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.

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Waterloo Road has given the first sneak peek at Jason Manford as headmaster Steve Savage[/caption]

BBC

He will star alongside returning cast members Adam Thomas and Kym Marsh[/caption]

BBC

Angela Griffin returned to the long-running series to direct[/caption]

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The BBC promised there will be plenty of drama[/caption]

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.

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.

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The new headmaster is described as a ‘charismatic charmer who impresses everyone’[/caption]

Wall To Wall/Rope Ladder Fiction/Kate Bones/Matt Burlem

Both staff and pupils will have to deal with a changing of the guard[/caption]

BBC

However, the school will suffer at the hands of a series of unfortunate incidents[/caption]

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Series 14 promises to have tragic repercussions for everyone at the school[/caption]

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Returning pupils include Liam Scholes and Noah Valentine as Noel McManus and Preston Walters respectively[/caption]

Waterloo Road returns to screens on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday 10th September.