Bad Education “Glow Up” (BBC Three Sunday 12 February 2023)

Bad Education airs a new episode tonight Sunday 12 February 2023 on BBC Three.

“Glow Up” Since his ex-girlfriend Kayleigh kicked him out for using their home as a gambling den, Mitchell has been staying with Stephen. However, when Mitchell indicates his intention to stay for the long haul, Stephen complains to his class that he wants Mitchell out of his apartment.

The only way Mitchell can get Kayleigh to accept him again is if he and the rest of Class K “five guy” him and give him a glow up, so they hatch a plan. They need to get it done by that afternoon so that Kayleigh can deliver the remainder of his belongings to school.

To begin, you should change your diet. When Mitchell visits Fraser in the school kitchen, he receives a lesson in pan-Asian cuisine and is treated to a pot noodle prepared with all the flair of Salt Bae. Stephen then outfits Mitchell with fresh clothes until he resembles Stephen remarkably closely. The gang heads to the school restrooms for a speedy tutorial on proper bathroom conduct, as Mitchell struggles to wrap his head around the concept of the flush.

Warren and Usma are competing in a bet to see who can write the most interesting article for the Abbey Grove student newspaper. They learn that Hoburn has received a shipment marked with a mystery symbol, and they each try to find out what’s inside so they can win the bet. After learning the truth, though, they decide to join forces instead. Hoburn has been utilising Mitchell as a muse in his erotica novel The Essex Trouser Serpent.

In the meantime, back at the glow up, Stephen and the rest of Class K are performing a Karamo on Mitchell, encouraging him to express his feelings through the use of a paint gun, when Warren and Usma storm in to break the news. Mitchell is now very worried that Hoburn will eat him alive if he does not reconcile with Kayleigh. But Stephen gets an idea, thanks to Hoburn’s fictionalisation of Mitchell: they need just embellish the reality about Mitchell to make him more appealing to Kayleigh. He initially agrees, but then realises the suggested role plays are absurd. He feels deceived and chooses to cut them all free when it becomes apparent that Stephen is merely doing it to get Mitchell out of his apartment.

Instead, he chooses to go meet Kayleigh without her, but not before giving some of the shine up techniques a try. He has proposed a “escape chamber” including the swallowing of the gym key and a pot noodle, in the style of a Karamo trust exercise, and he is still dressed in his usual garb. Kayleigh is quite displeased because she forgot the baby in the vehicle and sneaks out of the gym using a picklock, only to return in time to observe the class practising their role play, which reflects very poorly on Mitchell when taken out of context. Can Mitchell’s Class K classmates save the day before Hoburn finds out about the gym disaster and fires him?

Airdate: Sunday 12 February 2023 at 10.00pm on BBC Three.

Season 4 Episode 5

Featured Image Credit: BBC Three