Mandy Carter

Mandy Carter is a fictional character from the Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge, portrayed by Jo Joyner. Mandy first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, first broadcast on 7 June 2017. Mandy was initially introduced as the headteacher of the fictional Ackley Bridge school, and her storylines in the series have included the breakdown of her marriage to Steve Bell (Paul Nicholls), trying to help her mother escape from an abusive marriage to her father, trying to save her school and becoming pregnant. Prior to her first appearance on the series, Mandy has dedicated several years to starting the school, which has led to her neglecting her marriage and having fun. Joyner has expressed her admiration for Mandy having a good professional life and a messy personal life, since she felt the contradiction is typically seen in great women. Joyner asked writers to explore Mandy's backstory in the second series; they responded by revealing that she has grown up with an abusive father. Joyner departed from Ackley Bridge in the fourth series. Mandy's exit was written as her feeling that the school no longer needed her, and Joyner stated that she felt the same way as her character. Joyner has been praised for her portrayal of Mandy, with Rianne Houghton of Digital Spy describing her as the "queen of Ackley Bridge". Storylines Mandy is introduced as the headteacher of the multicultural academy school Ackley Bridge, a newly formed school built from the merging of a majority-white school and a majority-Asian school. Mandy is married to PE teacher Steve Bell (Paul Nicholls), who previously had an affair with netball teacher Claire Butterworth (Kimberley Walsh). While struggling with the challenges of the new school, Mandy has sex with Sadiq Nawaz (Adil Ray), the school sponsor, and the father of students Alya (Maariah Hussain) and Riz (Nohail Mohammed). She tells Steve, who is initially angry with Mandy, but later forgives her and reconciles their marriage. Mandy later discovers that she is pregnant and that Steve is the father of the child. Steve proposes that they get back together to support the child, but Mandy states that they do not work well as a couple. When a drunk man is found in the toilets of the school, Mandy affirms that she will handle the situation. The man is revealed to be her abusive father Ray (Ted Robbins), who is claiming to have dementia.