A school-based drama filmed in Calderdale is back for a second series next week.

Ackley Bridge, set in a fictional Yorkshire mill town, is filmed at the former St Catherine’s Catholic High School in Halifax which closed in 2013.

The Channel 4 series returns on Tuesday, June 5 at 8pm.

The first series, starring Jo Joyner, Paul Nicholls and Sunetra Sarker, followed what happened in a newly-merged academy school which brought together students from white and Asian backgrounds in what producers describe as a “racially divided Yorkshire town.”

A scene from the Channel 4 series Ackley Bridge

Ackley Bridge explores the ups and downs of friendships, family life and relationships of both the teachers and pupils.

Building upon the first series, the 12-part second series will explore some of the harder hitting issues that affect mixed communities up and down Britain – such as Nas’s need to navigate her traditional background and her modern sexual and emotional identity; Kaneez (Sunetra Sarker) who finds her new-found independence a challenge as well as an opportunity; and Jordan attempting to make something of himself despite strained relationships with his family.

A spokesman for Channel 4 described Ackley Bridge as “gritty yet playful, frank, yet funny” and dealt with the thorny subject of integration “in its own unique way.”

Question and answer with Sunetra Sarker who plays Kaneez

Tell us a bit about Kaneez.

She is the mother of Nasreen and the school dinner lady. She is a force of nature. A woman I haven’t seen on television before; full of personality and opinion. A good mother with a sense of humour but also a strict mother with a protective streak. She is a voice in the community and is fair to both white and Asian views. She has built herself from scratch. Arriving in England as a young Pakistani woman and finding her feet with the language and life skills she is a real example of self-learning and independence. She is a warm but fierce character in the show.

What was it that attracted you to this project?

The fact that I hadn’t seen an Asian woman written like this for TV before. I knew instinctively that I wanted to bring something of my own to this woman. Also it was a very different role for me than the last few roles I’ve played and I wanted to be stretched so it felt like a good challenge.

Sunetra Sarker who plays Kaneez in the Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge

Muslim women are often portrayed as rather silent, browbeaten characters. That’s not how you’d describe Kaneez, is it?

No, not at all. I think all the variations of Muslim women on television are within context on shows but never explored fully. Kaneez shows you westernised ways side by side with her Islamic life and blends both humour and truth in an authentic way that I don’t think gets represented enough in the media.

All of the cast have to learn the Yorkshire accent, but you have to come up with an accent that’s part-Yorkshire, part Punjab. Was it difficult to nail down?

God yes! I was studying the Bradfordstani accent before, during and after the series. I was talking with the people of Halifax and the other Asian cast in the show that have relatives that speak that way which helped me enormously. I also had a voice coach occasionally to guide me and I really studied my scripts in a way I never have before.

How did you find filming in Halifax? What do you make of the place?

We are working so much during the time I’m in Halifax there is very little time to socialise in Halifax but it’s a very friendly town and the local people have welcomed us all with open arms.

Did you get any feeling as to how series one had gone down?

I feel it was well received and I was especially touched at how all communities related to the topics and the people that have stopped me to talk about how much the show touched them in different ways. It was a credit to the show. Twitter response was also very encouraging. I was very lucky to have people who have followed my career still believing in such a different style of my work.