Waterloo Road (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waterloo Road
Title card (2023–present)
Genre	School drama
Created by	Ann McManus Maureen Chadwick
Starring	Full cast
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	12
No. of episodes	214 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Yorke (series 1) Anne Mensah (series 1–3) Kathryn Mitchell (series 1) Brian Park (series 1–4, 9–10) Ann Harrison-Baxter (series 2) Spencer Campbell (series 3–4) Gaynor Holmes (series 4–8, 10–present) Ann McManus (series 4–6) Sharon Hughff (series 5–7) Sarah Brandist (series 6–7) Lis Steele (series 6) Claire Ingham (series 7) Cameron Roach (series 7–8, 11–) Claire Mundell (series 9) Johann Knobel (series 10) John Griffin (series 10) Jo McClellan (series 11–)
Production location(s)	Greater Manchester, England (series 1–7, 11–) Greenock, Scotland (series 8–10)
Running time	58–87 minutes
Production company(s)	Shed Productions (series 1–10) BBC Scotland (series 8–10) Wall to Wall (series 11–) Rope Ladder Fiction (series 11–)
Release
Original network	BBC One (2006–2014, 2023–present) BBC Three (2015)
Picture format	DVB-T 576i 16:9 (2006–2009) HDTV 1080i (2009–2015)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	Original series: 9 March 2006 (2006-03-09) – 9 March 2015 (2015-03-09) Revival series: 3 January 2023 (2023-01-03) – present (present)

Waterloo Road is a popular British TV show about a school. It's a drama series that first aired on BBC One on 9 March 2006. The original show finished on 9 March 2015.

In September 2021, the BBC decided to bring the show back! New episodes started filming in the Greater Manchester area. After the twelfth series, the BBC announced that Waterloo Road would return for two more series.

About Waterloo Road School

Waterloo Road is set in a school that shares its name. The show focuses on the daily lives of the students and the teachers. It explores their challenges and triumphs.

Ann McManus, one of the show's creators, came up with the idea. She wanted to make a drama that felt real for "ordinary people in Britain today." The show often looks at important topics happening in the UK. It shows how these issues affect people in a school setting.

How the Show Was Made

Early Days and Filming Locations

The first Waterloo Road school was the former Hill Top Community Primary School in Kirkholt, Rochdale.

The first series of Waterloo Road had eight episodes. It aired from March to April 2006. The show was so popular that it was brought back for a second series. This one had twelve episodes.

From series three to six, each series had twenty episodes. Series five was the first to be filmed in high definition (HD).

The show was filmed in Rochdale, England, for its first seven series. Then, it moved to Greenock, Scotland, for series eight to ten. The very first episode aired on 9 March 2006. The last episode of the original run aired on 9 March 2015.

From Series 8 to 10, the show was filmed at the former Greenock Academy in Greenock, Scotland.

In 2023, Waterloo Road returned for its eleventh series. It is now set back in Greater Manchester. The new series features many new characters. However, some familiar faces from the past have also returned. The first episode of the new series aired on 3 January 2023. All episodes were available to watch online on BBC iPlayer on the same day.

The school building used in Rochdale was taken down after filming ended in 2011. Now, houses stand where the school once was. For most of series eight, the school in the show was an independent school. This was different from the first seven series, where it was a comprehensive school.

Who Are the Characters?

Waterloo Road has a large group of main characters. These are usually the school staff members. Some actors stayed on the show for a very long time. These include Philip Martin Brown (who played Grantly Budgen), Jason Done (who played Tom Clarkson), and Chelsee Healey (who played Janeece Bryant).

The first group of teachers included Headteacher Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrells). There was also Deputy Headteacher Andrew Treneman (Jamie Glover). Other teachers were Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), Grantly Budgen (Philip Martin Brown), Lorna Dickey (Camilla Power), Tom Clarkson (Jason Done), Steph Haydock (Denise Welch), and Izzie Redpath (Jill Halfpenny).

Some of the first student characters were Donte Charles (Adam Thomas), Chlo Grainger (Katie Griffiths), Janeece Bryant (Chelsee Healey), Yasmin Deardon (Rhea Bailey), Mika Grainger (Lauren Drummond), and Lewis Seddon (Craig Fitzpatrick).

Episodes Guide

Many people watched Waterloo Road. For example, the last episode of series 3 was watched by 6 million viewers. The final episodes of series 4 and 5 each had 4.5 million viewers.

The last episode of the original series (series 10) aired on 9 March 2015. This was exactly nine years after the very first episode.

Awards and Recognitions

Waterloo Road has won several awards over the years. It has also been nominated for many others. This shows how popular and well-loved the show is!

See also

In Spanish: Waterloo Road para niños