A former headteacher featured on the popular Channel 4 series Educating Yorkshire has responded to accusations of being a ‘paedophile and groomer’ after entering a relationship with a woman nearly 30 years his junior.

Jonny Mitchell, 53, became unexpectedly admired during his stint on the show as the principal of Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, over ten years ago.

At the time he lived with his wife Lisa and their three daughters – but it’s fair to say his life has taken a dramatic turn.

Mr. Mitchell parted ways with his wife in 2014 and has since started a new chapter with Abi McMahon, a 25-year-old former police officer. She frequently discusses their significant age gap on her TikTok account.

The couple have maintained their relationship is ‘completely normal’ and that they have ‘so much in common’, despite the significant age gap.

The couple has shared how they first encountered each other during a night out in Leeds in September 2021 when Ms. McMahon inadvertently spilled a cocktail on Mr. Mitchell.

The pair began talking from there, exchanged numbers and decided to ‘go on a few dates’ before completely falling for each other.

Ms. McMahon, who has transitioned from policing to blogging and hails from Nottingham, has moved into her partner’s rented stone cottage located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Jonny Mitchell (pictured), 53, became an unlikely heartthrob when he starred on the show as the headteacher at Thornhill Community Academy, in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, more than a decade ago

The couple have maintained their relationship is ‘completely normal’ and that they have ‘so much in common’, despite the significant age gap. (Jonny Mitchell, 53, pictured with his girlfriend, Abs, 25)

Hitting back at the haters, Mr Mitchell told The Sun: ‘I’ve been branded a paedophile, a groomer, a dirty old man and far worse.’

‘I never thought I’d fall in love again let alone with a woman so much younger than me but you can’t legislate who you meet.’

Taking a similar stance against the online trolls, Ms McMahon added: ‘I’ve been labelled online as a gold digger, an embarrassment and the worst was one who told me to kill myself.

‘People will think I must have daddy issues – I definitely don’t. I want people to simply not judge others not so quickly.’

Mr Mitchell, who is now semi-retired after winning national acclaim as the original head teacher in the first series of Educating Yorkshire 12 years ago, separated from his wife in 2014 and the couple divorced a year later.

The ex-teacher, who has been with his new partner for four years, said his marriage had broken down and that they would have separated earlier had they not had young children.

Mr Mitchell admits that some family members had reservations at the start of his relationship with a younger woman, but were put at ease when they met Ms McMahon.

Ms McMahon, who has 29,000 followers on TikTok, is on a journey to break down any stigma about age gap relationships and regularly posts videos about it.

Mr Mitchell stole the nation’s hearts when he appeared in the eight-part documentary in 2013.

The show first broadcast more than a decade ago and was based on the same format as the BAFTA winning series, Educating Essex, which came out in 2011.

Ms McMahon, who has 29,000 followers on TikTok, is on a journey to break down any stigma about age gap relationships and regularly posts videos about it 

The series followed pupils and staff at Thornhill Community Academy, a secondary school in Yorkshire, receiving rave reviews across the board and scoring fans across the world.

Mr Mitchell was loved by viewers as he was students. Two years after the show ended in 2015, he went on to take a role as headteacher at Co-op Academy in Leeds, where he stayed for a number of years.

He later became the headteacher of Netherwood Academy, in Barnsley, and is now deciding on his next venture in education.