FIRST LOOK Waterloo Road

It's back to school as Waterloo Road returns for its 16th series!

BBC One has finally confirmed that Waterloo Road will return for its 16th series in Tuesday 23rd September, with two episodes every week, at 9pm and then again 10.40pm.

The new series of Waterloo Road marks the arrival of Jon Richardson as the school’s new media studies teacher, Darius Donovan. With tons of charm, this new teacher knows how to put on a good show, and viewers can expect his arrival to stir things up at Waterloo Road.

The series will also introduce students, newcomer Fintan Buckard and Savannah Kunyo as Ben and Hope Drake, with Christine Bottomley appearing as Sam Drake. The grand-children and daughter of Dame Stella Drake, who made waves as the new headteacher of Waterloo Road in series 15.

This September, Headteacher Stella is forced to navigate a fresh set of challenges, and this family dynamic will undoubtedly alter her approach on how she manages things, as well as relationships with students and fellow teachers. With another tragedy on the horizon, the choices of some of Waterloo Road’s own will have some life-changing consequences.

Christopher Jeffers will also be joining Waterloo Road as Mitch Swift, the new SenCo lead (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator), as well as welcoming back Jason Merrells, who will be reprising his role as Jack Rimmer, Waterloo Road’s first ever head, as the new school counsellor. Both will do whatever it takes to help the students of Waterloo Road who need the most support

This series of Waterloo Road will also feature a full on-location episode, directed by Angela Griffin. The episode will see more familiar faces return as the Waterloo Road student-body heads xto the local estate to participate in a community clean-up that doesn’t quite go to plan.

Also directing episodes this series are Lloyd Eyre Morgan, Ruth Carney, Jesse Quinones, and Mike Lacey.

Known to explore real-life topics affecting teens, families and school staff today, all with Waterloo Road’s trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth and wit, the new series will explore topics including the cost-of-living crisis, addiction, support systems, mental health, exam anxiety, allergies management and grief.

Recently, it was announced that the series has been recommissioned for two more series, which begin filming this month.

The returning parent and teacher cast include Adam Thomas as Donte Charles, Hollie-Jay Bowes as Debs Rafferty, James Baxter as Joe Casey, Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell, Kym Marsh as Nicky Walters, Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie, Rachel Leskovac as Coral Walker, Ryan Clayton as Mike Rutherford and Shauna Shim as Valerie Chambers.

The returning student cast include Aabay Noor Ali as Mollie "Mog" Richardson, Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor as Shola Aku, Danny Murphy as Luca Smith, Hattie Dynevor as Libby Guthrie, Liam Scholes as Noel McManus, Maisey Robinson as Portia Weever, Miya Ocego as Lois Taylor-Brown, Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi, Summer Violet Bird as Tonya Walters, Thapelo Ray as Dwayne Jackson, Tillie Amartey as Stacey "Stace" Neville and Zak Sutcliffe as "Schuey" Weever.

Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North, with Lindsay Williams as Series Producer and executive producers Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction and Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall.

Waterloo Road returns Tuesday 23rd September at 9pm and 10.40pm on BBC One