Professor T stars react to season 3 cliffhanger

Professor T season 3 spoilers follow.

Professor T delivered on the promise of a darker, more emotional third season with that devastating, tense finale.

Jasper’s (Ben Miller) journey of self-discovery saw him progress by leaps and bounds this season, so much so that the shocking truth about his father’s death didn’t cause the professor to completely fall apart.

However, it was the attempt on Lisa’s (Emma Naomi) life that set back his progress. *Puts on white gloves in somber solidarity.*

With Lisa’s life hanging in the balance, Professor T stars Naomi and Barney White (who plays Lisa’s love interest Dan Winters) break down the impact of that hit-and-run and what that ending could mean for season four.

What were your reactions when you read the script and found out what happens to Lisa? in the final?

Emma Naomi: I was completely shocked.

Barney White: Some text messages were exchanged in caps lock, right Emma? Between you and me. A lot of text is displayed in caps lock.

Emma: However, I think it’s a great way to end and all the characters will disappear. For season four – I don’t know what happens. I think the storylines will be really interesting, the emotional arcs that grow and emerge from this. I think it will be great for the show.

Barney: It was great because obviously everyone reads it independently and at different times, so you don’t get that moment where everyone sees it together, but we read through the entire series over Zoom and we had a number of guest actors come in and read lots of parts.

They hadn’t read the script before, they were just reading from the screen and I looked at this guy as the ending reached its climax and he was honestly completely blown away. He was so shocked, so hopefully that reaction extends to the viewers as well.

Lisa and Dan’s relationship deepened and developed over the course of the season. What was it like building the closeness and intimacy of their relationship, knowing where things would lead in the finale?

Emma: We didn’t know it in season one and season two, so everything we had built had the foundation already laid.

I think by the time we get to season three a lot of the playfulness and the love and the irritation was all free because we had already worked so hard and then – yeah, I mean *that* scene…I think we just had to get on with it, what can you do?

Barney: It was a very, very emotional day, I remember filming that, it was hard. It was a hard day, it was raining. It felt like there was a lot of work to be done, didn’t it?

What was the hardest thing about that day? Just create that moment?

Barney: Yeah, I mean it’s very emotional just seeing someone on the ground and also for the professor, his storyline. His emotional journey feels like it’s a positive step and then he’s kind of thrown back into the trauma, so I think the whole thing was very charged, right?

What do you think the creators were trying to convey in the professor’s reaction to that big Lisa moment in his decision to put the gloves back on?

Emma: It’s too much for him, it’s all too much. I think he must have been scarred by the fact that he couldn’t comfort her at that moment.

Barney: Yep, sure, and he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. He doesn’t show his fondness for other people at all, but he is so fond of Lisa, he really is. She’s his best student ever and he really cares about her and I think you see everything come out in that moment.

Have you rewatched those scenes?

Emma: Certainly.

Barney: Yes

And your reaction to reading on page: what was that like?

Emma: It was definitely a lot more emotionally charged than I thought it would be. In my head I imagined a very strong thing cut in black, but it feels like – you are right – she is very loved by the professor and this will scar him, that he was not able, in this moment, her last moment, to give her some comfort.

Normally she is quite rational, she thinks well, but at this moment she decides not to wait for help and acts alone. What was it about this case that prompted her to be impulsive?

Emma: I don’t know if Lisa is always rational. I do think she can be very impulsive and has been that way in the past. Not with this level of responsibility, but normally she is right and normally she prevents it from happening or there is some sort of reward for acting that way and this is not the time.

Her judgment is wrong this time and it is not just that she is wrong, but this woman (the criminal) goes very far.

Barney: Yeah, I don’t think you expected her to run you over. It feels like the first crime she commits is an act of passion and defense, you don’t think she’ll do it again. She’s brilliant, that actress, Flora Montgomery, who plays Leah, she was amazing. That’s really something great about the series. Basically, we had equally brilliant guest actors who came in for one episode and just destroyed it.

Obviously we know Dan will be devastated, but how much more devastated do you think he’ll feel now that they’re engaged?

Barney: Severely traumatized. Everything falls into place in the first half of this episode. The main thing that keeps them from getting along well is their jobs and especially Lisa’s ambition, and they love to get in the way of work and now that she has been transferred, she is leaving, she is going somewhere start working differently so that is no longer a barrier so we have this very emotional proposal. As you see in that last shot, he can’t say goodbye. He can’t leave her.

Do you know what the future holds for Lisa? Do we know what could possibly happen in season four?

Emma: I know what could possibly happen in season four.

If Lisa returns, how do you think her recent experience will change both of your characters?

Barney: Good question. I don’t think you can escape the kind of impact of such a traumatic episode. I don’t think you can just turn up to work the next day and everything is happy, so I think the impact will definitely be there at the start of the fourth series. 100 percent, I think the remains of that last shot will be there.

Are you looking forward to playing that out?

Barney: Yes, big.

All episodes of Professor T are now available to stream ITV X.

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TV Writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her master’s degree in magazine journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry since then. She spent six years honing her analytical assessment skills at the Good Housekeeping Institute, eventually becoming Acting Head of the Food Testing Department. She also freelanced in film and TV journalism from 2013 to 2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021, she joined Digital Spy as a TV writer, where she can delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of television, all in the name of her work. Since taking on the role, she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also works as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.