Waterloo Road is back! Preview what's in store.

Waterloo Road is back, this Tuesday 23 September 2025 on BBC One and iPlayer! Here, we preview what's in store.

First up at 8pm, Schuey and Agnes cause uproar when they rebel against Stella’s new rules. New teacher Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson) arrives and shakes up the staffroom, while Jack Rimmer returns to tackle the troubles of a new generation on his first day as school counsellor. Cat and Izzy lock horns over the school’s new addition, and Stella is distracted as she struggles to integrate her estranged grandkids at the school.

Then, in a second episode at 10.40pm(!), Ashton takes drastic measures to help Donte when he’s plunged into crippling debt. Meanwhile, Stella and Ben clash as the school welcomes a cohort of year six students, and Debs is excited to step into Wendy’s shoes for the day. Nicky is forced to get involved when things get out of hand. Elsewhere, Jack tries to help Libby settle back into school life when she clashes with Aleena.

The brand new series sees comedian Jon Richardson join the cast. Jon Richardson says: "I would say that joining Waterloo Road is a dream come true, but in truth most of my dreams about school revolve around not having done my homework or put on my uniform. I wanted to be a teacher growing up so hopefully this role will put all those ambitions to bed, and I can stop telling my friends and family that I will be testing them on what I’ve been saying or telling audiences on tour that it’s their own time they’re wasting."

Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road says: “Waterloo Road always strives to strike the right balance between big emotion and comedy, and we feel we've struck gold in casting Jon Richardson as a new media studies teacher at Waterloo Road. Not only does Jon have brilliant comic timing, his dramatic performance will surprise and delight his fans in equal measure. Next term promises laughter, tears and whole lot of mayhem.”

Jon joins Lindsey Coulson, who will continue in her role as Dame Stella Drake, Waterloo Road’s new head, and Jason Merrells, who reprised his role as Jack Rimmer as a guest in the most recent series and will return as a regular main cast member in the next series.

Waterloo Road is a big hit for the BBC, and the corporation has already ordered another series after this one airs.

Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road says: 'When the BBC commissioned the reboot of Waterloo Road we had hoped it might run for a few seasons, but to be commissioned for further series, bringing the total episodes since relaunch to seventy hours, is a huge achievement and a reflection of the incredible creative teams in front of and behind the camera. As well as continuing to celebrate emerging talent, the show is fast gaining a reputation for working with the best comedy talent, as Jon Richardson joins the cast this season. As a team we're incredibly proud that a very British show can be such an enduring success for the BBC and continue to bring in new generations of viewers.'

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: “I’m delighted that Waterloo Road will be opening its corridors once again, with two more series of the hit drama about to start filming. The show continues to entertain the audience who love to follow both the staff and pupils and, with a new series heading to BBC iPlayer and BBC One next month, they don’t have long to wait!”