Waterloo Road new series launch date confirmed at February 11

As details of new cast and first-look pictures are revealed

The new series of the hit school drama based in Manchester sees the introduction of Lindsey Coulson alongside six new cast members – including a blast from the past!

Waterloo Road (8×60’) will return to screens on Tuesday 11 February, with all episodes of the new series available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, and episode one airing on BBC One at 9pm that night. To celebrate the announcement, exclusive first-look images have been released teasing fans on what they can expect from the new series.

This will be the fifth series of the beloved school drama since Waterloo Road’s revival in 2023. Fans have been anticipating how the school will react following the downfall of previous headteacher Steve Savage (Jason Manford), after the revelation that he covered up his son’s murder of pupil Boz Osbourne. Lindsey Coulson joins the cast as new headteacher Dame Stella Drake, as staff attempt to rebuild the reputation of Waterloo Road which is currently tarnished as the ‘murder school’.

Lindsey Coulson isn’t the only new face for this series, as Jason Merrells reprises his character Jack Rimmer in a guest role. Elsewhere, Cory McClane (Hollyoaks, Hard To Reach) joins the series as student Ashton Stone, a ‘scally with a soul’. He’s armed with a kind heart, but despite this, trouble seems to follow him around.

Returning years after her teenage pregnancy storyline and following fan speculation, Zeriozha Annika will reprise her role as Celine Stone. Now happily married and mum to Ashton, Celine’s return will spark questions for old flame Donte.

Also completing the new cast are Lucy Chambers (The Bay, Silverpoint) as Cat Gutherie. The opposite of her fierce sister Libby, effervescent Cat is curious, carefree and doesn’t have a ruthless bone in her body. Niamh Blackshaw (The Jetty, Coronation Street) joins as student Agnes Eccleston, a passionate Christian who is deeply committed to her faith, despite her rebellious streak, whilst Lauren Patel (Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) joins as teacher Jas Sharma, daughter of teacher Nisha Chandra. This series will also welcome Khurrum M Sultan, Amy Coop, and Tom Hescott as directors, alongside Jesse Quinones.

Known for its balance of fun and humour whilst also reflecting important social issues affecting the nation, this series will be no different with storylines of coercive control, women’s health, unemployment, addiction and issues facing teachers.

The returning adult cast include Adam Thomas (Donte Charles), Hollie-Jay Bowes (Debs Rafferty), James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt), Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), Ryan Clayton (Mike Rutherford) Saira Choudhry (Nisha Chandra), and Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers).

The returning student cast include Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie “Mog” Richardson), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku), Danny Murphy (Luca Smith), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Matthew Khan (Jared Jones), Miya Ocego (Lois Taylor-Brown), Olly Rhodes (Billy Savage), Sonya Nisa (Aleena Qureshi), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Thapelo Ray (Dwayne Jackson), Tillie Amartey (Stacey “Stace” Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe (“Schuey” Weever).

Waterloo Road is a Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North co-production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Lindsay Williams is the Series Producer, and Adam Leatherland and Nasreen Ahmed are also producers on the series. The executive producers are Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.

Ahead of the new series, all episodes of Waterloo Road are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.