I actually really enjoy the program and just finished season 2 this morning. There's a third season on Acorn TV that I haven't seen yet and I just read that a fourth season is meant to premier in a few months, though with a largely new cast. But I was prompted this morning to write about the social workers on this program -- both the good and the bad.
First off, there was Darren Critchall (played by actor Simon Lowe) who appeared two episodes of season one. Darren Critchall was the social worker assigned to 15-year-old Hayley Booth when her grandmother/guardian unexpectedly died. Her older sister Missy tried covering up Nana's death because she knew that Hayley would be placed in foster care and their family would be divided. Two episodes later, Missy and her teachers managed to convince her mother Simone to sober up enough to be given a chance to resume her parental duties -- with monthly supervision by Darren.
Darren seemed like a competent enough social worker. He managed to arrange foster care for Hayley within short notice and it was relatively close to the rest of the family. He was willing to given Simone a chance to redeem herself despite being a struggling addict. And he also appeared flexible enough to allow Missy's adult fiance to assume official caregiver role to Hayley when Simone suffered a relapse.
And then there was Danny Critchall (played by actor Alexis Platt) who appeared in the final episode of season two. He was newly assigned to trouble-maker student Jordan Wilson, who'd been placed in foster care after numerous problems. Danny Critchall's first interaction with Jordan was an attempt to convince him to return to his father's home. Kevin Wilson had a long history of alcoholism and had physically beat the youngest Wilson son on numerous occasions. He'd been in the hospital for a few episodes following a serious suicide attempt and was now interested in returning home and caring for his sons -- including Jordan, who wanted nothing to do with his abusive father.
Danny struggled as a social worker, particularly with his social skills. He stumbled with his speech and struggled to assure Jordan that things would be any better between him and his father while pitching his return home. On top of that, he came to the interview with very little preparation. I don't remember much about the Wilson boys' mother, but I do know she had abandoned them and their father when they were very young. It was unclear why she was uninvolved with their care now, but it was also clear from how the scene unfolded that she had been consulted -- and that she was absolutely not an option at this time.
But Danny brought up the topic of Jordan possibly moving to his mother's care and then quickly backpeddling after glancing into the file. Any child would know that something is up. Jordan quickly knew that there were answers about his mother in that file and he is the type of teen to act on his impulses and deal with the consequences later on.
Later on, Danny Critchall found himself caught up in a wave of students -- and dropped the satchel that contained Jordan's entire file. Of course, Jordan snatched up the file and stole documents related to his mother. And then he tracked her down and created a scene at her pub. In fact, he nearly burnt the place down in an attempted act of arson -- largely because he'd been able to steal confidential materials from his social worker's file. Which he shouldn't have been carrying out in the public in the first place! I assume that Danny Critchall got fired over this incident because we never saw him again!
I do find it humorous that both social workers have the same last names. Honestly, I don't remember ever hearing their names in the actual episodes. I got them off of IMDb. Maybe they're brothers or cousins and nepotism runs rampant at their local counsel? Or maybe "Critchall" is the "Smith" of Ackley Bridge. If there ends up being a third Critchall in season three -- or any other social workers, for that matter -- I will share their stories on this blog.