‘A brilliant, iconic show’ - Jason Manford confirms new Waterloo Road role

Virgin Radio

27 Feb 2024, 14:59

Comedian Jason Manford is going back to school for the next series of Waterloo Road. 

He’ll swap the stage for the school playground as the new headteacher Steve Savage, who is said to have a “big impact on the staff and pupils” when he takes up his new position, but not without “ruffling a few feathers along the way.”

Jason’s new role does put a question mark on the future of current headteacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), but the BBC promises that fans will “have to wait and see how the storyline plays out.”

Sharing his excitement in a statement, the stand-up star said: “What an absolute treat it is to join the cast and crew of Waterloo Road, right here in my home city of Manchester. My kids and I binged the show on iPlayer during lockdown. 

“It’s such a brilliant, iconic show, so I’m dead proud to now be part of its history. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher and now becoming a headteacher, I know I would have been terrible!"

Meanwhile Cameron Roach, the Executive Producer of Waterloo Road added: “Jason is a phenomenal comic actor, and has fully embraced the tone and spirit of the show, we can't wait for the audience to meet Steve Savage and his son Billy. 

“As with all of our adult cast, Jason has been an inspiring and approachable mentor to our younger cast and crew; we love that a new generation of Northern talent are able to learn their craft alongside brilliant household names. The legacy of Waterloo Road goes from strength to strength.”

Jason won’t be the only newbie on Waterloo Road either, with No Offence star Saira Choudhry joining as maths teacher Nisha Chandra, alongside new students Olly Rhodes as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi, Miya Ocego as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy  as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan as Jared Jones.

Waterloo Road, which has just finished its 13th series, is one of BBC iPlayer’s top three most-watched titles of 2023 among its younger audience of 16-34 year olds, holding this spot alongside Sally Wainwright’s acclaimed drama Happy Valley and the iconic soap EastEnders.

Jason Manford will appear in Waterloo Road's next series - series 14 - coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.