Everything to know about BBC show Phoenix Rise star from Solihull - Jayden Hanley

BBC’s new Midlands-based high school drama Phoenix Rise is set to release on BBC iPlayer soon and the cast includes a Birmingham-based young actor.

The show is aimed at young teen audience and is a coming-of-age drama with a difference. The series tells the story of a group of six diverse teenagers taking their first tentative steps back into mainstream education following exclusion.

Phoenix Rise is the opportunity for these six misfit heroes to prove that sometimes being an outsider means belonging to the best club of all, as their unlikely friendships bond them and fuel their determination not to be side-lined. The optimism and fun of teen life is set against the challenges they face in and out of the classroom.

One of the main characters, Darcy, will be played by up and coming actor Jayden Hanley. His character is described as a “15-year-old adrenaline junky”. He quickly becomes Billy’s (Alex Draper) rival for Summer’s (Lauren Corah) affections.BBC added in its statement: “Despite initially locking horns, Darcy will soon find a blossoming bromance with Billy, through which he’ll learn that not everyone has it as easy as he does.”

He made his debut as an extra in a 2016 film called The Girl with All the Gifts and has received credit as “Classroom Kid”. The R rated film starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua, depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society.

The actor, raised in Shirley, then appeared on This Morning by cooking at Gordon Ramsay’s home in Cornwall. He was 13 when he appeared on Big Chef, Little Chef - an ITV show in 2018. He was a student at Light Hall School in Shirley.

Since then, he appeared on the film The Tale of the Fatherless - a thoughtful drama feature from directors Misha Elliott and Stefan Davis - in 2021. He played the character of Reece.