''Driving School'' is a

docusoap Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

and fly on the wall documentary that was broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

in the summer of 1997, which followed a group of learner drivers around

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. The series was made on a reduced budget but shown in primetime, it created one of the first

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

stars in

Maureen Rees Maureen Rees (born 25 February 1942) is a British television personality from Cardiff, Wales, who was Britain's first reality-television star. She became prominent in the late 1990s after her appearances in two series of the BBC One docuseries ...

. The series was created and directed by the British film and documentary maker Francesca Joseph and was narrated by

Quentin Willson Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is an English television presenter and producer, motoring journalist, author and former car dealer. He was a presenter of the motoring programmes '' Britain's Worst Driver'', '' Fifth Gear'', and the original ...

, who would later present the similar '' Britain's Worst Driver''. In October 2022, all six episodes of the original series were made available on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

Participants

Maureen Rees

Others

Teenager Danny wanted to pass his test so he could visit his girlfriend in Preston. Although he passed first time, he had already broken up with Jill. An older lady called Joan passed her test at the beginning of the series (even though it took her a while to realise that she needed to put the car in Drive before the car would move), but had "lost her nerve" and needed lessons to rebuild her confidence. The main instructors were Pamela Carr from Streetwise Driving School and independent Paul Farrall. The Andy1st driving school was also featured.

''Celebrity Driving School''

A four-part celebrity version was produced in 2003 in aid of

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

. Celebrities taking part consisted of

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...

Nadia Sawalha Nadia Sawalha (; born 18 November 1964) is an English actress, television personality, writer, TV cook and vlogger. She is best known as a long-term regular panellist on the ITV daytime talk show '' Loose Women'', being one of the original pane ...

Natalie Cassidy Natalie Ann Cassidy (born 13 May 1983) is an English actress and television personality. She is known for her role as Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders.'' She has also appeared in the BBC Two sitcom-horror series '' Psychoville ...

Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show ''The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...

and

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English media personality. She was a contestant on the Big Brother (British TV series) series 3, third series of the Channel 4 reality show ''Big Brother (British TV series) ...

. They found out live during the Red Nose Day telethon on 14 March if they had passed. None of them had.

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc ( , ; born 5 June 1968) is an English actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, '' The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC an ...

was the narrator.

''Scarlett's Driving School''

In February 2023, BBC One started broadcasting a new version of the format called ''Scarlett's Driving School'', this time featuring ''Gogglebox'' star Scarlett Moffatt and set around Teesside. The Telegraph reviewed the new programme and gave it a score of two stars out of five, with the headline reading "Bring back Maureen! Scarlett Moffatt's Driving School fails to get into gear".

Transmission guide

*Series 1: 6 editions: 10 June 1997 – 15 July 1997 *Special – ''The Making of Maureen'': 29 March 1998 *''Celebrity Driving School'' – 4 editions: 24 February 2003 – 7 March 2003

References

*Jackson, P. ''Britain in a Box'' "Driving School". BBC Radio

External links

* * * {{Comic Relief 1997 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings BBC television documentaries 1990s British reality television series Driving in the United Kingdom Driver's education Comic Relief