9 March 2006(2006-03-09)– 9 March 2015(2015-03-09)
Release
3 January 2023(2023-01-03)– present
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, concluding its original run on 9 March 2015, exactly nine years after the broadcast of the first episode. In September 2021, the show was recommissioned for an eleventh series, with production returning to the Greater Manchester area.[3][2][4]
Subsequently, the show was extended even further, with the BBC eventually confirming series 12 to 16. [5]
Premise
Waterloo Road is set in a failing comprehensive school of the same name and focuses on the professional and personal lives of the students and staff.[6]
Ann McManus, the show's cocreator, devised the series in response to the BBC requesting a drama pertinent to "ordinary people in Britain today".[7] She used the programme to explore many topical issues that occur within Britain, applying them to an educational setting.[8]
Production
Development
The original setting for the series was the former Hill Top Community Primary School in Kirkholt, Rochdale
The first series of Waterloo Road contained eight episodes and was first broadcast from 9 March to 27 April 2006 on BBC One.[9] 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,[10] and began airing on Wednesday 28 October 2009 (the previous Sunday for BBC One Scotland). 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,[11] and the final episode of the original run was broadcast on BBC Three on 9 March 2015.[12]
Production was meant to move locations in 2009, with storylines in the fourth and fifth series designed to coincide with that move.[13] However, these plans did not go ahead, so the show remained in Rochdale until series 7. The filming of the fifth and sixth series was back-to-back, from 2009 to 2010.[14] The sixth series ran from 1 September 2010 to 6 April 2011.[15][16]
From Series 8 to Series 10 the setting was the former Greenock Academy, on Madeira Street, Greenock.
The seventh series began airing on 4 May 2011 and ended on 25 April 2012.[17] The series lasted for 30 episodes. As part of a BBC initiative to produce more shows out of England,[18] in August 2011 the show was commissioned for fifty episodes, constituting the eighth and ninth series, in a new location in Greenock, Scotland.[19] The Rochdale site was demolished in 2013 and is now a housing estate.[20][21] 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.[22] The eighth series, again 30 episodes long, started on 23 August 2012 and concluded on 4 July 2013.[23][24] Starting on 5 September the same year, the ninth series ran until 12 March 2014.[25][26]
On 2 April 2014, the BBC announced that series 10 would be the show's last.[27][28] The final scenes were recorded on 22 August 2014,[29] 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.[30] The final episode was the show's 200th and aired on 9 March 2015, exactly nine years after the first episode.[31] In the story, the school remains open following a lengthy battle against a school merger.[32] In September 2019, the entire series was made available on BBC iPlayer.[33]
On 23 September 2021, the BBC announced that it had commissioned 22 new episodes with Waterloo Road returning to BBC One.[3][2][4] The series' production returned to Greater Manchester,[34] with the school set being at the former St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Swinton.[35] Filming commenced in February 2022,[36] and the eleventh series of 7 episodes aired between 3 January and 14 February 2023.[37] Series 12, containing seven more episodes aired on BBC one between 16 May and 27 June 2023.[38] 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[39] with the new Greater Manchester Academy setting for Waterloo Road filmed in a former Manchester College campus.[40]
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.[41] Filming for series 16 and series 17 commenced in Summer 2024.[42]
The show utilises an ensemble cast led by the school's staff members. The longest-running cast members were Philip Martin Brown (Grantly Budgen, series 1–9), Jason Done (Tom Clarkson, series 1–8) and Chelsee Healey (Janeece Bryant, series 1–4 and 6–8, 11).[43]
Series 2 introduced pupil Brett Aspinall (Tom Payne), his father and sponsor governor Roger Aspinall (Nick Sidi) and school secretary Davina Shackleton (Christine Tremarco).[46][47] Other new pupils included Leigh-Ann Galloway (Holly Matthews).
Series 3 introduced new deputy head Eddie Lawson (Neil Morrissey) and, in the seventh episode, new Headteacher Rachel Mason (Eva Pope). Other staff arrivals include NQT English teacher Jasmine Koreshi (Shabana Bakhsh) and Head of Music and Drama Matt Wilding (Chris Geere). Pupils introduced in the third series include Aleesha Dillon (Lauren Thomas), Danielle Harker (Lucy Dixon), Karla Bentham (Jessica Baglow), Paul Langley (Thomas Milner), Bolton Smilie (Tachia Newall) and Michaela White (Zaraah Abrahams).[48][49]
Series 4 introduced the Kelly family, consisting of mother Rose Kelly (Elaine Symons) and her five children: Marley (Luke Bailey), Earl (Reece Noi), Sambuca (Holly Kenny), Denzil (Reece Douglas), and baby Prince. The series features new Head of PE Rob Cleaver (Elyes Gabel), who is sacked when it transpires he is giving Bolton pills to help him win an important match. Rachel's sister Melissa Ryan (Katy Carmichael) and nephew Phillip (Dean Smith) are also introduced.
Series 8 marked the start of Waterloo Road in Greenock, and introduced English teacher Christine Mulgrew (Laurie Brett),[64] History teacher Audrey McFall (Georgie Glen),[64] Languages teacher George Windsor (Angus Deayton),[65] and Deputy Headteacher Simon Lowsley (Richard Mylan).[66]
Series 10 introduced an extensive set of new characters, including new headmaster Vaughan Fitzgerald (Neil Pearson),[67] his partner and Art teacher Allie Westbrook (Nicola Stephenson),[67] his ex-wife and Geography teacher Olga Fitzgerald (Pooky Quesnel), and Olga and Vaughan's children Justin Fitzgerald (Max Bowden) and Leo Fitzgerald (Zebb Dempster).[68] Other new staff introductions included Deputy Headteacher Lorna Hutchinson (Laura Aikman),[69] GPD Teacher Guy Braxton (Regé-Jean Page),[69] Science teacher Marco D'Olivera (Stefano Braschi).[69] New pupils Kenzie Calhoun (Charlotte Beaumont),[69] Scott Fairchild (Andrew Still),[69] Carrie Norton (Tahirah Sharif), Bonnie Kincaid (Holly Jack),[69] Dale Jackson (Finlay MacMillan)[69] and Abdul Bukhari (Armin Karima),[69] alongside existing pupils Rhiannon Salt (Rebecca Craven), Lenny Brown (Joe Slater), Lisa Brown (Caitlin Gillespie), Darren Hughes (Mark Beswick), Shaznay Montrose (Je'Taime Morgan Hanley), .[citation needed]
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.[36] Staff members included Lindon King (Vincent Jerome), Joe Casey (James Baxter), Wendy Whitwell (Jo Coffey), Valerie Chambers (Shauna Shim), Neil Guthrie (Neil Fitzmaurice), Coral Walker (Rachel Leskovac), Amy Spratt (Katherine Pearce), Nicky Walters (Kym Marsh), Jamilah Omar (Sonia Ibrahim) and Mike Rutherford (Ryan Clayton). New senior pupils included Danny Lewis (Adam Abbou), Samia Choudhry (Priyasasha Kumari), Preston Walters (Noah Valentine), Kai Sharif (Adam Ali), Kelly Jo Rafferty (Alicia Forde), Dean Weever (Francesco Piacentini-Smith), Noel McManus (Liam Scholes), and Caz Williams (Lucy Eleanor Begg). Junior pupils included Izzy Charles (Scarlett Thomas), Tonya Walters (Summer Violet Bird), Verity King (Ava Flannery), Dwayne Jackson (Thapelo Ray), Zayne Jackson (Inathi Rozani), Shola Aku (Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor) and Norrulah Ashimi (Sahil Ismailkhil).[70]
Series 13 introduced new students Libby Guthrie (Hattie Dynevor), Schumacher 'Schuey' Weever (Zak Sutcliffe), Stacey 'Stace' Neville (Tillie Amartey), Portia Weever (Maisie Robinson), Molly 'Mog' Richardson (Aabay Noor Ali), Jess Clarke (Zanele Nyoni), and Declan Harding (Teddy Wallwork).[71][72]
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 (Olly Rhodes), Boz Osbourne (Nathan Wood), Aleena Qureshi (Sonya Nisa), Lois Taylor-Brown (Miya Ocego), Luca Smith (Danny Murphy), and Jared Jones (Matthew Khan).[73][74] In series 15, Lindsey Coulson replaces Manford as Stella Drake.[75]Niamh Blackshaw is also expected to appear in a future series.[76]
Series one and two were released by 2entertain, while series three to eight were released by Acorn DVD. Series nine and ten were not released on home media. 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 (Autumn Term) 11 May 2009 (Spring Term) 24 May 2010 (Complete)
6
Autumn Term scrap Book Pupil Reports Teacher Evaluation Spring Term scrap Book
Series 4
20
21 September 2009 (Autumn Term) 26 April 2010 (Spring Term) 18 October 2010 (Complete)
6
Autumn Term scrapbook Spring Term scrapbook School Photos
Series 5
20
14 June 2010 (Autumn Term) 27 September 2010 (Spring Term) 23 May 2011 (Complete)
Full episodes from Series 1 to 8 were previously available to watch on YouTube, but were later replaced by episode highlights.[citation needed][excessive detail?] All episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer on 19 September 2019.[33] The popularity of the original show on iPlayer among younger audiences contributed to the show's recomissioning in 2021.[131]
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 (Donte Charles) and Priyasasha Kumari (Samia Choudhury), and released exclusively on BBC Sounds.[132]
Since the revival of the series, each series has been released as a boxset on BBC iPlayer prior to transmission on BBC One.
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Angela Mellissa Griffin is an English actress, television presenter and director who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, Kim Campbell in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, and DS Lizzie Maddox in the final two series of ITV's detective drama series Lewis (2014–2015). Griffin was also an original cast member of Holby City, playing nurse Jasmine Hopkins (1999–2001).
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