Waterloo Road season 17 start date confirmed with first look pictures as iconic character makes big comeback

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The BBC has announced that the new series of Waterloo Road will premiere on January 16th, with eight episodes available to watch right away.

With a new school year starting, there are both new and returning staff members. Experienced teacher Steph Haydock (played by Denise Welch) steps in to help temporarily and quickly demonstrates her skills by resolving a student issue.

The last season ended with a hint of what’s to come: Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson), the scheming media teacher, was made deputy head. Now, everyone believes Hope Drake’s (Savannah Kunyo) death was an accident, but Darius was actually responsible. How long can he keep his secret hidden?

As prom season begins at Waterloo Road, romance is blossoming. It looks like Stace Neville and Noel McManus are set to get married!

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Viewers of Coronation Street might recognize the new football coach, Anthony, as Karl Davies, who previously played Robert Sugden in Emmerdale. Davies took over the role of Robert in the early 2000s and is now Nicky Walters’s (Kym Marsh) ex-husband in the show.

When Anthony reconnects with Nicky, who is coming back to the school in a different position, and their daughter Tonya (Summer Violet Bird), expect some drama to unfold.

Future episodes will also delve into difficult subjects like exploitation, grief, and addiction.

The cast includes newcomers like Myra-Sofia Iftikhar, known for her role in The Dumping Ground as Aisha Azzi, and Freddy Smith, also from The Dumping Ground, playing Freddie Hollister. He forms a connection with Luca Smith, portrayed by Danny Murphy. Olivia Booth-Ford, who appeared in The Enfield Poltergeist, joins the group as the troubled character Leoni Tennant.

Returning Waterloo Road staff

  • Adam Thomas as Donte Charles
  • Christopher Jeffers as Mitch Swift
  • Hollie-Jay Bowes as Debs Rafferty
  • James Baxter as Joe Casey
  • Jason Merrells as Jack Rimmer
  • Jon Richardson as Darius Donovan
  • Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell
  • Kym Marsh as Nicky Walters
  • Lindsey Coulson as Dame Stella Drake
  • Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie
  • Rachel Leskovac as Coral Walker
  • Shauna Shim as Valerie Chambers
  • Saira Jackson as Nisha Chandra

Returning Waterloo Road students

  • Aabay Noor Ali as Mog Richardson
  • Cory McClane as Ashton Stone
  • ChiChi Ulebor as Shola Aku
  • Danny Murphy as Luca Smith
  • Hattie Dynevor as Libby Guthrie
  • Liam Scholes as Noel McManus
  • Lucy Chambers as Cat Guthrie
  • Maisey Robinson as Portia Weever
  • Miya Ocego as Lois Taylor-Brown
  • Niamh Blackshaw as Agnes Eccleston
  • Scarlett Thomas as Izzy Charles
  • Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi
  • Summer Violet Bird as Tonya Walters
  • Tillie Amartey as Stace Neville
  • Zak Sutcliffe as Schuey Weever

The new season of Waterloo Road (season 17) starts on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Tuesday, January 6th. You can watch the first two episodes on BBC One that same evening at 9pm and 10:40pm. All previous seasons are already available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Authors

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, providing the latest news and spoilers for popular shows like Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and even gained on-set experience with both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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2025-12-11 18:06