The BBC has ordered 2 new seasons of Greater Manchester school drama, Waterloo Road.
Filming has already begun on the series, which are in addition to the pair of upcoming 8-part series that are set to air on BBC this September and early next year.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see Waterloo Road go from strength to strength – both creatively on screen, where it remains hugely popular with viewers of all ages, as well as behind the scenes developing the next generation of exciting UK television talent. We’re delighted to announce two more series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One,” said Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama.
Waterloo Road returned to screens in January last year after gaining an audience on the iPlayer during lockdown. Since then it’s continued to perform as one of the BBC’s most successful brands on iPlayer, proving especially popular with audiences under the age of 35.
The new productions will continue its commitment to investing in creative talent in the North of England, through specially curated development programmes, including he Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Access x Waterloo Road Directors Programme.
“We’re incredibly thrilled to be recommissioned for a further two seasons of the new era of Waterloo Road. This commitment by the BBC underlines the show’s ability to not only be a compelling entertaining drama for a younger audience, but to also serve as a true talent incubator across the craft skills for a new generation of crew and cast,” added Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road.
“We have been so energised by the audience’s reaction to the show, and our first-hand experience of outreach work with numerous partners, and their level of engagement, really demonstrates the continued importance and power of the show. This really is a huge team effort, and a tangible result to the brilliant collegiate atmosphere behind the scenes – a genuine thank you to everyone involved in Waterloo Road.”
The next series, which airs in September will feature actor and comedian Jason Manford as Steve Savage who becomes the new headteacher of the school. September’s new series will also feature the arrivals of Saira Choudhry (No Offence, Life) as Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road’s newest maths teacher, alongside a host of new students: Olly Rhodes (The Last Kingdom) as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa (Damsel) as Aleena Qureshi, Miya Ocego (Wreck) as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy (The Parts You Lose) as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) as Jared Jones.
Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by Wall to Wall in co-production with Rope Ladder Fiction.
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 Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.
