School is definitely not out on the BBC as they announce they have renewed ‘Waterloo Road‘ for another two seasons in addition to the two already filmed, but yet-to-air seasons, taking it to Season 17 and on-air until at least 2026.
The drama, set in a comprehensive school, is known for tackling real-life topics affecting teens, families, and school staff, along with its trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth, and wit. It originally ran from 2006 to 2015, but then saw a resurgence in popularity during lockdown which led to it being recommissioned. Since its return, it has continued to perform as one of the BBC’s most successful brands on BBC iPlayer, proving especially popular with audiences under the age of 35.
As previously announced, the next season of Waterloo Road, premiering in September, will feature the actor and comedian Jason Manford as Steve Savage who becomes the school’s new headteacher. The season will also feature the arrivals of Saira Choudhry (No Offence, Life) as Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road’s newest maths teacher, alongside a host of new students: Olly Rhodes (The Last Kingdom) as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa (Damsel) as Aleena Qureshi, Miya Ocego (Wreck) as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy (The Parts You Lose) as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) as Jared Jones.
Returning cast includes Adam Thomas (Donte Charles) and Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), alongside the teaching staff played by James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), and Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt).
Returning to the series is the student cast includes Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie “Mog” Richardson), Alicia Forde (Kelly-Jo Rafferty), Chiamaka Ulebor (Shola Aku), Francesco Piacentini-Smith (Dean Weever), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus), Lucy Eleanor Begg (Caz Williams), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Noah Valentine (Preston Walters), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Thapelo Ray (Dwayne Jackson), Tillie Amartey (Stacey “Stace” Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe (“Schuey” Weever).
“We’re incredibly thrilled to be recommissioned for a further two seasons of the new era of Waterloo Road,” said Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road. “This commitment by the BBC underlines the show’s ability to not only be a compelling entertaining drama for a younger audience, but to also serve as a true talent incubator across the craft skills for a new generation of crew and cast. We have been so energised by the audience’s reaction to the show, and our first-hand experience of outreach work with numerous partners, and their level of engagement, really demonstrates the continued importance and power of the show. This really is a huge team effort, and a tangible result to the brilliant collegiate atmosphere behind the scenes – a genuine thank you to everyone involved in Waterloo Road.”
The two new seasons of ‘Waterloo Road’ will maintain the production’s ongoing commitment to investing in creative talent in the North of England, through specially curated development programmes. These include the recently announced Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Access x Waterloo Road Directors Programme, as well as the series’ successful ongoing production development programme (opening for new applications on Monday 19th August) which has so far given 35 trainees paid entry-level work in the TV industry, working across a wide range of craft areas. All have gone on to further employment or remain with the production. Additionally, Waterloo Road has welcomed over 300 students from a range of local schools and youth groups to participate in outreach events across Greater Manchester, composed of interactive sessions to build their knowledge and skills for TV and film production.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see Waterloo Road go from strength to strength – both creatively on screen, where it remains hugely popular with viewers of all ages, as well as behind the scenes developing the next generation of exciting UK television talent,” said Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. “We’re delighted to announce two more series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
The series is a Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North co-production for BBC One and iPlayer. 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. Directors include Robin Sheppard, Piotr Szkopiak, John Maidens and Angela Griffin.
‘Waterloo Road‘ Season 14 will premiere in September 2024 (no exact date yet) on BBC One and iPlayer, with Season 15 following in early 2025. You can also catch all previous seasons on iPlayer right now. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
