The third and final term of comedy-drama Boarders arrives on BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Three on Sunday 15th March, drawing to a close the Bristol-made coming-of-age hit, which has filmed in Bristol since 2023.
Created and written by the BAFTA-nominated Daniel Lawrence Taylor, who also co-stars in the series as Gus, Boarders is produced by Studio Lambert in association with All3Media International for the BBC. Tubi in North America and LATAM and Germany in ZDF are the shows key international partners. Series one filmed in Bristol in Summer 2023 and following the success of its release the following year – with critics praising its sharp humour, engaging performances, relatability and heartfelt exploration of institutional racism and class – its producers returned to Bristol to film two further series in Summer 2024 and 2025.
The show’s second series won the coveted Scripted Award at the 2025 RTS West of England Awards, whilst Josh Tedeku won the prestigious Breakthrough Award at the 2025 RTS Programme Awards. Casting director Rosalie Clayton also won the Casting Award at the 2024 RTS Craft & Design Awards.
For Series three, the main location was the same Bristol school that featured in previous series, and our Film Office team assisted filming on Clifton’s streets and additional locations including Caribbean Croft restaurant in Stokes Croft, Portland Square in St Paul’s, UWE’s Frenchay campus, a private residence in Coombe Dingle, Redmaid High School’s Sports Ground in Henbury and Ashton Court Estate. The Bottle Yard Studios hosted interior sets for a key school equipment room (which two characters get locked inside), as well as green screen filming and an exterior scene shot in the Studios’ Back Lot.
We’ve had a brilliant experience filming in Bristol over the last three years. It’s proved to be both a fantastic base for cast and crew and a wonderfully film-friendly city. Bristol Film Office were hugely helpful and supportive when it came to filming in and around Bristol. With The Bottle Yard Studios, we once again had a great base for our production offices during prep and space for interior sets, green screen filming and exterior locations. We feel very lucky that we’ve been able to work with so many talented local crew members, at all levels of experience and to be able to have offered training opportunities where we can. We’ll miss coming to Bristol this summer, but we hope to be back soon!
Madeleine Sinclair, Studio Lambert Creative Director for Scripted and Executive Producer for BoardersFrom a location’s perspective, returning to Bristol for Boarders S3 was a fantastic experience. With The Bottle Yard Studios as our production base, we were able to efficiently coordinate filming across a wide range of locations throughout the city, making the most of the incredible variety Bristol has to offer on screen. Working in Bristol is always enjoyable, and the support from both the Studios team and the Bristol Film Office makes a real difference on the ground. Their understanding of the practical needs of production, combined with their proactive and collaborative approach, helps ensure that filming across the city runs smoothly. The people leading both organisations are a genuine pleasure to work with, and their ongoing support makes Bristol a great place for location teams and productions alike.
Cara Wiltshire, Location Manager
Similar to previous series, around 90 people per day worked on the third series, with over 70% of the crew local to the region. The production team again hosted trainees across different departments and was actively engaged with the All Set West programme at The Bottle Yard Studios. This included offering placements to two Trainees in two departments and providing work experience opportunities for five people in the Art Department. 21-year-old Trainee Jae (they/them) from South Glos, who completed their first on‑set experience, said: “Everyone was so lovely and welcoming and I had a blast! It solidified that I want to go down the Art Department route.
Sophie Kirk, a previous All Set West Alumni, also joined the crew as Art Department Assistant via the Screenskills Trainee Programme. There were a number of other work experience participants from local colleges who experienced week-long placements during the shoot. Bristol company Latent Pictures, which works with underrepresented filmmakers, once again produced ‘behind the scenes’ footage for the series, after working with Studio Lambert on the previous two series.
From the moment Boarders arrived in Bristol, seeking the perfect school location, they have showed exemplary engagement in our local film sector. The whole premise of the show is about access to opportunity, and the production team has championed this on both sides of the camera, putting inclusion and diversity at the heart of their creative and production processes. We’re proud that Boarders came to Bristol and made the most of our city’s locations. Its presence here has been a significant boost for our creative economy, workforce and early-stage crew.
Adela Straughan, Bristol Film Office ManagerReturning series like Boarders are so important for our regional film sector. They provide returning employment and workflow for crew and companies, and career development and progression for freelancers. In the studio and on location, Studio Lambert have embraced the opportunity to engage locally on every level, giving opportunities to our All Set West Trainees and employing local creatives and companies for different parts of their workflow. We are sad to see the Boarders era come to an end with this final series but hope to welcome Studio Lambert back to The Bottle Yard in the future for more exciting work.
Katherine Nash, Head of Studios, The Bottle Yard Studios
What’s in store?
Series 3 sees the Boarders return to St Gilbert’s where the pressure is on. They’ve made it to the final term and exams are looming. Their sights are set on big futures but new dramas are erupting everywhere. A shocking school rivalry brings violence, love triangles and shattered friendships. Can the scholarship kids conquer the madness to come out on top?
The final series introduces a host of new characters to St Gilbert’s, played by an exciting line-up of talent. New cast members include: Rufus Jones (Rivals) as Cheddar’s MP father George Tramley; Patrick Baladi (Breeders) who joins as Carol’s ex Alfie Watlington-Geese; comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri (Taskmaster) as Mrs El-Fassi a formidable rival headmistress; Kenyah Sandy (Small Axe, Highway to the Moon) stars as Leah’s new love interest Benjamin; Daisy Jacob (Tell Me Everything) plays Pixie, a new girl who quickly catches Femi’s attention; Louis Thresher (Coven Academy) appears as Jonny, Omar’s new friend who wants to be more than just friends and Nagaieh Dad joins as Yusef, an unpredictable agent of chaos who pulls Abby into his orbit.
Boarders is created by the BAFTA-nominated Daniel Lawrence Taylor, who serves as lead writer with Cherish Shirley, Temi Wilkey, Alex Straker, Emma Dennis-Edwards and Yemi Oyefuwa writing additional episodes. Boarders is produced by Studio Lambert in association with All3Media International. It is directed by Yero Timi-Biu (Three Little Birds) and Satya Bhabha (Big Door Prize, Gossip Girl, Love Life) with Ali MacPhail returning as the producer and Carleen Beadle-Larcombe as line producer. Mykaell Riley also returns as musical director. The executive producers are Daniel Lawrence Taylor and Madeleine Sinclair for Studio Lambert, and Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC.
Returning cast from series two also include Niky Wardley (Carol), Assa Kanouté (Abby), Tallulah Greive(Beatrix), Rosie Graham (Florence), Georgina Sadler (Mabel), Kendra Brown (Devonyé), Zheng Xi Yong (Xiang), Archie Fisher (Cheddar), Andrew Harmon-Gray (Graham), Ruxandra Porojnicu (Yelena), Maxim Ays (Felix), Al Foran (Stanley), William Andrews (Mackers) and Yuriri Naka (Ms Kaneko).
Series three of Boarders will be available in full on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 15 March at 6am. The first two episodes will air that evening on BBC Three at 10pm and 10.45pm as well as on BBC One on Tuesday the 17 of March at 10.40pm and 11.25pm.
All images courtesy BBC