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Jason Manford joins Waterloo Road | Playing new headeacher Steve Savage © BBC

Jason Manford joins Waterloo Road

Playing new headeacher Steve Savage

Jason Manford is to join the cast of Waterloo Road, playing new headteacher Steve Savage.

The comic will take up the role when the school drama returns for its 14th series later this year, the BBC has announced.

And the broadcaster says: ‘While Manford's new role as headteacher will leave fans questioning how the future looks for current headteacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), viewers will have to wait and see how the storyline plays out.’

 Manford 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!’

Executive producer Cameron Roach added: ’We're thrilled that Jason Manford is joining Waterloo Road.

‘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'. 

The series was revived last year after an eight-year hiatus, originally running for ten series from 2006 to 2015. The third series of the revived run ended on BBC One last night.

Earlier this month Chortle reported how Manford is to host a new daytime TV show, The Answer Run, for BBC  One. The format is based on 50/50 decisions where each question can only fit into one of the two answers, such as ‘Beyonce or Barbie’  or ‘football or basketball’.

The comic – who previously hosted the quiz show Unbeatable – said ‘It’s fast paced, full of jeopardy and requires contestants to be able to make split-second decisions. But I promise we’ll have a laugh too.'

 Also joining Waterloo Road in the next series is Saira Choudhry as Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road's newest maths teacher, alongside a raft of 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. 

Returning cast include Adam Thomas, Kym Marsh and Neil Fitzmaurice.

The official Waterloo Road X account posted this to announce today's news:

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Published: 27 Feb 2024

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