Series Three

Episode One

3.1 ‘Everyone’
Aired: 22nd January 2009
Writer: Bryan Elsley
Director: TBA

It’s the first day of term at Roundview College and a new gang is forming: the class of 2009. Best friends Freddie (Luke Pasqualino), JJ (Ollie Barbieri), and Cook (Jack O’Connell) are en-route to college. Their world collides with Effy’s (Kaya Scodelario), and Cook is intrigued – this trouble maker has met his match. But, both Freddie and JJ are equally smitten.

Identical twin sisters, Katie (Megan Prescott) and Emily (Kathryn Prescott), prepare for their first day. As per usual, Katie walks all over Emily. Once at college, Effy and Katie clock one another immediately as Effy’s best mate Pandora (Lisa Backwell) tells Effy she wants to lose her virginity.

At college, Cook tries to charm the girl sitting next to him – but instead winds her up. Naomi (Lily Loveless) doesn’t suffer fools gladly and grasses Cook up.

Effy issues smitten Freddie, JJ and Cook with a challenge to be completed by the end of the day. The winner will get to ‘know her’ better. And so the first day at college begins…

Episode Two

3.2 ‘Cook’
Aired: 29th January 2009
Writer: Jamie Brittain
Director: Simon Massey

The third series of E4’s home-grown drama continues. It’s Cook’s (Jack O’Connell) 17th birthday, and half the college are invited to his uncle’s pub for a night Cook believes will go down in history. But the girls get bored quickly and are about to leave when Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) gets a phone call from his sister Karen (Klarisa Clayton). She’s at her best friend Kayleigh’s (Amy Burnett) engagement party and they want to liven up the evening and get the party going. The gang head off and Cook eventually gets them into the party by flirting with Kayleigh. But Cook’s actions attract the attention of Kayleigh’s dad, notorious local gangster Johnny White (Mackenzie Crook), who’s not happy with their arrival. Cook decides to up the tempo of the surprisingly quiet party, ignoring Freddie’s warnings about upsetting Johnny White. Johnny is furious and it looks like he’ll run them out of town, until Cook discovers that Johnny’s got a very big and rather seedy secret of his own…

Episode Three

3.3 ‘Thomas’
Aired: 5th February 2009
Writer: Daniel Kaluuya and Bryan Elsley
Director: Simon Massey

Brand New Series: E4’s hit home-grown drama continues its new run. In this episode, Thomas (Merveille Lukeba) arrives alone in the UK from the Congo. His family are due to join him in a few days, and he has to find somewhere for them to live. He finds an abandoned flat on an estate, but little does he know that local gangster Johnny White (Mackenzie Crook) is his new landlord, and there’s no way Johnny’s going to let him live there for free. Thomas has to fend for himself, but a chance encounter at a bus stop, and a mutual love of doughnuts brings him together with Pandora (Lisa Backwell) and Effy (Kaya Scoledario). They head to Effy’s house, where they find Effy’s mum, Anthea Stonem (Morwenna Banks), has a surprise visitor, her husband’s boss, Steve (David Baddiel). It’s fate for Pandora and Thomas, who hit it off immediately: she takes him to see her Aunt Elizabeth (Maureen Lipman), who just might have the answer to Thomas’s insolvency, with a rather unconventional money-making scheme.

Episode Four

3.4 ‘Pandora’
Aired: 12th February 2009
Writer:
Director:

Brand New Series: With the first and only boy Pandora’s (Lisa Backwell) ever fancied having been deported, Pandora is desperate to have some fun and decides to throw a party. Unbeknown to Pandora, Katie (Megan Prescott) has used some special ingredients in the chocolate brownies, which take the party to another level. Effy (Kaya Scodelario) knows, but hasn’t warned Pandora or her mum Angela (Sally Phillips), who is munching happily on the choccie treats. Effy can only look on while her best friend’s mum’s behaviour gets increasingly bizarre. Pandora grabs the fun where she can, and towards the end of the evening lets her heart rule her head… but will she regret it in the morning, and will her best mate forgive her? Also guest starring David Baddiel as Steve, and Harry Enfield as Jim Stonem.

Episode Five

3.5 ‘Freddie’
Aired: 19th February 2009
Writer: Ben Schiffer
Director: Charles Martin

Freddie’s (Luke Pasqualino) the black sheep of his family, and seen as a waste of space. His big sister Karen (Klariza Clayton) has ambitions – she’s reached the final of a TV talent show to find a new member of girl group Da Sexxbombz. Freddie despises her lust for celebrity but is emotionally blackmailed into sticking to the story she and their Dad, Leo (Simon Day), are spinning about their dead mother, all to look good in front of the cameras, and thereby increase her chances of success. He cringes at the whole thing. If this wasn’t bad enough, living in the shadow of the increasingly reckless Cook (Jack O’Connell) is becoming too much to bear. When Effy (Kaya Scoledario) turns up at his shed, Freddie doesn’t know what to do with himself. There’s a connection between them, there always has been, but this is shattered when Cook and JJ (Ollie Barbieri) arrive. He feels torn between his family, his friends, and his heart, and the isolation is overwhelming. Will Freddie start to put himself first, or will he retreat to his shed, and beloved skateboard, as he always has before? Featuring a special guest performance from DJ Scott Mills.

Episode Six

3.6 ‘Naomi’
Aired: 26th February 2009
Writer: Atiha Sen Gupta & Jack Thorne
Director: Simon Massey

Brand New Series: Naomi (Lily Loveless) thinks she has the world worked out, and puts people into pigeonholes: her hippy mum (Olivia Colman); adoring Emily (Kathryn Prescott); Cook’s (Jack O’Connell) insulting misogyny; and her politics teacher Kieron’s (Ardal O’Hanlon) flattery. She thinks she has them all sussed, and that only she can see the truth. But the impending student elections leave her at a loss, and her insecurities get the better of her. The trust and confidence inspired by a friend encourage her to stand up to her arch rival, the antithesis of everything she stands for, as she and Cook go head to head, but Naomi learns that nothing is black and white any more. Writers: Atiha Sen Gupta, Jack Thorne; Dir: Simon Massey; Prod: Chris Clough; Prod Co: Company Pictures

Episode Seven

3.7 ‘JJ’
Aired: 5th March 2009
Writer: Bryan Elsley
Director: Charles Martin

J (Ollie Barbieri) is feeling lost and confused. The upset within the gang has taken its toll on him, and his fine balancing act has come unstuck. He visits his psychiatric clinic, but just gets given more drugs. At home, his mother (Juliet Cowan) is worn out with it all, and, away from home, JJ can see his friends coming apart at the seams. With Effy (Kaya Scodelario) at such a low ebb, and the chance discovery of Cook (Jack O’Connell) and Pandora’s (Lisa Backwell) secret, he finds the burden overwhelming. But Emily (Kathryn Prescott ) proves to be a true friend at this time of need.

Episode Eight

3.7 ‘Effy’
Aired: Thursday 12 March 2009
Writer: Lucy Kirkwood
Director: Charles Martin

Effy (Kaya Scodelario) is at a low ebb; she’s lost her mojo and life at home isn’t much fun. To cap it all, Cook is no longer the draw he was and she’s unsure of her feelings for him. Katie (Megan Prescott) makes the most of every opportunity to rub in the fact that she’s replaced Effy as Queen Bee, and that Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) is her man, and Effy is to keep her hands off. She invites Effy to a party in the woods, but with stipulations: Effy has to drive, and Cook is not welcome. As they head to the party, the car strains with tension, the gang divided by secrets and rivalries. Their paranoid state increases when poachers they meet at a petrol station deliberately scare them. Freddie manages to lighten the mood, and by the time they arrive at the party site they’ve recovered their va va voom. Effy finds some magic mushrooms, and they experiment. Katie’s jealousy of Effy returns, as Effy becomes the centre of attention. The fun and excitement intensify, until it becomes clear that someone has been tampering with their stuff. And then they hear gun shots, and realise someone is charging towards them…

Episode Nine

3.9 ‘Katie and Emily’
Aired: 19th March 2009
Writer: Malcolm Campbell and Bryan Elsley
Director: Charles Martin

Katie (Megan Prescott) won’t leave the house. Fortunately, Emily (Kathryn Prescott) is able to disguise herself as her sister, and sits an exam on her behalf. Emily and Naomi (Lily Loveless) get closer, just as Emily has wanted for a long time; but when Emily asks Naomi to accompany her to the college ball, she says no, breaking Emily’s fragile heart. Against her better judgement, and under duress, Emily agrees to partner Katie to the ball instead, and they plan their outfits together. Out shopping, though, they bump into Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) and JJ (Ollie Barbieri), and Katie convinces Freddie to take her to the ball instead. Katie sees a way of regaining her hard-sought status at college. Freddie inadvertently drops a bombshell about Emily and JJ, and Katie hatches a plan, making her sister the ultimate victim. Katie’s scheming results in the mother of all showdowns. But she’s the one who has to face her fears and accept some hard truths, principally that she’s not in control any more.