Waterloo Road series 17

Waterloo Road
Series 17
Starring
No. of episodes8
Release
Original networkBBC One
BBC iPlayer
Original release6 January (2026-01-06) –
27 January 2026 (2026-01-27)
Series chronology

The seventeenth series of the British television drama series Waterloo Road commenced airing on 6 January 2026. The series comprises 8 episodes.

Production

Series 17 was announced in August 2024.[1] In December 2025, further details around the series was revealed, with 8 episodes commissioned for the seventeenth series, it also confirmed that Series 17 would premiere on 6 January 2026, with the full series being released on BBC iPlayer prior to transmission.[2]

Casting

The majority of series regulars from the sixteenth series reprised their roles for this series, these included Lindsey Coulson, James Baxter, Jo Coffey, Saira Choudhry, Neil Fitzmaurice, Christopher Jeffers, Rachel Leskovac, Kym Marsh, Jason Merrells, Shauna Shim, and Adam Thomas, portraying Stella Drake, Joe Casey, Wendy Whitwell, Nisha Chandra, Neil Guthrie, Mitch Swift, Coral Walker, Nicky Walters, Jack Rimmer, Valerie Chambers, and Donte Charles.[2]

In November 2024, it was heavily speculated that Denise Welch would reprise her role as Steph Haydock in the series, a role that Welch portrayed between the first and sixth series respectively.[3] In October 2025, her return was officially confirmed by her appearance in a trailer promoting the next series, attached to the end of the sixteenth series.[4]

Additionally, Hollie-Jay Bowes reprises her role as Debs Rafferty from the sixteenth series, as well as Liam Scholes as Noel McManus.[2]

Returning pupils include Fintan Buckard as Stella's grandson Ben Drake, Scarlett Thomas and Summer Violet Bird as Donte's daughter Izzy Charles and Nicky's daughter Tonya Walters, alongside other students including Hattie Dynevor and Lucy Chambers as Neil's daughter Libby and Cat Guthrie, Chiamaka Ulebor, Zak Sutcliffe, Maisie Robinson, Tillie Amartey, Miya Ocego, Sonya Nisa, Aabay Noor Ali, Danny Murphy and Niamh Blackshaw as Shola Aku, school troublemaker Schumacher 'Schuey' Weever, his sister Portia Weever, Stacey 'Stace' Neville, Lois Taylor-Brown, Aleena Qureshi, Mollie 'Mog' Richardson, Luca Smith, and Agnes Eccleston.[2]

Scheduling

The seventeenth series commenced airing on BBC One on 6 January 2026. As with the previous series, two episodes aired the same night each week.[2] As with all previous series of the revival, all episodes were released on BBC iPlayer prior to transmission.[2]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Pupils

  • Scarlett Thomas as Izzy Charles
  • Summer Violet Bird as Tonya Walters
  • Chiamaka Ulebor as Shola Aku
  • Hattie Dynevor as Libby Guthrie
  • Zak Sutcliffe as Schumacher 'Schuey' Weever
  • Tillie Amartey as Stacey 'Stace' Neville
  • Maisey Robinson as Portia Weever
  • Aabay Noor Ali as Mollie 'Mog' Richardson
  • Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi
  • Miya Ocego as Lois Taylor-Brown
  • Danny Murphy as Luca Smith
  • Lucy Chambers as Cat Guthrie
  • Niamh Blackshaw as Agnes Eccleston
  • Alfie Corbett as Forest Sumi
  • Teddy Wallwork as Declan Brown
  • Cory McClane as Ashton Stone
  • Fintan Buckard as Ben Drake
  • Freddy Smith as Freddie Hollister
  • Olivia Booth-Ford as Leoni Tennant
  • Myra-Sofia Iftikhar as Aisha Azzi
  • Sana Ali as Badr Azzi
  • Isha Kaur as Harleen Lamba

Recurring

  • Kerry Howard as Serena Michelle Davies; CEO of Lowry Academies Trust
  • Hollie-Jay Bowes as Debs Rafferty; School cleaner and Nicky's sister
  • Liam Scholes as Noel McManus; School canteen assistant
  • Karl Davies as Anthony Walters; Football coach and Tonya's father

Guest

  • Denise Black as Mo McManus, Noel's grandmother (episode eight)
  • Ryan Clayton as Mike Rutherford, Waterloo Road police officer (episode six)

Episodes

No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions)
247Episode 1[5]Lloyd Eyre-MorganKatie Douglas6 January 2026 (2026-01-06)N/A
248Episode 2[6]Lloyd Eyre-MorganJessica Barnes6 January 2026 (2026-01-06)N/A
249Episode 3[7]Christiana Ebohon-GreenTom Wentworth13 January 2026 (2026-01-13)N/A
250Episode 4[8]Christiana Ebohon-GreenDavey Jones & Eve Steele13 January 2026 (2026-01-13)N/A
251Episode 5[9]Claire TailyourKellie Smith20 January 2026 (2026-01-20)N/A
252Episode 6[10]Claire TailyourJulia Kent20 January 2026 (2026-01-20)N/A
253Episode 7[11]John MaidensNeil Jones27 January 2026 (2026-01-27)N/A
254Episode 8[12]John MaidensJayshree Patel27 January 2026 (2026-01-27)N/A

References

  1. ^ "BBC recommissions hit drama Waterloo Road for two more series". www.bbc.co.uk. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Waterloo Road first look pictures released and January air date confirmed". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Loose Women's Denise Welch set for Waterloo Road return". www.digitalspy.com. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  4. ^ "Waterloo Road's Denise Welch breaks silence on return - and teases iconic reunion". www.digitalspy.com. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Episode 1". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Episode 2". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Episode 3". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Episode 4". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Episode 5". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Episode 6". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Episode 7". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Episode 8". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.