Halifax-filmed Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge will not return for a sixth series

The school drama, which first hit our screens in 2017, followed the lives of staff and students at a school in the fictional town of Ackley Bridge.

Over the years the show has starred Jo Joyner, Adil Ray, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Poppy Lee Friar, Sunetra Sarker, Robert James-Collier and Charlie Hardwick.

Filming has taken place over the years at the former St Catherine’s Catholic High School as well as a number of locations in Halifax and across the wider Calderdale area.

Channel 4 said: “As a broadcaster, we’re immensely proud of Ackley Bridge, which over the last five series has received praise for the way in which it has tackled real-life situations and issues in an irreverent and insightful way.

“However, Channel 4 has a responsibility to continuously look for new and innovative ideas and we have made the difficult decision to not greenlight another series.

“We’d like to thank The Forge, the wonderful cast and all those involved in the show’s success over the years and we look forward to working with them again on future projects.”

The fifth series of the show aired earlier this year and starred Sunetra Sarker, Robert James-Collier and Charlie Hardwick.

Ackley Bridge began life as an hour-long drama at 8pm on Channel 4, but in the later series they were half-an-hour and in the final series were moved to two episodes a night at 10pm.