Stephen Carmichael is a protagonist in the British comedy series Bad Education (which ran from 2012 to 2014 before coming back as a special in 2022 and a revival series from 2023 to 2024). He served as a supporting protagonist in Series 1-3 and the 2015 film and later became the-co protagonist of the series (alongside Mitchell Harper) since the 2022 reunion special following the departure of the show's previous protagonist Alfie Wickers.
He is portrayed by Layton Williams.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Stephen was born in 1996 to Richard Carmicheal and his wife.
At 10 years, Stephen realised that he was homosexual.
Bad Education[]
In the first three series, Stephen is portrayed as a student at Abbey Grove, a secondary school in Hertfordshire, England. He was in Form K alongside Chantelle Parsons (who was his best friend), Mitchell Harper, Joe Poulter, Rem Dogg and Jing Hua. He and his classmates were taught History by Alfie Wickers (who was a few years older than them).
Stephen was also the only student in his class to be homosexual and had stereotypical traits such as having a passion for musicals and dancing. He also on two occasions, dressed in drag; the first time was in the Series 1 episode "Sex Education" where he dressed as a woman and danced at the school assembly. The second occasion was in the final episode of Series 3 "Prom" where he attended the Abbey Grove prom as his female alter-ego Stephanie Fierce. Stephen also showed stereotypical non-homosexual traits such being good at football in the Series 1 episode "Football Match" and martial arts in "Self Defence".
In the Series 2 episode "Drugs", Stephen's parents wished to take him out of Abbey Grove and send him to a different school as they wished for him to become a lawyer. Fortunately, near the end of the episode, they were persuaded to allow Stephen to continue attending Abbey Grove.
Stephen also had a on/off relationship with Abbey Grove's school bully Frank Grayson. At first, they did not get along as shown in "Self Defence", Frank threw macaroni and cheese at Stephen (who was lactose intolerant), which resulted in Stephen knocking him to the ground. In the Christmas special, they both participate in the school play "Robocracker" and end up kissing. At the end of the episode, Frank invites Stephen to come with him to a West Ham football match. In Series 3, it appears that the two do not get along any more, but in "Prom" they reconcile and pair up and are made Abby Grove's prom king and queen (as Stephen was attending the prom as Stephanie Fierce).
In the 2022 reunion special, which takes place some years after the events of Series 3, Stephen is a out of work actor, who has been working as a drama teacher at Abbey Grove for six months. After Alfie organises a careers day at the school, Stephen tells the students of Class K (among them Usma, Jinx, Inchez, Warren, Blessing and Harrison) to not let his former classmates (who are attending the event) know that he is a teacher as they believe that he is still in show business. However at the event, the truth is revealed and Stephen leaves in shame. Chantelle follows him into their old classroom and Stephen tells her that after doing a kitchen roll advert, work dried up. Chantelle asks Stephen why he did not tell her about his true job, he tells her that her believing in him was amazing and he did not want to let her down so he pretended to be someone else. Chantelle tells Stephen that she would think he was amazing if he was a bin man. Just then, they find Alfie trapped in the classroom's imitation Egyptian casket (having been locked up there by his students) covered in white tape. After freeing Alfie, Stephen then witnesses him take the blame for Mitchell (who had been made Abbey Grove's new P.E teacher) giving out alcohol to the students, resulting in him being fired by the school's new headteacher Bernadette Hoburn. Alfie does not mind this as he wished to go to Lebanon to join his girlfriend; Abbey Grove's former biology teacher Rosie Gulliver, who had been spending six months there teaching migrants. Alfie assures Stephen that he will be a superstar but in the meantime, he has captive audience in his classroom waiting to be inspired. Afterwards, Stephen parties with his old classmates, Alfie and the current students of Abbey Grove.
In Series 4, Stephen alongside Mitchell, continues to teach Class K.
Stephen reappears in the 2023 Christmas special "A Christmas Carol", where he plans to quit his job at Abbey Grove to star in a pantomime. Whilst the students go the school's Christmas Lunch, Stephen has a nap before being awoken by the ghost of Alfie, who tells Stephen that he will be visited by three spirits who will show him that he belongs at Abbey Grove. Stephen has another nap before being awoken by The Ghost of Christmas Past (who resembles Fraser), who takes him back to 2010, where a younger Stephen is seen learning that Fraser had used half of the letter he had wrote in order to go to drama school in order to make a paper mache head. After returning to the present, Stephen encounters The Ghost of Christmas FOMO (who resembles Hoburn), who shows Stephen Mitchell drinking eggnog before thinking that he is John McClane. Later at the Christmas Lunch, Stephen and the Ghost of Christmas FOMO watch as the Class K students sing of how they consider Mitchell to be their favourite teacher. Stephen then wakes up back in his classroom, where he finds himself face to face with the Ghost of Christmas Future in the year 2046, during Class K's 20 year reunion. He then sees older versions of Class K come into the class discussing what they do now and then speak sadly about someone in past terms, whose picture is covered up. Stephen uncovers the picture and finds that the person in the picture is Warren, who would die if Stephen left Abbey Grove. Much to Stephen's surprise, the Ghost of Christmas Future is revealed to be Warren, who reveals that he had died aged 40 in a boating accident. Stephen I also dismayed to learn that Class K, with exception to Jinx (who is now a lawyer), cannot remember his name. Jinx reveals that Stephen was named in a new legal case at her work and that he now works on radio doing the shipping forecast and via his job, was indirectly responsible for an oil tanker overturning off the coast of Australia, which killed the last remaining coral reef, resulting in Warren's death as he had swimming in that reef. Warren's ghost tells Stephen that if he leaves Abbey Grove, he will rob his students of creativity and joy in their lives. Back in the present, Stephen arrives in Abbey Grove's canteen during the Christmas Lunch to announce that he will stay at the school and that he will not be taking part in the pantomime as he learnt that he was going to play the back end of a horse whilst the front half was played by "Chesney from Coronation Street" (who ended up getting Stephen's place at the drama school). Mitchell states that he is glad that Stephen did not go as they would not have been mates. The pair then hug before Stephen looks around and smiles at the ghosts of Alfie and the three spirits. Stephen then prepares to sing before being knocked over by Mitchell, who goes to confront a German brass band.
Trivia[]
- In the Christmas special, Stephen is revealed to support Millwall F.C..