends her life.
The Channel 5 drama also features Sharon Rooney of My Mad Fat Diary fame, former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher, and Black Mirror ’s Cecelia Noble as staff at Jenna’s school.
Eager audiences have been treated to a first-look at the series as Channel 5 dropped a teaser trailer, which sees popular Jenna quizzed by students about her life outside the school halls.
She says: “What I do with my spare time is none of your business.”
The trailer cuts to Jenna downing shots in a club alongside student Kyle, before she wakes up bleary-eyed.
A colleague at the school tells her: “There’s been a report of inappropriate behaviour between yourself and a pupil. I need you to stay away from the school.”
As a media storm bubbles up around her, Jenna is seen scrubbing the spray-painted word “paedo” from her car and a student tells her, “You’re so creepy - always trying to be friends with the kids”.
Sheridan said she wanted to be involved in the series after being “gripped” by the script.
She said: “Jenna is such a complex character, there are so many layers to her and I love the fact that you don't know if she's telling the truth or not.
“All these twists and turns came along in the story that I did not expect, and I couldn't put it down, which is rare – I read it all in one go.”
She continued: “Sometimes characters written for women can be quite bland, but I love playing people who are flawed and complex like Jenna.
“She's got a drink problem, she’s lost her mum, has a really strained relationship with her dad and she has just gone off the rails and lost herself a bit.
“When she finishes work, she clocks out and has a chaotic life. I always want to make a character likeable because I want to find the heart in them, no matter how flawed someone is, but I do want the audience to doubt Jenna and to feel unsure about where they stand, it's exciting to play that in a role.”
The Teacher will air on Channel 5 at 9pm nightly from Monday January 31 to Thursday February 4.
