June Johns is her cousin Alicia – turned up to the max. She is brazen, determined, clever, mischievous and cheeky with a hankering for adventure. Her reckless behaviour gets the first form into trouble, but everything seems to be water off a duck’s back to her.

She befriends Felicity and is set to have greater adventures than Darrell and Alicia had in the first form. She is a constant obstacle for Darrell in her role as Head of Lower School, but can she make the famous Darrell Rivers blow her top?

Interview with Edesiri Okpenerho

What can we expect from Malory Towers Series 4?

You can expect a lot of laughter, a whole lot of new faces and being taught new lessons because there are so many lessons to be taught.

Had you read or watched Malory Towers before joining the cast?

I read the books when I was six or seven years old. I didn’t know that there was a TV series but when I found out, I watched it immediately with my brother and we became ultimate fans. Then, my mum joined in, and we would all watch is as a family.

How would you describe your character, June? What are her relationships like with Alicia, Darrell and Felicity?

June is chaotic and fun. There are some parts of her that you won’t like – she’ll be chaotic and not know the consequences, and she’s willing to get other people in trouble just to save herself. She’s good at keeping secrets though!

June and Alicia’s relationship is a strange one. Because they’re cousins, they don’t talk much. The only reason they talk is when June is curious about what Alicia is doing, or when she wants to join in with her. June’s relationship with Felicity is really strong but unfair because June always takes control and defines good versus bad, then always chooses bad.

She doesn’t ask Felicity for her opinion. June and Darrell are a bit of a back and forth. There are scenes where they start to understand each other, but there are scenes where they’re glaring at each other in a bad way and plotting against each other to get the others in trouble – and it’s all because of Felicity.

What was it like getting to know the cast?

The older cast were so welcoming – they didn’t even know you and they would come up to hug you and say, “welcome to the Malory Towers family”. It was like we were their younger siblings suddenly. With my age castmates, it’s like we’re sisters. We tell each other all our secrets. After filming, sometimes we would play football in the field, sometimes we would just talk and talk for hours.

What was your favourite moment from filming this series?

I think it was working with a snake. His name was Miguel. He was so squirmy and always moving. I thought I was going to drop him at one point, and I got so scared!

Which Malory Towers character would you want to take with you if you were hunting for pirate treasure?

Probably either Sally or Felicity. Felicity would be great to go on an adventure with. She’d always want to make you happy and tag along with you. Sally wants you to be happy, but she wants to get to the point. She’d be nice and fun but stern and firm.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the series?

The audience will enjoy seeing everyone getting along and being a family. Even if you haven’t known each other for too long, you can always bond. There will be some bumps along the way, but the Malory Towers girls always stick together. I think that’s a lovely thing to know.