Waterloo Road's Jason Manford defends Steve Savage: 'He's had a positive influence'

After the now ex-headmaster encouraged Billy (Olly Rhodes) to stand up to "Schuey" (Zak Sutcliffe) following weeks of relentless bullying, the teen took his advice and laid a trap for his tormentor by stringing wire across a dark towpath ahead of his imminent arrival.

But in an unfortunate twist, it was "Boz" (Nathan Wood) who was sent flying, as "Schuey" spent the evening with his sister, the impact of which killed him outright.

A panicked Billy then called his dad who, after arriving and assessing the scene, decided that the best course of action would be to dispose of the body and forget the sorry incident had ever happened.

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But despite his highly illegal actions, Manford has said that Steve wasn't all bad.

"I think he's had a positive influence on the school as a head teacher, some of the things he's implemented, changing it into an academy, the belief that he had in the teachers," he told RadioTimes.com.

"But unfortunately, because of his actions, he won't ever be remembered for any of that stuff.

"He'll always be a sort of, what's the word I'm looking for, not legend, but a sort of Waterloo Road story that if it was a real school, even in 20 years time, they'd be like, 'Do you remember that time a head teacher did that?'"

Manford went on to say that he played Steve "in a way where he's three dimensional, he's got layers to him, and you're not sure which way he's going [when you first meet him]".

"He wants to do his best," he continued. "He probably wants to be in charge of the academy at some point, maybe even go into politics."

The comedian also said that initially, people on social media seemed to "really like Steve Savage".

"He's the head teacher that you'd probably want at your kids school," he added.

But he won't be back for season 15 following his wrongdoing, with EastEnders legend Lindsey Coulson stepping into his shoes.

"I'm delighted to be joining Waterloo Road as the new headteacher, Dame Stella Drake," she said in an official statement.

"It's a role I haven't played before so I'm really enjoying peeling back the layers of who Stella is and seeing how the teachers and students react to her no-nonsense approach. Waterloo Road tackles social issues head on which is so important to see on television and this series will be no different."

The upcoming instalment is expected to air in early 2025.

Waterloo Road season 15 will begin airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2025. Seasons 1 to 14 are currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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