Françoise Pascal as Danielle Favre (Series 1–3) – an amorous young French Catholic au pair who instantly grabs the attention of all the men, including Mr Brown. Her good looks often distract Giovanni and Max from their answers, while Mr Brown is often found in seemingly incriminating positions with her, and she is strongly attracted to him. She is annoyed when an attractive young Swedish blonde, Ingrid Svenson, joins the class, instigating a rivalry for Mr Brown’s attention.
Pin
Françoise Pascal as Danielle Favre (1949 – )
Jamila Massey as Jamila Ranjha (Series 1–3) – a stereotypical Indian housewife from Shimla. When she first joins the class she barely speaks any English – she rants in Hindi when Mr Brown asks her her name, and when she finally does understand she decides to write her name on the blackboard in Urdu because she cannot write it in English. Although she needs Ali to translate for her in the first series, by series 3 she shows a marked improvement and is able to communicate in English without needing any help. She often calls Mr Brown “Masterji” (Hindi roughly meaning “teacher” or “professor”), and her catchphrase early in the series is “gud hefening” (which is how she pronounces “good evening”). During class, she is often found knitting. She is shown to be a Christian in the episode “Guilty or not Guilty?”, when she swears on the Bible to tell the truth. Moreover, she wears a cross around her neck from the 11th episode of the first season. But in an episode called “A Point of Honour”, she says the true religion is Buddhism. Also, in the episode “I Belong to Glasgow”, she is among the students who crossed themselves with Juan. (The others are Danielle, Max and Giovanni.)
Pin
Jamila Massey as Jamila Ranjha (1934 – )
Anna Bergman as Ingrid Svenson (Series 2 and 4) – a Swedish au pair who joins the class at the beginning of series 2. She is attractive and straightforward about her attraction to Mr Brown, sparking a rivalry between her and Danielle. Her main problem with English is word order, often getting words mixed up, such as “you for I question answer”. She transfers schools at the end of Series 2, but returns in the independently-produced Series 4.
Pin
Anna Bergman as Ingrid Svenson (1948 – )
Gabor Vernon as Zoltán Szabó (Series 2) – a Hungarian student who only appears during series 2. He knows very little English and requires a phrasebook for everything. He picks up slang quickly, most of which comes from Giovanni and Juan. At the end of series 2, he returns to Hungary. His typical catchphrase is to say “Bocsánat?” (pronounced “bochanot ”, the Hungarian word for “sorry” or “excuse me”) to everything said to him in English.
Pin
Gabor Vernon as Zoltán Szabó (1925 – 1985)
