Waterloo Road has worked with the NSPCC on an upcoming storyline which will tackle grooming.
The BBC school drama, renowned for reflecting real issues affecting young teens, families and schools, sought advice from the NSPCC to ensure that the storyline is portrayed sensitively.
The storyline will show the character of Anthony Walters, (played by Karl Davies), who joins this series as the estranged husband of Nicky Walters, (Kym Marsh), as the school’s football coach, abuse his position of trust to exploit Portia Weever while she’s under his supervision. The storyline is featured “within two episodes” of the upcoming series.
Cameron Roach, founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and executive producer for Waterloo Road said: “Waterloo Road has a strong tradition of highlighting difficult issues young people face. Portia, played by Maisey Robinson, has proven to be one of our most popular new characters, and our writing team felt she could portray a truth around this very difficult subject matter.
“Working with the NSPCC and other experts in the field, we have been able to raise awareness of an important social issue, and demonstrate to young viewers that help, and support are always close at hand if needed.”
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Helen Westerman, NSPCC strategic service manager for local campaigns, added: “Child sexual abuse or exploitation can have lifelong effects on those who experience it, so it is vital that parents, carers and young people know how to identify when something might be wrong.
“Having topics like grooming explored sensitively in flagship shows like Waterloo Road helps share important information with viewers and signpost to essential resources, like the NSPCC Helpline and Childline services, which are available to offer support around the clock.”
Waterloo Road series 17 launches tonight Tuesday 6 January. The full boxset will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am with a double bill of Waterloo Road airing every Tuesday on BBC One at 9pm and the following episode at 10.40pm.
Waterloo Road is set and made in Greater Manchester and produced by the award-winning Wall to Wall in co-production with Rope Ladder Fiction. Lindsay Williams is the series producer. Waterloo Road is executive produced by Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall, and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.
