Waterloo Road, the BBC’s hit Stockport school drama, is set to welcome Lindsey Coulson (EastEnders, The Bay) as its new headteacher following the downfall of previous headteacher Steve Savage, played by Jason Manford.
Coulson will make her debut as Dame Stella Drake in the next series of Waterloo Road when it returns to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025.
Fans of the show will have seen Savage and his son Billy’s dark secret catch up with them at the end of the most recent series, as they were outed for murdering Boz Osbourne. The homicidal head honcho’s arrest means that Waterloo Road is once again left without a headteacher, and is trying to shake off its reputation as the ‘murder school.’
Once the darling of the Ofsted ranks, Dame Stella found herself knocked off her pedestal thanks to her cutting words about parental incompetence going viral, but her uncompromising work ethic, strict moral compass and no-nonsense approach makes her the perfect candidate to reform Waterloo Road.
The dame joins the school as the students become increasingly unruly following the effects of last term and she soon feels out of date as she clashes with the school’s modern pastoral approach. Her unfiltered honesty is both endearing and abrasive. She tells it as it is and although her intent is to inspire positive change, her methods can sometimes ruffle feathers.
She might have the students’ best interests at heart, but soon her personal life spills over into the professional and fans will be left wondering what skeletons she could be hiding?
Coulson said: “I’m delighted to be joining Waterloo Road as the new headteacher, Dame Stella Drake. It’s a role I haven’t played before so I’m really enjoying peeling back the layers of who Stella is and seeing how the teachers and students react to her no-nonsense approach. Waterloo Road tackles social issues head on which is so important to see on television and this series will be no different.”
Cameron Roach, executive producer of Waterloo Road and founder of Rope Ladder Fiction, said: “We’re really thrilled that Lindsey Coulson is joining Waterloo Road, she has absolutely embraced the spirit and ethos of the show, and she completely inhabits the role of Dame Stella Drake, we can’t wait for the audience to meet her. The fact that the show has attracted an actor of Lindsey’s calibre is testament to the continued ambition and commitment from our writing and story teams, as well as our brilliant cast and crew.”
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, added: “It’s a real honour to have an actor of Lindsey Coulson’s calibre take the reins at Waterloo Road. Dame Stella Drake is a force to be reckoned with, and we know fans of all ages are going to love watching her.”
Filmed and set in Greater Manchester, Waterloo Road has cemented itself as one of the top performing shows on BBC iPlayer for under 35s and continues to highlight real-life topics affecting teens, families and schools through its storylines. More information on the next series will be announced in due course. in the meantime, audiences can stream all episodes of Waterloo Road so far on BBC iPlayer.
Waterloo Road is a Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North co-production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. 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.
