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

But, with Waterloo branded as the 'murder school', she'll have her work cut out when it comes to cleaning up the school's act, especially when two blasts from the past show up.

So, what – and who – does she have to contend with? And when can we expect to see it unfold on screen? Read on for everything we know about Waterloo Road season 15.

Waterloo Road season 15 release date

Waterloo Road season 15 will land on Tuesday 11th February 2025.

All eight episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer from 6am, and will air weekly on BBC One at 9pm.

Who stars 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 (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."

She'll be joined by a couple of familiar faces – former headteacher Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrell) and former student Celine Stone (Zeriozha Annika), both of whom last appeared on the show back in season 3.

Rimmer was last seen trying (and failing) to win back Davina before returning to his teaching post in Dubai, while the latter disappeared after announcing her teen pregnancy.

Celine's presence, and that of her son Ashton's, is sure to throw a spanner in the works for aspiring teacher, and Celine's old flame, Donte Charles (Adam Thomas).

The BBC has also confirmed a whole slew of new and returning cast members, including Lucy Chambers (The Bay, Silverpoint) joining as Libby Gutherie's sister Cat, Niamh Blackshaw (The Jetty, Coronation Street) as devoted Christian student Agnes Eccleston, while Lauren Patel (Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Everybody's Talking About Jamie) stars as teacher Jas Sharma, daughter of teacher Nisha Chandra.

Here's a full list of confirmed cast members:

• Lindsey Coulson as Dame Stella Drake
• Jason Merrell as Jack Rimmer
• Zeriozha Annika as Celine Stone
• Cory McClane as Ashton Stone
• James Baxter as Joe Case
• Hollie-Jay Bowers as Debs Rafferty
• 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
• Lauren Patel as Jas Sharma
• 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
• Lucy Chambers as Cat Guthrie
• Niamh Blackshaw as Agnes Eccleston
• Zak Sutcliffe as Schumacher 'Schuey' Weever
• Maisie Robinson as Portia Weever
• Tillie Amartey as Stacey 'Stace' Neville
• Aabay Noor Ali as Mollie 'Mog' Richardson
• Zanele 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 also got guest appearances from Adam Ali as Kai Sharif and Priyasasha Kumari as Samia Choudry 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 season's 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 on Tuesday 11th February at 9pm, with all episodes on iPlayer from 6am that day. Seasons 1 to 14 are currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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