The BBC has announced that hit school drama Waterloo Road will return to screens on Tuesday 10 September, with all episodes of the new series on BBC iPlayer from 6am, and episode one airing on BBC One at 9pm.
The brand new series will see the arrival of Jason Manford to the show as he becomes the new headteacher, Steve Savage, a charismatic charmer who impresses everyone he meets and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to achieve the results he wants.
September’s series will be the fourth since Waterloo Road returned to screens in 2023, and with its new academy status, new school building, and the arrival of Steve Savage, Waterloo Road sees a changing of the guard. Battling some teething problems, the students and teachers attempt to find their feet and make big decisions that affect their future at the school. But when a chain of unfortunate circumstances – and one bad choice – turns lives into chaos, there are tragic repercussions for everyone at Waterloo Road.
Alongside Manford, joining the show this series are Saira Choudhry (No Offence, Life) as Maths teacher Nisha Chandra – a lazy genius with a lot of charisma who isn’t beyond bending the rules to suit herself – and Olly Rhodes (The Last Kingdom) as Billy Savage, son to Steve Savage. Although being the new headteacher’s son isn’t always easy, Billy effortlessly captures the attention of the Waterloo Road students and teachers with his intelligence and charm.
Nathan Wood joins as Boz Osbourne, a street-smart loudmouth with a tumultuous past who forms a friendship with one of the school’s resident bad boys. Matthew Khan (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) will play the effortlessly charming Jared Jones, who is smart, charismatic and a bit of a ladies man. Meanwhile, Danny Murphy (The Parts You Lose) plays Luca Smith, a bright new pupil who is deaf. He has a strong sense of self and isn’t against bending the rules when it suits him. Sonya Nisa (Damsel) and Miya Ocego (Wreck) both join as Aleena Quereshi and Lois Taylor-Brown. Part of Stace Neville’s posse, Aleena puts her friendship first and isn’t that stressed with school stuff, while Lois is fiercely loyal when it comes to protecting her friends. Together the two girls are a force to be reckoned with at Waterloo Road.
The new series will continue to explore real-life topics affecting teens, families and school staff today, all with Waterloo Road’s trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth and wit. Last week it was announced that the series has been recommissioned for two more series, meaning the BBC will air new series of Waterloo Road until at least 2026 and bring the total number of new era episodes to 54.
Angela Griffin also returns to direct alongside other series directors John Maidens, Piotr Szkopiak and Robin Sheppard. Writers include Andrea Dewsbury, Charlie Swinbourne, Jayshree Patel, Katie Douglas, Kellie Smith, Liz Lewin, Neil Jones, Natalie Mitchell and Paul Mousley.
Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by the award-winning Wall to Wall in co-production with Rope Ladder Fiction. Lindsay Williams is the series producer, and Adam Leatherland and Nasreen Ahmed are also producers on the series. Waterloo Road is executive produced by Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall, and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.
