Waterloo Road is known for tackling real-life topics affecting teens, families, and school staff, along with its trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth, and wit
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see Waterloo Road go from strength to strength – both creatively on screen, where it remains hugely popular with viewers of all ages, as well as behind the scenes developing the next generation of exciting UK television talent.” — Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama
August 15, 2024 — The BBC has recommissioned hit school-set drama Waterloo Road for two further series, it was announced today. The double order means that new episodes of Waterloo Road will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One until at least 2026.
Filming has just begun on the new series in Greater Manchester, which are in addition to the two upcoming eight-part series of Waterloo Road that have already filmed and will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this September and early next year.
Waterloo Road is known for tackling real-life topics affecting teens, families, and school staff, along with its trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth, and wit. The series returned to screens in January last year after becoming popular with viewers on BBC iPlayer during lockdown and, since its return, has continued to perform as one of the BBC’s most successful brands on BBC iPlayer, proving especially popular with audiences under the age of 35.
The two new series of Waterloo Road will maintain the production’s ongoing commitment to investing in creative talent in the North of England, through specially curated development programmes. These include the recently announced Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Access x Waterloo Road Directors Programme, as well as the series’ successful ongoing production development programme (opening for new applications on Monday 19th August) which has so far given 35 trainees paid entry-level work in the TV industry, working across a wide range of craft areas. All have gone on to further employment or remain with the production. Additionally, Waterloo Road has welcomed over 300 students from a range of local schools and youth groups to participate in outreach events across Greater Manchester, composed of interactive sessions to build their knowledge and skills for TV and film production.
Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road says: “We’re incredibly thrilled to be recommissioned for a further two seasons of the new era of Waterloo Road. This commitment by the BBC underlines the show’s ability to not only be a compelling entertaining drama for a younger audience, but to also serve as a true talent incubator across the craft skills for a new generation of crew and cast. We have been so energised by the audience’s reaction to the show, and our first-hand experience of outreach work with numerous partners, and their level of engagement, really demonstrates the continued importance and power of the show. This really is a huge team effort, and a tangible result to the brilliant collegiate atmosphere behind the scenes – a genuine thank you to everyone involved in Waterloo Road.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: “It’s incredibly rewarding to see Waterloo Road go from strength to strength – both creatively on screen, where it remains hugely popular with viewers of all ages, as well as behind the scenes developing the next generation of exciting UK television talent. We’re delighted to announce two more series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
As previously announced, the next series of Waterloo Road – coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this September – will feature the actor and comedian Jason Manford as Steve Savage who becomes the new headteacher of the school. September’s new series will also feature the arrivals of Saira Choudhry (No Offence, Life) as Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road’s newest maths teacher, alongside a host of new students: Olly Rhodes (The Last Kingdom) as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa (Damsel) as Aleena Qureshi, Miya Ocego (Wreck) as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy (The Parts You Lose) as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) as Jared Jones.
Returning characters include Adam Thomas (Donte Charles) and Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), alongside the teaching staff played by James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), and Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt).
Returning to the series is the student cast: Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie “Mog” Richardson), Alicia Forde (Kelly-Jo Rafferty), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku), Francesco Piacentini-Smith (Dean Weever), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus), Lucy Eleanor Begg (Caz Williams), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Noah Valentine (Preston Walters), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Thapelo Ray (Dwayne Jackson), Tillie Amartey (Stacey “Stace” Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe (“Schuey” Weever).
Audiences can stream all episodes of Waterloo Road so far on BBC iPlayer.
Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by the award-winning Wall to Wall in co-production with Rope Ladder Fiction. Lindsay Williams is the Series Producer. Waterloo Road is executive produced by Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall, and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.
Source
BBC iPlayer
