Ackley Bridge (series 4)

Unlike the second and third series, the renewal of Ackley Bridge was not announced immediately after the conclusion of the series prior. Four months after the conclusion of series three, it was announced that Ackley Bridge had been renewed, and would face an overhaul. One of the changes includes the runtime, which was halved from 60 minutes to 30 minutes. Rebecca Holdsworth, Channel 4 Commissioning Executive stated: "Refreshing the format to half hours not only reflects the viewing habits of our young audience, but gives the show a new look and feel as we welcome a brand new cast of characters to our screens."[3] It was later confirmed that the series would air on Channel 4 in 2021, with the ten episodes being broadcast every weekday across two weeks.[4]

Another of the changes being made to the programme in the fourth series include the changing of the cast.[5] Robyn Cara was cast as Kayla, a "funny, mixed-race pupil torn between her white mum's family and her traditional Pakistani dad's family", alongside sister Marina, played by Carla Woodcock, who was described by Digital Spy as a "mean girl". Yasmin Al Khudhairi was cast as Fizza, the best friend of Kayla, and a "fiercely intelligent, fist-in-the-air firebrand". Ryan Dean was cast in the role of Johnny, "a cocky, good-looking member of the traveller community who is deeply suspicious of school, and who catches the eye of both Kayla and Fizza", and it was also confirmed that Connor McIntyre would guest star as Johnny's grandfather. Tahir, played by Shobhit Piasa, will also join in the fourth series, as "the smooth talking billy-liar nephew of Kaneez, whose salesman's patter hides a family secret". The castings came as a result of numerous cast members leaving following the ending of the third series.[6] Jasmine Payne was also cast as Queenie,[7] as well as Olivia Marie Fearn as Rose Boswell.[8]

In December 2019, was announced that filming for the fourth series would commence in March 2020, with the commissioning of the series set for September 2020.[9][10] However, shortly after filming commenced, it was announced that production had been suspended due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television. The Halifax Courier reported that there would be a minimum of a two-month break, but confirmed that Ackley Bridge "will be back", amidst rumours of the series' cancellation.[11] Later in the year, it was announced that filming would recommence in September.[12] A casting call for "confident" extras aged 9 to 19 with an Asian background was advertised. It was added by Northern Talent, the casting company, that they would prefer groups of extras from the same household, since it meant that they could interact on set without quarantining beforehand.[13] It was also confirmed that regular cast members would be tested for the virus and placed into "bubbles", in order for them to physically interact with each other onscreen.[14]