Waterloo Road season 15: Release date speculation, news and latest updates

Amid the trauma experienced by those in the school, there were some happy moments and resolutions for both staff and pupils alike.

However, when will the school drama return to our screens and who will be appearing in the show? Most importantly, who will be the next headteacher at Waterloo Road?

Here is everything we know about Waterloo Road season 15.

When will Waterloo Road season 15 be released? Our speculation

Waterloo Road season 15 is expected to air in early 2025.

The new episodes have already been filming and the series tends to match the winter and spring terms of real-life school cycles with their releases.

If we learn anything out of the ordinary with the release pattern for the series, we'll be sure to update.

Who could star in Waterloo Road season 15?

*Spoiler warning for Waterloo Road season 14*

Following the exit of Jason Manford, EastEnders alum Lindsey Coulson will be joining the cast as new headteacher Dame Stella Drake.

Dame Stella will replace Steven Savage (Jason Manford) as the headteacher after Savage was arrested for covering up the death of pupil Boz Osbourne at the hands of his son Billy Savage (Olly Rhodes), a scandal which will see Waterloo Road labelled a 'murder school'.

Speaking about joining the show, Coulson said: "I’m delighted to be joining Waterloo Road as the new headteacher, Dame Stella Drake.

"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."

So who do we expect will be joining Lindsey Coulson if she does appear?

• Lindsey Coulson as Dame Stella Drake
• James Baxter as Joe Case
• Ryan Clayton as Mike Rutherford
• Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell
• Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie
• Rachel Leskovac as Coral Walker
• Kym Marsh as Nicky Walters
• Katherine Pearce as Amy Spratt
• Shauna Shim as Valerie Chambers
• Adam Thomas as Donte Charles
• Tom Wells as Marc Todd
• Saira Choudhry as Nisha Chaudra
• Alicia Forde as Kelly-Jo Rafferty
• Francesco Piacentini-Smith as Dean Weaver
• Liam Scholes as Noel McManus
• Summer Violet Bird as Tonya Walters
• Thapelo Ray as Dwayne Jackson
• Chiamaka "ChiChi" Ulebor as Shola Aku
• Hattie Dynevor as Libby Guthrie
• Zak Sutcliffe as Schumacher "Schuey" Weever
• Maisie Robinson as Portia Weever
• Tillie Amartey as Stacey "Stace" Neville
• Aabay Noor Ali as Mollie "Mog" Richardson
• Zenele Nyoni as Jess Clarke
• Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi
• Miya Ocego as Lisa Taylor-Brown
• Danny Murphy as Luca Smith
• Matthew Khan as Jared Jones

We know that Jason Manford will not be reprising his role as headteacher Steven Savage after he was arrested for his role in covering up a student's death last season. It also remains to be seen if we will ever see Olly Rhodes as his troubled son Billy Savage again for the same reasons.

Additionally, despite a guest appearance in the most recent finale, it is unknown whether we get a return for Angela Griffin as the newly married Kim Campbell, but we'll hold out hope!

Finally, we got guest appearances from Adam Ali as Kai Sharif and Priyasasha Kumari as Samia Choudry also in the finale, but the characters are no longer enrolled at Waterloo Road and Noah Valentine's Preston Walters looks set to join Kai for a new life in London at the series' end. Valentine confirmed his exit in a post on Instagram.

He penned "So…series 14 episode 8 is the end of Preston’s story and my time at Waterloo Road and I wanted to say a few thankyou’s. This show has undoubtedly changed my life. The experience I will hold dear to my heart. I’ve learned so much as a person and as an artist, actor, whatever it is you want to call what we do. To say I played a small part of it as a whole is a privilege. Waterloo Road was my life for two years and it’s been a dream.":

Is there a trailer for Waterloo Road season 15?

Yes, we now have a preview video of the first scenes featuring Lindsey Coulson as Dame Stella Drake.

The scenes tease the impact that Dame Stella will have in the new episodes.

Catch the clip above.

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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