| Waterloo Road | |
|---|---|
| Series 16 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One BBC iPlayer |
| Original release | 23 September 2025 |
| Series chronology | |
The sixteenth series of the British television drama series Waterloo Road will commence airing on 23 September 2025. The series will comprise 8 episodes.
Series 16 was announced along with series 17 in August 2024. [1] In September 2025, further details around the series was revealed, with 8 episodes commissioned for the sixteenth series, it also confirmed that Series 16 would premiere on 23 September 2025, with the full series being released on BBC iPlayer prior to transmission. [2]
The majority of series regulars from the fifteenth series reprised their roles for this series, these included Lindsey Coulson, James Baxter, Jo Coffey, Saira Choudhry, Neil Fitzmaurice, Rachel Leskovac, Kym Marsh, Shauna Shim, and Adam Thomas, portraying Stella Drake, Joe Casey, Wendy Whitwell, Nisha Chandra, Neil Guthrie, Coral Walker, Nicky Walters, Valerie Chambers, and Donte Charles. [2]
In April 2025, it was confirmed that Jon Richardson would join the cast as Darius Donovan, a new media studies teacher at Waterloo Road. Jason Merrells also returns as Jack Rimmer in a series regular capacity, after a guest stint in the fifteenth series. [3]
Returning recurring cast members include Ryan Clayton, Hollie-Jay Bowes, Kerry Howard, Lauren Patel, and Tom Wells as Mike Rutherford, Debs Rafferty, Serena-Michelle Davies, Jas Sharma, and Marc Todd. [2]
Returning pupils include Scarlett Thomas, Summer Violet Bird, Liam Scholes, and Thapelo Ray as Donte's daughter Izzy Charles, Nicky's daughter Tonya Walters, Noel McManus, and Joe's former foster son Dwayne Jackson. Other students include Hattie Dynevor, Chiamaka Ulebor, Zak Sutcliffe, Maisie Robinson, Tillie Amartey, Miya Ocego, Sonya Nisa, Aabay Noor Ali, Danny Murphy and Niamh Blackshaw as Neil's daughter Libby Guthrie, Shola Aku, school troublemaker Schumacher "Schuey" Weever, his sister Portia Weever, Stacey "Stace" Neville, Lois Taylor-Brown, Aleena Qureshi, Mollie 'Mog' Richardson, Luca Smith, and Agnes Eccleston.
In September 2025, it was confirmed that Fintan Buckard and Savannah Kunyo had joined the cast as Ben Drake and Hope Drake, the grandchildren of headmistress Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson) and new pupils at Waterloo Road. Christine Bottomley also joined the cast as Stella Drake's (Lindsey Coulson) daughter, Sam Drake. In addition, Christopher Jeffers joined the cast as Mitch Swift, the new special educational needs coordinator of Waterloo Road. [2]
The sixteenth series will debut on 23 September 2025 on BBC One. In a difference from previous series, two episodes will air back-to-back as opposed to one episode weekly. The series will also release as a boxset on BBC iPlayer at 6am on 23 September 2025, as per previous series.
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 239 | Episode 1 [4] | Lloyd Eyre-Morgan | Chris Gill | 23 September 2025 | TBD |
| 240 | Episode 2 [5] | Lloyd Eyre-Morgan | Lisa Holdsworth | 23 September 2025 | TBD |
| 241 | Episode 3 [6] | Ruth Carney | Andrea Dewsbury & Liz Lewin | 30 September 2025 | TBD |
| 242 | Episode 4 [7] | Ruth Carney | Yasmeen Khan | 30 September 2025 | TBD |
| 243 | Episode 5 [8] | Jesse Quinones | Daniel Rusteau | 7 October 2025 | TBD |
| 244 | Episode 6 [9] | Angela Griffin | Paul Mousley | 7 October 2025 | TBD |
| 245 | Episode 7 [10] | Michael Lacey | Caroline Mitchell | TBA | TBD |
| 246 | Episode 8 [11] | Michael Lacey | Neil Jones & Adam Simpson | TBA | TBD |