Kaya Scodelario as the object of affections. picture from the bbc.

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 20th 2012.L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Billie Piper, Kaya Scodelario, Charlie Creed Miles, Jenny Agutter, Jo Woodcock.

In the third of five episodes by writer Dominic Savage, Billie Piper shows her mettle as lonely and unsatisfied teacher Holly. Being a teacher is a thankless task, especially when your private live is unfulfilling, your mother asks the same questions about who you are seeing and then all of a sudden your private life, well it’s not so private anymore.

The subject matter of Holly is one of the major taboos of public life, a teacher’s affair with a pupil. There have been many television dramas that dealt with an older married male teacher and their relationship with a young female pupil, there have been relatively few that dealt with the idea of a lesbian relationship. Billie Piper is no stranger to controversy when it comes to television dramas. In I.T.V.’s The Secret Diary of a Call Girl won her fans, as well as criticism from many quarters. There were many that called her bold for taking on the role of a woman who loved sex so much and who found herself making the conscious decision to take advantage of the situation.

In Holly, again there will be the usual clamour of plaudits touting her bravery to take on such a demanding role and there will be those that cannot see past the subject matter. Whichever way you look it, whether as a teacher who has overstepped the acceptable boundaries of behaviour between tutor and pupil or as a woman who is so at odds with her own dejected life and those in it that she seeks attention and solace in the arms of a schoolgirl, albeit over the age of sixteen is up for discussion. However the play itself was well written and sensitively handled by Billie Piper and Kaya Scodelario.

Billed as Ms. Piper’s most controversial role since she stepped away from the world of pop music, it comes across that the writer could have gone a lot further, especially with the school bullying scenes at the end and abuse Holly got from the rest of charges in her class. However, the storyline thankfully stepped away from going completely off limits by making more about the aftereffects and more about the moment when the two women realise their depth of feeling.

An excellent third part of the series of semi-improvised plays.

Ian D. Hall