Waterloo Road return date confirmed – as top comedian joins the BBC show
THE return date for Waterloo Road has finally been confirmed, as a top comedian has joined the BBC show.
Jason Manford is best known for his role on the Channel 4 comedy panel show, 8 Out of 10 Cats.
He has also presented significant projects on TV which include stints at The One Show, Show Me the Funny, and Children In Need.
But Jason, 43, is also known for his various acting credits as he has starred in huge West End productions.
The comedian has appeared in the likes of The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Wizard of Oz.
Now, he’s set to take on his biggest role yet as Steve Savage in the BBC reboot.
He’s set to follow in the footsteps of Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrells), and Rachel Mason (Eva Pope) who were the previous head teachers of the fictional school.
He will take the reins as the headmaster of Waterloo Road school when the show returns on Tuesday, September 10.
All of the new episodes will first be available BBC iPlayer from 6am that morning, and the premiere episode will be aired later on BBC One at 9pm.
A post from the show’s official account on X – formerly known as Twitter – gave fans of the long-running show a small sneak peek.
A photo showed Jason in character, dressed in a smart suit, as he is surrounded by a group of rowdy pupils.
The post read: “#WaterlooRoad will return to your screens on Tuesday 10th September. The new series will see the arrival of @JasonManford as our brand new headteacher, Steve Savage,” along with a shocked face emoji.
His character was also described as “a charismatic charmer who impresses everyone he meets and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to achieve the results he wants,” in a description that was provided by the BBC.
However, the series promises to have plenty of drama as both the teachers and the students have to find their feet with the change of the guard.
But a sequence of unfortunate events will turn life upside down for many characters, and the BBC promises there will be “tragic repercussions for everyone.”
Other new additions include Saira Choudhry who will join the cast as Maths teacher Nisha Chandra.
Waterloo road main cast - past and present
Who was part of the main cast of Waterloo Road series 13?
Parents and Staff
- Angela Griffin – Headteacher Kim Campbell
- James Baxter – Deputy Head Joe Casey
- Vincent Jerome – Deputy Head Lindon King
- Ryan Clayton – School security Sergeant Mike Rutherford
- Jo Coffey as PA to headteacher, Wendy Whitwell
- Neil Fitzmaurice – History teacher Neil Guthrie
- Rachel Leskovac – Head of English Coral Walker
- Kym Marsh – School Canteen worker Nicky Walters
- Katherine Pearce – Junior teacher Amy Spratt
- Shauna Shim – Music teacher Valerie Chambers
- Adam Thomas – School caretaker Donte Charles
- Jamie Glover – Former deputy head Andrew Treneman
Pupils
- Noah Valentine – Preston Walters
- Priyasasha Kumari – Samia Choudhry
- Adam Ali – Kai Sharif
- Alicia Forde – Kelly Jo Rafferty
- Francesco Piacentini-Smith – Dean Weever
- Liam Scholes – Noel McManus
- Lucy Eleanor Begg – Caz Williams
- Summer Violet Bird – Tonya Walters
- Scarlett Thomas – Izzy Charles
- Thapelo Ray – Dwayne Jackson
- Inathi Rozani – Zayne Jackson
- Chiamaka Ulebor – Shola Aku
- Hattie Dynevor – Libby Guthrie
- Zak Sutcliffe – Schumacher “Schuey” Weever
- Tillie Amartey – Stacey “Stace” Neville
- Maisie Robinson – Portia Weever
- Aabay Noor Ali – Mollie ‘Mog’ Richardson
- Zanele Nyoni – Jess Clarke
- Teddy Wallwork – Declan Harding
Returning
- Lauren Drummond – Mika Grainger
Who were some of the past notable characters from across the years?
Previous Heads
- Jack Rimmer – Jason Merrells
- Rachel Mason – Eva Pope
- Karen Fisher – Amanda Burton
- Michael Byrne – Alec Newman
- Christine Mulgrew – Laurie Brett
- Vaughan Fitzgerald – Neil Pearson
Notable Teachers
- Drama teacher Izzy Redpath – Jill Halfpenny
- English teacher Tom Clarkson – Jason Done
- English teacher Lorna Dickey – Camilla Power
- English teacher Grantley Budgen – Philip Martin Brown
- French teacher Steph Haydock – Denise Welch
- Deputy Head Eddie Lawson – Neil Morrissey
- Deputy Head Chistopher Mead – William Ash
- Executive Head Max Tyler – Tom Chambers
- Drama and Music teacher Matt Wilding – Chris Geere
- English teacher Jasmine Koreshi – Shabana Bakhsh
- Special needs assistant Davina Shackleton – Christine Tremarco
- Home Economics teacher – Ruby Fry Elizabeth Berrington
- Head of Foreign Languages Jo Lipsett – Sarah-Jane Potts
- Foreign Languages teacher Francesca “Cesca” Montoya – Karen David
- Geography teacher Marcus Kirby – Wil Johnson
- Head of Pastoral Care Adanna Lawal – Sharlene Whyte,
Olly Rhodes will play the son of Jason’s character, Billy Savage, who promises to be full of intelligence and charm.
Nathan Wood joins as Boz Osbourne, Matthew Khan will play Jared Jones, and Danny Murphy plays a new deaf pupil named Luca Smith
Sonya Nisa and Miya Ocego complete the new members of the cast as Aleena Quereshi and Lois Taylor-Brown respectively.
Angella Griffin is not listed among the returning adult cast alongside the likes of Adam Thomas and Kym Marsh.
However, the actress did return to the long-running school drama to direct at least one of the episodes.
Waterloo Road returns to screens on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday 10th September.