Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is a British television drama series set in a comprehensive school of the same name, first broadcast on BBC One on 9 March 2006, and concluding its original run on 9 March 2015.
In September 2021, the show was recommissioned, with production returning to the Greater Manchester area.
Premise
Waterloo Road is set in a failing comprehensive school, and later academy of the same name and focuses on the professional and personal lives of the students and staff.Ann McManus, the show's cocreator, devised the series in response to the BBC requesting a drama pertinent to "ordinary people in Britain today". She used the programme to explore many topical issues that occur within Britain, applying them to an educational setting.
Production
Development
The first series of Waterloo Road contained eight episodes and was first broadcast from 9 March to 27 April 2006 on BBC One. The show was renewed for a second series that was twelve episodes long, airing from 18 January to 26 April 2007. Series 3 to 6 each contained twenty episodes. The third series aired between 11 October 2007 and 13 March 2008, and the fourth series between 7 January and 20 May 2009. Series 5 was the first to be recorded in HD, and began airing on Wednesday 28 October 2009. The final episode aired on 15 July 2010.The show was filmed and set in the English town of Rochdale from the first series until the end of seventh series, and the Scottish town of Greenock from the beginning of eighth series until the end of its original run, the tenth series. The first episode was broadcast on BBC One on 9 March 2006, and the final episode of the original run was broadcast on BBC Three on 9 March 2015.
Production was meant to move locations in 2009, with storylines in the fourth and fifth series designed to coincide with that move. However, these plans did not go ahead, so the show remained in its original location until series 7. The filming of the fifth and sixth series was back-to-back, from 2009 to 2010. The sixth series ran from 1 September 2010 to 6 April 2011. The seventh series began airing on 4 May 2011 and ended on 25 April 2012. The series lasted for 30 episodes.
As part of a BBC initiative to produce more shows out of England, in August 2011 the show was commissioned for fifty episodes, constituting the eighth and ninth series, in a new location in Greenock, Scotland. The Rochdale site was demolished in 2013 and is now a housing estate. For most of the eighth series, the school was a non-fee charging independent school, as opposed to a comprehensive school as it was for the first seven series. The eighth series, again 30 episodes long, started on 23 August 2012 and concluded on 4 July 2013. Starting on 5 September the same year, the ninth series ran until 12 March 2014.
On 2 April 2014, the BBC announced that series 10 would be the show's last. The final scenes were recorded on 22 August 2014, and the series premiered on 15 October. On 11 December, it was announced that the last ten episodes of the show would be aired first on BBC Three, with a repeat on BBC One later in the evening. The final episode was the show's 200th and aired on 9 March 2015, exactly nine years after the first episode. In the story, the school remains open following a lengthy battle against a school merger. In September 2019, the entire series was made available on BBC iPlayer.
Revival
On 23 September 2021, the BBC announced that it had commissioned 22 new episodes with Waterloo Road returning to BBC One. The series' production returned to Greater Manchester, with the school set being at the former St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Swinton. Filming commenced in February 2022, and the eleventh series of 7 episodes aired between 3 January and 14 February 2023.Series 12, containing seven more episodes aired on BBC one between 16 May and 27 June 2023.
Series 13 was confirmed by a trailer attached to the final episode of series 12. On 21 August 2023 it was announced by the BBC that series 14 and 15 had been commissioned, with the three forthcoming series to contain eight episodes each. Filming for series 14 commenced in autumn 2023 with the new Greater Manchester Academy setting for Waterloo Road filmed in a former Manchester College campus. From September 2025, after the former Manchester College campus was sold to Manchester City Council and scheduled to reopen as a school, filming will move to a new site at Trafford Park, having signed a flexible 5 year lease for the former offices owned by Frasers Group.
In August 2024, the BBC announced that the show had been recommissioned for series 16 and 17, with the show's future secured until 2026. It was also confirmed that Series 14 would premiere in September 2024, and Series 15 would premiere in early 2025. Filming for series 16 and series 17 commenced in Summer 2024. Series 16 started on 23 September 2025. Series 17 started airing on 6 January 2026. In August 2025, the BBC announced that the show had been recommissioned for series 18 and 19, with filming set to commence later in the year.
Cast
The show utilises an ensemble cast led by the school's staff members. The longest-running cast members were Philip Martin Brown, Jason Done and Chelsee Healey. As of 2026, Adam Thomas became the longest serving cast member, appearing in 11 series.The original teaching characters consisted of Headteacher Jack Rimmer ; Deputy Headteacher Andrew Treneman ; Art teacher and Head of Pastoral Care Kim Campbell ; Head of English Grantly Budgen ; English teachers Lorna Dickey and Tom Clarkson ; Head of French Steph Haydock ; and Head of Drama Izzie Redpath. The student characters included Donte Charles, Chlo Grainger, Janeece Bryant, Yasmin Deardon, Mika Grainger and Lewis Seddon.
Series 2 introduced pupil Brett Aspinall, his father and sponsor governor Roger Aspinall and school secretary Davina Shackleton. Other new pupils included Leigh-Ann Galloway.
Series 3 introduced new deputy head Eddie Lawson and, in the seventh episode, new Headteacher Rachel Mason. Other staff arrivals include NQT English teacher Jasmine Koreshi and Head of Music and Drama Matt Wilding. Pupils introduced in the third series include Aleesha Dillon, Danielle Harker, Karla Bentham, Paul Langley, Bolton Smilie and Michaela White.
Series 4 introduced the Kelly family, consisting of mother Rose Kelly and her five children: Marley, Earl, Sambuca, Denzil, and baby Prince. The series features new Head of PE Rob Cleaver, who is sacked when it transpires he is giving Bolton pills to help him win an important match. Rachel's sister Melissa Ryan and nephew Philip are also introduced.
Series 5 introduced Executive Head Max Tyler, Deputy Headteacher Christopher Mead, Head of Food Technology Ruby Fry, newly-qualified English teacher Helen Hopewell and Head of Modern Languages Jo Lipsett. New pupils included Emily James and her sister Lindsay James, Siobhan Mailey, Ros McCain, Luke Pendle, Amy Porter, Josh Stevenson and Finn Sharkey.
Series 6 introduced new Headteacher Karen Fisher. Karen's family included children Jess and Harry and her husband and supply teacher Charlie. Lucien Laviscount was cast as rebellious teenager Jonah Kirby and Chelsee Healey also reprised her role as Janeece Bryant as the new school secretary. On 21 December 2009, the arrival of new pupils Bex Fisher and Kyle Stack was announced; Kyle joined in episode 11. Also introduced in episode 11 were pupils Nate Gurney, Ronan Burley, Ruth Kirby. Other additions included Ronan Burley's father, Head of Spanish Francesca "Cesca" Monotya, Head of Pastoral Care Adanna Lawal and Geography teacher and father of Jonah and Ruth, Marcus Kirby.
Series 7 introduced new Headteacher Michael Byrne, science teacher and Deputy Headteacher Sian Diamond, school site manager Rob Scotcher, maths teacher Daniel Chalk, new Head of English Linda Radleigh, school canteen worker Maggie Croft, school benefactor Lorraine Donnagan and pupil Jodie "Scout" Allen. Guest stars in the seventh series included: Gemma Atkinson, Dominique Jackson, Alicya Eyo, Margi Clarke, Jodie Prenger, Lisa Riley, Tupele Dorgu, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Kai Owen and Jane Asher.
Series 8 marked the start of Waterloo Road in Greenock, and introduced English teacher Christine Mulgrew, History teacher Audrey McFall, Languages teacher George Windsor, Deputy Headteacher Simon Lowsley, and a new School secretary Sonya Donnegan.
Series 9 introduced new science teacher Sue Spark, and new PE teacher Hector Reid.
Series 10 introduced an extensive set of new characters, including new headmaster Vaughan Fitzgerald, his partner and Art teacher Allie Westbrook, his ex-wife and Geography teacher Olga Fitzgerald, and Olga and Vaughan's children Justin Fitzgerald and Leo Fitzgerald. Other new staff introductions included Deputy Headteacher Lorna Hutchinson, GPD Teacher Guy Braxton, Science teacher Marco D'Olivera. New pupils Kenzie Calhoun, Scott Fairchild, Carrie Norton, Bonnie Kincaid, Dale Jackson and Abdul Bukhari, alongside existing pupils Rhiannon Salt, Lenny Brown, Lisa Brown and Darren Hughes.
Adam Thomas, Katie Griffiths and Angela Griffin reprised their roles in series 11 as Donte Charles, Chlo Charles and Kim Campbell respectively, with Campbell now as the Headteacher. Staff members included Lindon King, Joe Casey, Wendy Whitwell, Valerie Chambers, Neil Guthrie, Coral Walker, Amy Spratt, Nicky Walters, Jamilah Omar and Mike Rutherford. New senior pupils included Danny Lewis, Samia Choudhry, Preston Walters, Kai Sharif, Kelly Jo Rafferty, Dean Weever, Noel McManus, and Caz Williams. Junior pupils included Izzy Charles, Tonya Walters, Verity King, Dwayne Jackson, Zayne Jackson, Shola Aku and Norrulah Ashimi.
Series 13 introduced new students Libby Guthrie, Schumacher 'Schuey' Weever, Stacey 'Stace' Neville, Portia Weever, Molly 'Mog' Richardson, Jess Clarke, and Declan Harding.
Series 14 introduced Jason Manford as Steve Savage, Waterloo Road's new Headteacher, and Saira Choudhry as Nisha Chandra, Head of Maths. New students included Billy Savage, Boz Osbourne, Aleena Qureshi, Lois Taylor-Brown, Luca Smith, and Jared Jones.
Series 15 introduced Lindsey Coulson as Dame Stella Drake, the new Headteacher of Waterloo Road, and Lauren Patel as new early career teacher Jas Sharma. New students included Agnes Eccleston, Cat Guthrie, and Ashton Stone.
Series 16 introduced Jon Richardson as Darius Donovan, a new media studies teacher at Waterloo Road. Christopher Jeffers also joined the cast as Mitch Swift, the new special educational needs coordinator at Waterloo Road. New students included Ben Drake and Hope Drake. The series also reintroduces Jason Merrells as a series regular, having appeared in a guest stint in the previous series.
Series 17 introduced new pupils Freddie Hollister, Leoni Tennant, Aisha Azzi, Badr Azzi, and Harleen Lamba. The series also reintroduces Denise Welch as a series regular, having previously appeared between the first and sixth series.
Spin-offs
''Waterloo Road Reunited''
A short online spin-off series, Waterloo Road Reunited, was commissioned in November 2010 and ran for six episodes in 2011. It focuses on the lives of six school leavers who previously appeared in the main show.Transmissions and ratings
The final episode of series 3 attracted 6 million viewers. The final episode of series 4 and 5 each attracted 4.5 million viewers.The finale of series 10 aired on 9 March 2015, nine years after the first episode aired on 9 March 2006.
DVD releases
Series one and two were released by 2entertain, while series three to eight were released by Acorn DVD. Series eleven onwards were released by Dazzler Media.| Title | Episodes | DVD release date | Total discs | Special features |
| Series 1 | 8 | 26 March 2007 | 3 | |
| Series 2 | 12 | 10 March 2008 | 4 | Miss Haydock Reveals All Mika's Video Diary |
| Series 3 | 20 | 2 March 2009 11 May 2009 24 May 2010 | 6 | Autumn Term scrap Book Pupil Reports Teacher Evaluation Spring Term scrap Book |
| Series 4 | 20 | 21 September 2009 26 April 2010 18 October 2010 | 6 | Autumn Term scrapbook Spring Term scrapbook School Photos |
| Series 5 | 20 | 14 June 2010 27 September 2010 23 May 2011 | 6 | Deleted Scenes Bloopers Cast/Crew Interviews Waterloo Road Cribs |
| Series 6 | 20 | 7 February 2011 20 June 2011 16 January 2012 | 6 | Staff/Student Photos Outtakes Social Networking Snaps Bloopers |
| Waterloo Road Reunited | 6 | 9 April 2012 | 1 | Picture Gallery |
| Series 7 | 30 | 7 October 2011 26 March 2012 10 September 2012 8 April 2013 | 9 | Social Networking Snaps |
| Series 8 | 30 | 4 February 2013 3 June 2013 7 October 2013 15 September 2014 | 9 | Behind the Scenes In the Gym with Kaya & Kirstie In the Lab with Jaye and Jason Home from Home with Grantly Budgen |
| The Legends Of Waterloo Road | 6 | 16 September 2013 | 2 | 6 select episodes from series 3 – 8 |
| Series 11 | 7 | 10 April 2023 | 2 | |
| Series 12 | 7 | 11 September 2023 | 2 | |
| Series 13 | 8 | 11 March 2024 | 2 |
Online
All episodes of the original series were made available on BBC iPlayer on 19 September 2019. The popularity of the original show on iPlayer among younger audiences contributed to the show's recommissioning in 2021.As part of the show's return in 2023, BBC commissioned a podcast series alongside the return of the programme. The podcast was hosted by cast members Adam Thomas and Priyasasha Kumari, and released exclusively on BBC Sounds.
Since the revival of the series, each series has been released as a boxset on BBC iPlayer prior to transmission on BBC One.