Waterloo Road series 2


The second series of Waterloo Road, a British television school drama series, created by Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick and produced by BBC Scotland and Shed Productions, commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2007 and concluded after 12 episodes on 26 April 2007.
Waterloo Road's second series aired in the United Kingdom on Thursdays at 8:00 pm GMT on BBC One, a terrestrial television network, where it received an average of 4.80 million viewers per episode.

Plot

The show follows the lives of the teachers and the pupils at the eponymous school of Waterloo Road, a failing inner-city comprehensive, tackling a wide range of issues often seen as taboo such as bullying, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, losing a baby, an affair between a teacher and a pupil, online abuse, overactive bladder syndrome, suicide, knife crime and drug abuse.

Premise

Following the events of the series one finale, it is revealed that English teacher Lorna Dickey survived what was portrayed as a suicide attempt. Her former husband Tom Clarkson and previous best friend Izzie Redpath continue their relationship, with Izzie now pregnant, making life in the staff room very difficult for all parties and even more so when tragedy strikes for both Tom and Izzie and Lorna, who is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The second series included the arrival of prospective school governor Roger Aspinall, who promised to invest in the future of the school in return for a seat on the governing body, having got the final decision back from the LEA at the end of series one that the school would remain open. Roger's son Brett enrolls at the school and is later involved in one of the major plots this series when he starts an affair with the new, glamorous school secretary, Davina Shackleton.
Other major plots were the drug-dealing antics of two pupils which later ends in the violent stabbing of one of the school's teachers, the alcoholism of trainee teacher Russell Millen, the bullying and attempted suicide of Mika Grainger and the return of former pupil Maxine Barlow, who is later fostered by the school's French teacher Steph Haydock.
The series ended with the school's board of governors preparing to make a decision on who should take up the position of becoming Waterloo Road's Head on a permanent basis.

Cast

Staff

Pupils

Others

Recurring

  • Mikey North as Helmsley; Lewis's friend
  • Robert Angell as Nigel Hinchcliffe; Chair of Governors
  • Paul Birchard as Jerry Preston; Investor
  • Kathryn Hunt as Gemma Seddon; Drug dealer and Lewis's aunt
  • Michael Keogh as Jed Seddon; Drug dealer and Lewis's cousin
  • Gary Whitaker as Kevin Hurst; Canteen Assistant

Guest

Production

Waterloo Road was recommissioned by Shed Productions alongside BBC Scotland for a run of 12 sixty-minute episodes. The series was again set in Rochdale, England, with filming based in the same location and starting in 2006. Regularly, music was taken from the Cornish band Thirteen Senses. Due to copyright issues, some music is unavailable on the DVD release in all regions.

Casting

The second series featured a number of new characters, including new pupil Brett Aspinall and his father, the school's prospective governor and investor, Roger Aspinall, alongside Davina Shackleton, the new school secretary. The series also introduced Zeriozha Burtt-Skeete as pupil Celine Dixon, Holly Matthews as the scheming pupil Leigh-Ann Galloway, Holly Grainger as Stacey Appleyard, a pupil with a dangerous schoolgirl crush and Ellie Paskell as Maxine Barlow, a pupil who is in trouble and who has returned to Waterloo Road.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers

DVD release

The second series of Waterloo Road was released on DVD in the UK on 10 March 2008, published by 2entertain. The set includes all twelve episodes on a four-disc set. The set includes special features, Miss Haydock Reveals All, and Mika's Video Diary. It was released with a "12" British Board of Film Classification certificate.