The hit long-running drama will return to BBC One later this year for the first time since 2015.
Following the news that Angela Griffin would be returning as Kim Campbell who is now Headteacher of the school, alongside Adam Thomas and Katie Griffiths as Donte and Chlo Charles, it has been announced that Kym Marsh is joining the cast as Nicky Walters, a mother to two pupils and school canteen worker.
Speaking about joining Waterloo Road, Kym Marsh said "I’m thrilled to be joining the fabulous cast of Waterloo Road, it’s such a joy to get the opportunity to film in Manchester again and I can’t wait to get going!"
Kym Marsh will be joined by Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell, PA to Headteacher Kim Campbell, while Vincent Jerome and James Baxter will play joint Deputy Heads Lindon King and Joe Casey.
Fellow cast members include Sonia Ibrahim as the school's social worker Jamilah Omar, Shauna Shim as music teacher Valerie Chambers, Neil Fitzmaurice as the school’s history teacher Neil Guthrie, Katherine Pearce as early-career teacher Amy Spratt and Rachel Leskovac as Head of English Coral Walker.
The young actors who will play the pupils in the school are yet to be announced and the upcoming series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
Speaking about today's casting announcement, Executive Producer Cameron Roach said "We’re incredibly excited to announce our new cast, and we believe that alongside the return of Kim Campbell we’re creating some new iconic characters for the next generation of Waterloo Road. We look forward to the audience joining them in the staff room."
The first episodes are written by Liz Lake, Neil Jones and Lisa Holdsworth with Waterloo Road working closely with BBC Writersroom to run a shadow writers’ scheme and a shadow directors’ scheme in the coming months.
Diane Ferrier is Story Producer, who leads a story team of new and established talent including Yasmin Ali, Amy Coombes, Ethan Deplitch, Georgia Ince, Nana-Kofi Kufuor, Hannah Lee and Joe Morris.
The lead Director is Jesse Quinones, with later blocks being directed by Paulette Randall and Makalla McPherson, alongside Series Producer for Wall to Wall Media Lindsay Williams and Producer Adam Leatherland.
Originally airing on the BBC from 2006 to 2015, Waterloo Road was one of the UK’s most popular and longest-running TV dramas, with an impressive alumni of dynamic characters and award-winning storylines.
Such is the show’s enduring popularity, it has drawn both loyal and new, young and diverse audiences since it dropped as a boxset on BBC iPlayer in September 2019, and last month ranked among the top ten most-watched shows on iPlayer in 2021.
The new series of Waterloo Road will use its rich history of telling entertaining and gripping human stories while tackling the important issues of the day.
Waterloo Road will air later this year on BBC One