Though we love all coming-of-age mini-series, BBC Three’s Boarders stands out from the crowd. Created and written by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, the six-part comedy-drama follows five black students from inner-city London who gain scholarships to an elite boarding school. Suddenly finding themselves in a world of social rules and grandiosity, they spark conversations on topics such as identity, class, race, and access.

Championing a cast of rising talent, Boarders stars Josh Tedeku, Jodie Campbell, Myles Kamwendo, Sekou Diaby, and Aruna Jalloh. We hear from the five of them all about the experience…

What drew you to the project, and what aspects of your character resonated with you the most?
I would say for me it was the feeling of alienation and trying to discover yourself within that. It’s a story that is familiar with a lot of boys but rarely told and I wanted to be a part of that.

Tell us about your preparation process — what did you learn most with your character?
I learned that emotional immaturity can be very detrimental to progression. That’s one of the main things for Jaheim. It’s all about going from boy to young man and finally realising that in order to protect what’s most important to him, he has to pattern up.

The series tackles themes of identity, social class, and adaptation. How do you think your character’s journey reflects or adds to these broader discussions?
I think Jaheim throughout the season is still figuring out his identity and who he really and truly wants to be. In this case, it shows that sometimes a step back from comfortability will reveal more about yourself than you ever would have known.

What were some of your favourite moments on set?
Whenever the 5 of us were together. It could never not be vibes. That’s family right there.

How did you all work together to bring authenticity and depth to the dynamic relationships between the characters, especially considering the diverse backgrounds and experiences they represent?
It just happened so easily because we all got along from day one – so moulding and forming these relationships of very different people just became so easy, because that’s how it genuinely was in real life. We all have very different backgrounds and personalities yet we gelled so well together as a cast.

What drew you to the project, and what aspects of your character resonated with you the most?
What drew me to the project was the script. It was raw, gritty and funny. But most importantly, it was a story I could relate to having attended private school and experiencing some of what the characters go through. What resonated most with Omar was his journey of learning to come out of his bubble. It’s so easy to stay in your own small world, that sometimes we forget there’s a bigger universe to explore. And without a doubt it can be difficult to come out of your comfort zone, but it’s those experiences, friendships and relationships that build you. That’s a journey I can identify with and I’m sure people at home will too.

Tell us about your preparation process — what did you learn most with your character?
I won’t go in to deep about my process, but one of the things I like to build a character profile and ask myself a lot of questions. I spoke to a lot of my friends as well, to gain an insight into their experiences as well. It’s important to know your character inside and out. Building a character especially one as complex as Omar is always an exciting task. I learnt a lot about Omar and the value of kindness, something that everyone can take away.

The series tackles themes of identity, social class, and adaptation. How do you think your character’s journey reflects or adds to these broader discussions?
Omar is a complex character, he never seeks to assimilate. From the beginning, we witness he is comfortable in his identity. But his experience in the school, in particular his relationship with Rupert, adds to these discussions. Their “friendship” illustrates differences in class and race, the positive outcome vs the negative. I’ll leave the details for the audience to see.

What were some of your favourite moments on set?
There were so many moments on set, it’d be difficult to pinpoint them. As a 5, Josh, Jodie, Sekou, Aruna and I really gelled. Every day with those guys was a joy, I’m so blessed to have worked with such talented, genuine people. We had days where all of us students were in, those were some memorable times. Filming with Harry Gilby and Dillon Mitra was great fun!

How did you all work together to bring authenticity and depth to the dynamic relationships between the characters, especially considering the diverse backgrounds and experiences they represent?
Chemistry is key, without it these relationships on screen crumble. Because we had such a great understanding of our characters as well as great chemistry, the authenticity, these dynamic relationships could shine.

What drew you to the project, and what aspects of your character resonated with you the most?
What drew me to the project was the 1st draft of episode one. It was raw, honest, funny, clever and just pulled me into the world of these characters. Pulled me into the world of themselves. There were themes of identity, race and class that were interwoven into the story which made me go away and raise questions about the system we live in England and the problems that arise with it.

The aspects that resonated with me when it comes to Femi are his need to succeed, his Nigerian heritage, as I am half Nigerian and Half Sierra Leonian, and the need to find a place or group of people to be accepted by.

Tell us about your preparation process — what did you learn most with your character?
I had to ask a lot of questions for Femi. For example what is factual about Femi, what assumptions do I make of him and what questions do I need to ask to know him better. Finding out what Femi wants the most and seeing ways he does that in the script. Listening to the music he listens to. Learning Yoruba, which is a language I have never spoken before and did my best to speak it, with the help of Damilola (language coach from Nigeria) and Aisha Aina and the DOP Yinka who did their best to help me with a very difficult language. I also just noted possible feelings and thoughts my character could have at any specific moment in the series and just let that flow. I did learn the importance of maintaining integrity with Femi. I felt as though he wasn’t sure about who he is, just very sure about what he wants and will sacrifice anything for what he wants. I look to him and think about what I won’t sacrifice for success and the importance of grounding myself in that as I progress on this journey. Femi tends to raise the question; “what’s integrity to you?”

The series tackles themes of identity, social class, and adaptation. How do you think your character’s journey reflects or adds to these broader discussions?
Femi is focused on and represents adaptation at his core. He shows us what it means to be a part of people that are upper class and be what they are. He takes on the free-spirited nature of the “Rah’scals” and experiences what that freedom and privileges that come with it. However, he lets go of his friend in the process and who he once was in order to adapt and be accepted. How much can you blame him?

What were some of your favourite moments on set?
A lot of banter with the block one director Ethosheia. Playing shadow boxing with the entire cast and Sam (Block 2 director) choosing one song to play for the whole day on set. Some of my favourite moments.

How did you all work together to bring authenticity and depth to the dynamic relationships between the characters, especially considering the diverse backgrounds and experiences they represent?
It was quite easy as we could all relate to our characters and had a good idea of who they were. We also just got along with each other from the first read through so it became quite effortless to create a level of depth between the characters despite how different they are to each other. Ethosheia also helped with rehearsals in the beginning to really build on that connection between the characters too and explore their backstories so we had an even clearer idea of where they were coming from.

What drew you to the project, and what aspects of your character resonated with you the most?
I love great storytelling and Boarders does just that; so when I read the first draft for my audition, I immediately knew that the show was not only something I would enjoy watching, but one I knew I wanted to be a part of because of it has perfect use of comedy when tackling ‘real life’ issues. I also found the character of Leah so unapologetically herself which made me instantly fall in love with her and want to portray her. Leah is way cooler than I was at 16! We similar in the fact that we are both justice driven and firm in what we believe in although we go about tackling issues very differently. Most importantly, we share the experience of what it’s like to be a young black woman in the UK and what that means for us when entering spaces in which we are a minority.

Tell us about your preparation process — what did you learn most with your character?
The process was a fun one, I learnt a lot as it’s my first project in which I had to portray a fully rounded character for example she has a backstory, she has goals in which we see manifest onto screen. I tapped into my time in sixth form when I studied History and Politics and read books from the people I think that she would look up to eg: bell hooks and Thomas Sankara. I made journals as Leah and an absolutely banging playlist that I would listen to before scenes. Her music taste is honestly ten ten! Through Leah, I found my confidence playing the piano again, Leah is a music scholar and there is a scene where she is playing the piano, and although I do have a lot of experience playing, it was a skill I left when I completed music GCSE! So I did definitely have to put in the work to gain my confidence with the instrument again. It is something that I am grateful for though as I was able to tap into the younger me!

The series tackles themes of identity, social class, and adaptation. How do you think your character’s journey reflects or adds to these broader discussions?
I think Leah’s journey is interesting in this series as she is the only girl out of the five Boarders so her intersection of her being black and a woman definitely adds weight. Without revealing too much of her journey, she aims to fight for what is right and faces opposition from people and systems that she alone has no control over and this is all whilst navigating girlhood!

What were some of your favourite moments on set?
There are so many! We had so much fun as a cast and crew honestly and I do think there is something about being in a school uniform that does take you back! The way we would play silly games and make up dances between scenes you would think that we were in secondary school! Shadow boxing was definitely my favourite game, it’s simple but it got so competitive at times – it never failed to make me laugh.

How did you all work together to bring authenticity and depth to the dynamic relationships between the characters, especially considering the diverse backgrounds and experiences they represent?
I am honestly so blessed to have worked with the most amazing cast and it’s not an exaggeration to say that we are like a family. We were able to match each other’s energy on set to create beautiful scenes, we definitely brought the best out of one another as there was trust there, and that is so important. Working with Josh, Myles, Sekou and Aruna was a dream, they are so talented and I learnt so much from them and their different approaches to tackling a scene. Working with Georgina who plays Mable was also fantastic and we were able to create such a contrast in dynamic with our characters throughout the show.

What drew you to the project, and what aspects of your character resonated with you the most?
Firstly the premise, I mean 5 kids from the hood get a scholarship to a private school? That just sounded fun to me! It sounded like something I’d like to watch which is always a green flag. With Toby, initially, I thought he was very similar to me. Even though he’s a lot younger than me, I was his age at one point! I’m mixed raced and I grew up in a similar environment to him etc but what was interesting is the more I worked on the character the further away he became from me. I soon realised Toby was a unicorn! Very unique and very eccentric. This wildness I found with Toby made the process very enjoyable. I felt like anything goes with Toby and so it gave me the freedom to really take some swings with certain artistic choices. It was through these wild artistic choices that Toby took full form, and it’s safe to say he is very different to me! Very different to most!

The series tackles themes of identity, social class, and adaptation. How do you think your character’s journey reflects or adds to these broader discussions?
Social class is a prevalent theme throughout. Although the typically “posh” characters were written in a very stereotypical way for comedic effect, I feel Boarders was written in a very real way in comparison? Stereotypes are a part of how we think as humans but the stereotypes for the working class are often very narrow minded. I think the show done a good job in debunking the myths attached to underprivileged black youth of today. In the show we see a range of characteristics, skills, stories, all very different and unique yet all so true. And this is the reality, the hood isn’t black and white it’s shades of grey. I’d like to see more shows like this that give the young black working class a different narrative.

How did you all work together to bring authenticity and depth to the dynamic relationships between the characters, especially considering the diverse backgrounds and experiences they represent?
One of the joys working with a young cast that has a direct connection to the world of the characters is that it doesn’t take much talking to find the mood, you know? We all understood the project and our roles within it and so it just flowed naturally. Nothing felt forced or inauthentic, and if it did it was like the pin dropped for all of us and we all adapted without much discussion. It was very clinical but in a natural way.

Watch the trailer…

Boarders airs weekly on BBC Three at 9pm from Tuesday 20th February and all episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am that morning.