Jason Manford talks about his “nerve-wracking” decision to join Waterloo Road.
Since its resurrection and return to its native Greater Manchester, Waterloo Road has become a major hit for the BBC – with 2 more seasons already on the way.
Series 14 airs on Tuesday next week, with a new Academy status, a new school building and a changing of the guard with Steve Savage – played by Manford.
“It’s such a legendary show, not just on the BBC, but right here in the North West and Manchester as well. It’s as big as Corrie,” he said.
He added that he was among the millions who discovered the show during the lockdown – which led to its resurrection. The show, which had started in Rochdale, moved to Glasgow in 2012 and was dropped by the BBC in 2014.
“It feels like a big northern powerhouse of a show that’s been on for years. It was funny, really, because my kids started watching it during lockdown on iPlayer, and I was sort of half watching it and then suddenly you start fully watching it and then it turns out it wasn’t just me, it wasn’t just us, it was millions of people,” explained Manford.
“It was one of the most watched shows on iPlayer. And so now, to then get the call, to ask ‘do you want to be in it?’ and also the fact that I was available to do it, it felt like a real privilege.”
So what about the new character, Steve Savage?
“It’s such a brilliant storyline I remember being on the train when they sent me the synopsis of what was going to happen and I was like ‘Wow, that’s amazing’. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people, I’ve just got a feeling it will be one of those moments where you’re at work the next day, and you’re chatting about it, like ‘oh my god, did you see that?’
“I think Steve Savage is the head teacher that you want at your kid’s school, he’s one of those people who wants the school to be the best and will do what he can. He might cross the odd line, and get a phone call from the education authority to say that he’s gone a bit far but he’s got the best interest of the school at heart.
“Fundamentally, he’s ambitious. He’s a self-made man, from a poor background and from the care system and he’s been told all his childhood that he’ll amount to nothing by the same sort of teachers that he’s now the boss of. So, it was a really interesting character to play because he’s quite a complex man. It would have been easy to come in and just be fun and charismatic and charming but at the centre of him is ambition and when it comes to ambition in the wrong hands and in the wrong circumstances, ambition can be dangerous.”
While Manford admitted he was nervous when he first stepped onto the set, he did know many of the cast.
“I knew Neil Fitzmaurice probably the best because we’re both comedians, and I remember seeing Neil when I was still just washing glasses behind the bar and he was the headline comedian, and obviously went on to write Phoenix Nights with Peter Kay and be in all those things so I’ve known Neil for my whole career.
“Kym Marsh, I’ve known for a long time as well and we’ve always nearly worked together on the odd thing here and there so it’s really nice it’s finally happened. And to have a sort of ‘will they, won’t they’ romantic element to it as well with Kym was great, because I’ve known her so long so it just felt comfortable.
“Adam Thomas, I’ve known for a while too but other than that, it was mostly new people and just getting to know them but it’s such a lovely family there.”
Plus, being a Mancunian, at least there wasn’t a massive commute:
“It was great, I got to stay at home and so I was back home every night and able to hang out with the kids. Even the location stuff, we filmed some scenes right near my mum and dad’s house and they walked down with the dog and came and watched.”
The new series airs on Tuesday 10 September, with all episodes on BBC iPlayer from 6am, and episode one airing on BBC One at 9pm.
