"This could be the start of something new..." (Britannia High)

Member Name: lozwinter

Product:	Britannia High
Date:	08/01/09 (109 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: catchy song, believable characters

Disadvantages: It keeps being compared to high school musical but is nothing alike

It's been dubbed "The English High School Musical" but it's nothing in comparison. The series focuses on the lives of a group of teenagers and their mentors at a fictional London theatre school - Britannia High was based on an idea by Strictly Come Dancing choreography judge Arlene Phillips and David Ian who are both executive producers for the show and It was produced by ITV Productions in Manchester. Airing on ITV from October 2008 - December 2008. The series consists of 9 one hour long episodes, each focusing on a specific character.

The programme shys away from being just a programme involving song and dance, it's first and foremost a drama -- just with music added to it!

The Characters:
- Lola Jonze (Rana Roy) - Considered the best dancer of the group and arguably the school, Lola's naïve and ditzy She has a relationship with teacher Stefan, and leaves Britannia High at the end of the series to be with him.
- Lauren Waters (Georgina Hagen) - Lauren is plucked from obscurity when the headteacher of Britannia High spots her performing in an abba tribute act - she's a fish out of water and struggles to hit high notes, which Claudine seizes advantage of. She dates Danny until the end of episode 6.
- Claudine Cameron (Sapphire Elia) - Claudine will do anything to make it; including sabotaging other people. She is determined to make it big and to be famous, and is the typical baddie of the series 'I want to see my name up there with the greats - Madonna, Celine, Mariah, Claudine'. Claudine begins dating Danny at the end of episode 6 but their relationship ends during the finale.
- Danny Miller (Mitch Hewer) - the "heartthrob" - His central episode showed him dealing with dyslexia. He starts the year as Lauren's boyfriend, but they break up in episode 6 when he starts dating Claudine. In episode 8 he admits he has feelings for both girls, and they force him to choose. He cannot make up his mind, so both girls dump him, but still consider him as a friend.
- Jez Tyler (Matthew James Thomas) - Jez comes from a very rich background, and eventually admits to his father that he attends Britannia High rather than a business school as his father had thought. In episode 3, Jez's father remarks that his son is gay, which Jez himself confirms in episode 8 (after being kissed by Ronnie).
- BB Simons (Marcquelle Ward) - BB is the most grounded and mature of all the students. His parents passed away when he was 8 years old. He has a brother, Julius, who died during the episode Go Your Own Way.

Although the ratings dipped by more than half throughout the series run that in no means shows a deterioration in the show - However, There are currently no plans for a second series of Britannia High.

The Soundtrack was released and for me, the stand out tracks have to be:
- "Start Of Something" - The anthem to the series, a dance song thats catchy and makes you want to sing along.
- "Growing Pains" - Danny and Claudine's duet - my favourite song. Its a catchy ballad sung after Claudine opens up to Danny.
- "Wake Up" - perfomed by Jez - the song that plays over the credit - again a catchy dance song.

Summary: "Let's Dance"