The BBC has commissioned two more series of Waterloo Road from Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North.
The two 8×60 minute dramas are set to go into production in Greater Manchester later this year.
“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,” said Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road.
“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.”
Waterloo Road has gone from strength-to-strength since it returned to the region. It started out in Rochdale in the early 2000s before production moved to Glasgow in 2012. But in 2015 it was cancelled, with the BBC saying it needed to “make room for new drama series.”
Then Covid hit and Waterloo Road got a second life during lockdown as people rewatched the 10-series run on iPlayer. It returned to Greater Manchester in 2021, co-produced by Cameron Roach’s Rope Ladder and Wall To Wall. Roach was Executive Producer on the drama between 2006 and 2015.
The series remains one of iPlayer’s top performing titles with under 35s.
“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!” added Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama.
During the filming, the production will invest in developing the region’s creative talent through its curated development programmes – the recently announced production development scheme which has already given over 40 trainees paid entry-level work in the TV industry since 2022, and the Discovery (WBD) Access x Waterloo Road Directors Programme which was formed to support and grow the pool of women directors in the North of England.
