The wait is over! Today BBC Three confirm the new YA drama, Class, written by Patrick Ness, will drop its first two episodes on BBC Three on Saturday 22nd October.

Peter Capaldi will join the cast of exciting new talent in the opening episode of the series, For Tonight We Might Die. Coal Hill School holds some very dark and deadly secrets in its shadows….but who will survive? 

Commenting on his involvement with the new Doctor Who spin-off series, Peter Capaldi, said:

“The Doctor Who family is growing, and it’s fantastic to be able to welcome the young new cast of Class in to the Whoniverse.”

It’s a new term at Coal Hill Academy, and students are preparing for their Autumn Prom. But when the school comes under attack, four alienated students must form an unlikely alliance to defeat them. And this incursion is only the beginning…

Charlie (Greg Austin), April (Sophie Hopkins), Ram (Fady Elsayed) and Tanya (Vivian Oparah), assisted by their physics teacher Miss Quill (Katherine Kelly), are charged with a great responsibility by the mysterious alien known as The Doctor (Peter Capaldi): guard against the creatures of nightmare that want nothing more than to find a way through to Earth and take it for their own.

Patrick Ness has created intriguing and complex characters that have to navigate their way through more than just teenage hormones, exams and detention. Joining them as series regulars are Jordan Renzo (Chosen, Troubled), Pooky Quesnel (The A Word, Accused), Nigel Betts (Boy Meets Girl, Doctor Who). The first two episodes also feature Ben Peel (The Fall, Vampire Academy), Anna Shaffer (Harry Potter, Hollyoaks), Paul Marc Davies (Doctor Who, Torchwood), and Shannon Murray (The Totally Senseless Gameshow).

YA writer and Class creator Patrick Ness, says: 

“At last, we can tell you a little more about Class! Though there are still many, many secrets to come. Many. Like, a lot. But of COURSE, the Doctor is in episode one! That’s how these things are done. Truly, though, I can't wait for everyone to see the show; we've worked so hard and I'm so proud of it. Soon, soon...”

Grab your tickets now! An exclusive World premiere of the first episode will take place at Rich Mix on Thursday 20th October, the home of Coal Hill Academy, Shoreditch, with doors opening at 6pm. Tickets are limited and are now available via the BBC Shows and Tours website bbc.co.uk/showsandtours. Drawn at random, successful applicants will be allowed a maximum of one pair of tickets each. 

Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, adds: 

“We know lots of BBC Three fans are Doctor Who fans so Class on BBC Three is a perfect fit. It’s nice to be back as part of the Doctor Who family.”

[Source: BBC Worldwide]

On the first day of term, BBC Three today announce the stars of the Doctor Who spin-off series Class - exciting young new talents Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah. They will be joined by Katherine Kelly, as she takes the role of a teacher and powerful new presence at Coal Hill School.

Like all sixth formers, these four Coal Hill School students have hidden secrets and desires. They are facing their own worst fears, navigating a life of friends, parents, school work, sex, sorrow - and possibly the end of existence. 

Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who Universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.

Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.

“Time has looked at your faces now.  And time never forgets…”

What if your planet was massacred and you were the sole survivor?

What if a legendary figure out of space and time found you a place to hide?

But what if the things that want to kill you have tracked you down?

And worst of all, what if you haven't studied for your A-Levels…?

Award winning YA writer and Class creator Patrick Ness, says: 

“We searched far and wide for this amazing cast, fantastic actors who understand what we’re aiming for with this show. And how lucky we are to get Katherine Kelly! She’s been stunning in Happy Valley, The Night Manager and Mr Selfridge, just wait until you see her here.”

Steven Moffat, Class and Doctor Who Executive Producer, says:

“There’s nothing more exciting than meeting stars that nobody’s heard of yet. We had the read through of the first few episodes last week, and there was a whole row of them. Coal Hill School has been part of Doctor Who since the very first shoot in 1963, but this new show is anything but history. Class is dark and sexy and right now. I’ve always wondered if there could be a British Buffy - it’s taken the brilliant Patrick Ness to figure out how to make it happen.”

Class is a YA series set in contemporary London. It is scary, funny, and as painful and sharp as youth. It will also shine a light on a whole new corner of the Whoniverse. 

Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, adds: 

“I can’t wait for Class to arrive on BBC Three. BBC Three will always back best young British talent.” 

From Writer Patrick Ness, Director Ed Bazalgette (Poldark, Doctor Who), Producer Derek Ritchie, and Executive Producers Patrick Ness, Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, the BBC Cymru Wales production, co-produced with BBC America and BBC Worldwide, starts filming today and will premiere on BBC Three this year.

Watch a video of Patrick Ness introducing the cast in a special 360° presentation:
[youtube:ZtOWnx5X2hk] 
[Source: BBC Worldwide]