WATERLOO ROAD: FIRST LOOK IMAGES, LAUNCH DATE AND CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR UPCOMING SERIES OF BBC DRAMA

The BBC has announced Waterloo Road (8x60) will return to screens on Tuesday 6th January and released a set of first look images. The popular school drama will launch the entire series on BBC iPlayer at 6am, with a double bill of Waterloo Road airing on BBC One every Tuesday at 9pm with the following episode at 10:40pm.

As revealed at the end of the previous series, the new series will see the return of original cast member, Denise Welch, reprising her role as the iconic Steph Haydock. Steph is called in as a supply teacher for Waterloo Road as they struggle with the teacher shortage, saving the day when there is a crisis amongst the students.

Also revealed in the first look images, Karl Davies (Emmerdale) joins Waterloo Road as Anthony Walters, the ex-husband of Nicky Walters (Kym Marsh). Anthony arrives as the coach of the girl’s football team that some of Waterloo Road’s very own get involved with, thriving at the sport. His arrival causes a big stir with Tonya and Nicky, who has taken on a new role at the school. 

Also joining the cast as new students are Freddy Smith as Freddie Hollister, Olivia Booth-Ford as Leoni Tennant, Myra-Sofia Iftikhar as Aisha Azzi, Sana Ali as Badr Azzi and Isha Kaur as Harleen Lamba. 

Known to explore real-life topics affecting teens, families and school staff today, the new series will explore topics including hearing impairment management at schools, young love, exploitation, grief, addiction and family dynamics. 

This January, new Deputy Darius (Jon Richardson) holds the keys to the kingdom – but how far will he go to keep that power? With the arrival of excluded students and familiar faces, chaos ensues at Waterloo Road. Love is in the air, and with prom and a wedding on the horizon, the teaching staff and students of Waterloo Road aren’t shy of any new challenges. 

The returning parent and teacher cast include Adam Thomas (Donte Charles), Christopher Jeffers (Mitch Swift), Hollie-Jay Bowes (Debs Rafferty) James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jason Merrells (Jack Rimmer), Jon Richardson (Darius Donovan), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), Lindsey Coulson (Dame Stella Drake) Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers) and Saira Jackson (Nisha Chandra) .

The returning student cast include Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie "Mog" Richardson), Cory McClane (Ashton Stone), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku), Danny Murphy (Luca Smith), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus), Lucy Chambers (Cat Guthrie), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Miya Ocego (Lois Taylor-Brown), Niamh Blackshaw (Agnes Eccleston), Scarlett Thomas (Izzy Charles) Sonya Nisa (Aleena Qureshi), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Tillie Amartey (Stacey "Stace" Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe ("Schuey" Weever).

Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North. Lindsay Williams is the Series Producer. Waterloo Road is executive produced by Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall, and commissioned by Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.