Waterloo Road | Series 16 Preview (BBC One)

Series 16 of Waterloo Road marks the arrival of Jon Richardson as the school’s new media studies teacher, Darius Donovan. With tons of charm, this new teacher knows how to put on a good show, and viewers can expect his arrival to stir things up at Waterloo Road.

The series will also introduce students, newcomer Fintan Buckard (Phoenix Rise) and Savannah Kunyo (Coronation Street) as Ben and Hope Drake, with Christine Bottomley (Sherwood) appearing as Sam Drake. The grand-children and daughter of Dame Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson), who made waves as the new headteacher of Waterloo Road in series 15.

This September, Headteacher Stella is forced to navigate a fresh set of challenges, and this family dynamic will undoubtedly alter her approach on how she manages things, as well as relationships with students and fellow teachers. With another tragedy on the horizon, the choices of some of Waterloo Road’s own will have some life-changing consequences.

Christopher Jeffers (Riot Women) will also be joining Waterloo Road as Mitch Swift, the new SenCo lead (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator), as well as welcoming back Jason Merells, who will be reprising his role as Jack Rimmer, Waterloo Road’s first ever head, as the new school counsellor. Both will do whatever it takes to help the students of Waterloo Road who need the most support.

Episode 1: Schuey and Agnes cause uproar when they rebel against Stella’s new rules. New teacher Darius Donovan arrives and shakes up the staffroom, while Jack Rimmer returns to school.

Episode 2: Ashton takes drastic measures when Donte is plunged into crippling debt. Nicky saves the day when Debs is out of her depth, while Jack attempts to help Libby settle back in.

Episode 3: Dwayne is under pressure when Ashton exposes his deepest secrets to the entire school. Meanwhile, Nisha is conflicted when her personal and professional worlds collide.

Episode 4: Hope and Portia go head-to-head as they battle for attention. Elsewhere, Darius’s negligence has devastating consequences, and Schuey is rocked when an unexpected visitor ruffles feathers.

Episode 5: Dwayne’s world comes crashing down when he reaches breaking point. Stella makes a ruthless decision as she tries to come to terms with the devastating events of the previous week.

Episode 6: The schools' staff and students head to the estate for a community clean-up that doesn’t go to plan. Meanwhile, Schuey is lured back to his criminal past with disastrous consequences for Mike.

Episode 7: Emotions run high at Waterloo Road when Stella’s daughter arrives. Elsewhere, Mitch finds himself in hot water when he steps in to help a struggling student.

Episode 8: The fair arrives at Waterloo Road as Darius flounders under a watchful eye. Meanwhile, Agnes uncovers a secret that could blow a family's world apart.

This series of Waterloo Road will also feature a full on-location episode, directed by Angela Griffin (Waterloo Road). The episode will see more familiar faces return as the Waterloo Road student-body heads to the local estate to participate in a community clean-up that doesn’t quite go to plan. Lloyd Eyre Morgan, Ruth Carney, Jesse Quinones, and Mike Lacey, also direct episodes in series 16.  

The returning parent and teacher cast include Adam Thomas (Donte Charles), Hollie-Jay Bowes (Debs Rafferty) James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), Ryan Clayton (Mike Rutherford) and Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers).

The returning student cast include Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie "Mog" Richardson), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku), Danny Murphy (Luca Smith), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Miya Ocego (Lois Taylor-Brown), Sonya Nisa (Aleena Qureshi), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Thapelo Ray (Dwayne Jackson), Tillie Amartey (Stacey "Stace" Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe ("Schuey" Weever).

Waterloo Road returns Tuesday 23rd September at 9pm on BBC One, followed by the second episode at 10:40pm.