The eighth series of the British television drama series, '' Waterloo Road'', began broadcasting on 23 August 2012, and ended on 4 July 2013 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. It consisted of thirty episodes. The series follows the lives of the faculty and pupils of the eponymous school. While a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

in all other series, Waterloo Road is a privately funded

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

for the majority of the eighth series. Production also relocated to

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

beginning with this series. This series shows the final appearance of Tom Clarkson (

Jason Done Jason Done (born 5 April 1973) is an English actor who appeared as Mordred in the 1998 TV miniseries ''Merlin'', opposite Sam Neill. He is best known for his role as Stephen Snow in ITV drama '' Where The Heart Is'' from 1999 to 2001 and Tom C ...

Plot

The show follows the lives of the teachers and the pupils at the eponymous school of Waterloo Road, a failing inner-city comprehensive, tackling a wide range of issues often seen as

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

such as

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period bet ...

fostering Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by th ...

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

coercive control Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

freeganism Freeganism is an ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan". While vegans ...

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

pole-dancing Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

burn injury A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

terminal illness Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

workplace bullying Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm. It can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, and physical abuse, as well as humiliation. T ...

self-harming Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin Tissue (biology), tissues usually without a suicide, suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self ...

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

gender identity disorder Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used unti ...

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

alcoholic hepatitis Alcoholic hepatitis is hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) due to excessive intake of alcohol. Patients typically have a history of at least 10 years of heavy alcohol intake, typically 8-10 drinks per day. It is usually found in association wit ...

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

kidney donation Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...

and

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

Cast and characters

Staff

Alec Newman Alec Newman (born 27 November 1974) is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's ''Dune''. Early life Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father is San ...

as Michael Byrne; Headteacher (28 episodes) *

Laurie Brett Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''. Early and personal life ...

as Christine Mulgrew; Head of English and Acting Headteacher (30 episodes) *

as Tom Clarkson; Deputy Headteacher and English teacher (30 episodes) *

Georgie Glen Georgie Glen is a Scottish actress, known for her film and television work in both dramatic and comedic roles. Among her most popular performances are the running characters of Miss Higgins in the BBC One period drama series ''Call The Midwife ...

as Audrey McFall; Head of History (29 episodes) *

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama ''North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My F ...

as Lorraine Donnegan; School benefactor (27 episodes) *

Melanie Hill Melanie Jane Hill (born 11 January 1962) is a British actress, known for playing Hazel Redfern in ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1985–1986), Aveline in ''Bread'' (1986–1991), Rita Dolan in Kay Mellor drama ''Playing the Field'' (1998–2002), Ma ...

as Maggie Budgen; Home Economics teacher, Senior Canteen Assistant and Housemistress (27 episodes) *

Philip Martin Brown Philip Martin Brown (born 9 July 1956) is a British actor from Manchester. He is known for his long-running portrayal of English teacher Grantly Budgen in the hit BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'', w ...

as Grantly Budgen; English teacher and Housemaster (24 episodes) *

Victoria Bush Victoria Bush (born 15 January 1978) is a British actress and comedian. She is best known for portraying the roles of Tina O'Kane in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' (2001–2006), and Sonya Donnegan in the BBC One school-based dr ...

as Sonya Donnegan; School secretary (22 episodes) *

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...

as Daniel "Chalky" Chalk; Head of Mathematics (20 episodes) *

Heather Peace Heather Mary Peace (born 16 June 1975) is a British actress, musician and LGBT rights activist from Bradford, England. She is best known for her hit role as Nikki Boston in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 2012 to 20 ...

as Nikki Boston; Deputy Headteacher, English teacher and Head of Pupil Referral Unit (20 episodes) *

Jaye Jacobs Emma Jaye Jacobs (born 27 May 1982), known professionally as Jaye Jacobs, is an English actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series '' Holby City'' from 2004 to 2011 and 2017 to 2022 and deput ...

as Sian Diamond; Deputy Headteacher and Head of Science (19 episodes) * Richie Campbell as Ndale Kayuni; School handyman (7 episodes) *

Chelsee Healey Chelsea "Chelsee" Jade Healey (born 6 August 1988) is an English actress. She is known for playing Janeece Bryant in the BBC school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2012), Honey Wright in the BBC medical drama series ''Casualty'' ...

as Janeece Bryant; School secretary (6 episodes) *

Daniela Nardini Daniela Nardini (born 26 April 1968, Largs) is a Scottish actress who played Anna Forbes in the BBC Two television series ''This Life''. The role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress award in 1998 and also earned her a Scottish BAFTA. She won a se ...

as Esther Fairclough; Acting Head of Science (4 episodes) *

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

as George Windsor; Head of Modern Foreign Languages (3 episodes) *

Richard Mylan Richard Mylan (born 24 November 1973) is a Welsh actor and former dancer. He is best known for his roles in ''The Bill'', '' Bad Girls'' and '' Grownups'' as Chris. Early life Mylan was born in Swansea in 1973. There he attended the Birchgrove ...

as Simon Lowsley; Deputy Headteacher and English teacher (2 episodes)

Pupils

Shane O'Meara Shane O'Meara (born 26 April 1992) is an Irish actor, known for his roles as Connor Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'' and Sean Donoghue in the BBC Medical drama, medical soap opera, '' ...

as Connor Mulgrew (30 episodes) * Kirstie Steele as Imogen Stewart (30 episodes) * Kane Tomlinson-Weaver as Harley Taylor (30 episodes) * Rebecca Craven as Rhiannon Salt (28 episodes) * Marlene Madenge as Lula Tsibi (26 episodes) * Tommy Lawrence Knight as Kevin Chalk (23 episodes) *

Carl Au Carl Au (born 24 March 1987) is a British actor, dancer, and singer. Having begun his career aged eleven, he appeared in multiple musical productions, before receiving a scholarship at Arts Educational Schools, London, to study acting and music ...

as Barry Barry (20 episodes) * Brogan Ellis as Kacey Barry (20 episodes) * Abby Mavers as Dynasty Barry (20 episodes) *

Katie McGlynn Katie McGlynn (born 16 July 1993) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jodie "Scout" Allen in '' Waterloo Road'' (2011–2013), Sinead Tinker in ''Coronation Street'' (2013–2020), and Becky Quentin in ''Hollyoaks'' (2021–202 ...

as Jodie "Scout" Allen (20 episodes) * Adiza Shardow as Liberty Gordon (20 episodes) * Taylor Rhys as Jack McAllister (19 episodes) * Paige Meade as Jade Fleming (18 episodes) * Kaya Moore as Phoenix Taylor (12 episodes) * Naveed Choudhry as Tariq Siddiqui (8 episodes) * Benjamin Gur as Angus "Gus" Hancock (8 episodes) * William Rush as Josh Stevenson (7 episodes) *

Georgia Henshaw Georgia Henshaw (born 11 July 1993) is a Welsh actress best known for her roles on British television. Among her leading roles have been those of Rosie, a member of "The Ace Gang" in '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'', and as JJ's love in ...

as Madi Diamond (6 episodes)

Others

Recurring

Zöe Lucker Zöe Elizabeth Lucker (born 11 April 1974) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Sonya Leach in ''Coronation Street'' Tanya Turner in the ITV drama series, ''Footballers' Wives''; Vanessa Gold in the long-running BBC One soap ope ...

as Carol Barry; Mother of the Barry children (8 episodes) *

Ron Donachie Ronald Eaglesham Porter (born 26 April 1956), known professionally as Ron Donachie, is a Scottish actor. He is known for starring as DI John Rebus in the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the Ian Rankin "Rebus" detective novels and for his supporti ...

as Billy Byrne; Michael's terminally ill father (7 episodes) *

Alex Norton Alexander Hugh Norton (born 27 January 1950) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in the STV detective drama series '' Taggart'', Eric Baird in BBC Two sitcom '' Two Doors Down'', DCS Wallace in '' Extremely Dangerou ...

as Gerard Findlay; Headteacher of Havelock High (6 episodes) *

Jody Latham Jody Lee Latham (born 9 January 1983) is an English actor, best known for portraying the roles of Lip Gallagher in the British Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Shameless'', Calum McKenzie in the ITV drama series '' The Fixer'' and Rob Grays ...

as Steve-O Malone; Dynasty's boyfriend (4 episodes) * Jenny Ryan as Sally Stewart; Imogen's mother (3 episodes) * Alisa Anderson as Zoe Foster; Pupil (2 episodes) * Leyla Ogulyaymis as Cheryl Bryant; Janeece's young daughter (2 episodes) *

Lisa Riley Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed Mandy Dingle in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced Jeremy Beadle as ...

as Tina Allen; Scout's mother (2 episodes) *

Shaun Prendergast Shaun Prendergast (born 1958) is an English actor and writer. Career He was born in North Shields and holds a BA Hons from Bretton Hall College. He was an actor and playwright in residence for Northumberland Theatre Company before joining the ...

as Robert Bain; Director of the Department for Education (2 episodes)

Guest

* Mhairi Anderson as Morag Murray; Pupil (1 episode) *

Fraser Ayres Fraser Stuart Ayres (born 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as Clint in the BBC comedy series '' The Smoking Room''. Ayres first joined the youth core at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester and has done other television includ ...

as Duncan Kilty; Owner of a pole-dancing bar (1 episode) *

Patrick Baladi Patrick Bashir Baladi (born 25 December 1971) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for playing Neil Godwin in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', Michael Jackson in the Sky 1 drama '' Stella'' and Stephen Holmes in the ITV thriller ' ...

as Julian Noble; Television presenter for ''Noble Thoughts'' (1 episode) * James Daffern as Ray Keats; Head of Lorraine's call centre and careers advisor (1 episode) * James Doherty as Martin Johnson; School governor (1 episode) *

Nicola Duffett Nicola Duffett (born 22 January 1963) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Debbie Bates on ''EastEnders'' and Cat MacKenzie on ''Family Affairs''. Career Duffett had a supporting role in the Oscar-winning film ''Howards End'' ...

as Daisy Skelton; Kevin's estranged mother (1 episode) * Niall Greig Fulton as Kai Murray; Morag and Ewan's father (1 episode) * Jan Goodman as Maureen Donnegan; Lorraine and Sonya's mother (1 episode) *

Clare Grogan Claire Patricia Grogan (born 17 March 1962), known professionally as Clare Grogan or sometimes as C. P. Grogan, is a Scottish actress and singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980s new wave music group Altered Images, as well as ...

as Sandra Gordon; Liberty's mother (1 episode) * Bill Fellows as Trevor Croft; Maggie's husband (1 episode) * Max Fowler as Drew Kelly; Jade's abusive boyfriend (1 episode) * Gaynor Howe as Sarah Winters; Adoptive mother of Jade's unborn baby (1 episode) * Emmanuel Ighodaro as Kaz Winters; Adoptive father of Jade's unborn baby (1 episode) *

Raji James Rajesh Kumar Jhanji (born 24 February 1970), known professionally as Raji James, is an English actor, known for his roles as Ash Ferreira in '' EastEnders'', DS Vik Singh in ''The Bill'' and Ali Shahzad in ''Hollyoaks''. He also played Abdul ...

as Usman Haq; Owner of Prince of Spices fast food (1 episode) *

Cornell S John Cornell Salmonn John (born 1963) is a British actor who has appeared in various film and television productions since 1999. He is most renowned for his role as Trife's uncle, Curtis, in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adulthood'' (2008) and ...

as Lionel Tsibi; Lula's uncle (1 episode) * Daniel Kerr as Ewan Murray; Pupil (1 episode) *

Pollyanna McIntosh Pollyanna McIntosh (born 15 March 1979) is a Scottish-American actress and director known for her roles in films ''Exam'' (2009), '' The Woman'' (2011), ''Let Us Prey'' (2014), the first season of Joe R. Lansdale's ''Hap and Leonard'' (2016), ...

as Olivia McAllister; Jack's mother (1 episode) * Anna-Maria Nabirye as Cecile Tsibi; Lula's mother (1 episode) * Tachia Newall as Bolton Smilie; Ex-pupil and Army officer (1 episode) *

Derek Riddell Derek Riddell (born 11 January 1967) is a Scottish television and theatre actor. He is best known for the portrayal of Dr. Jamie Patterson in the Channel 4 television series ''No Angels''. He has also guest starred in '' Doctor Who'', ''Ugly B ...

as Joe Mulgrew; Christine's ex-husband (1 episode) *

George Sampson George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United ...

as Kyle Stack; Pupil (1 episode) * Sam Lucas Smith as Fergal Doherty; Pupil (1 episode) * John Kay Steel as Dr. Fielding Granger; Grantly's consultant (1 episode) * Elizabeth Tan as Princess Windsor; George's wife (1 episode) * Vishal Thakur as Nasir Haq; Pupil (1 episode) * John Thomson as Nelson Smith; Phoenix and Harley's father (1 episode) *

Josie Walker Josie Walker is a Northern Irish actress. Career Musicals * The Phantom of the Opera (Manchester, 1992), (London, 1996) * ''Cats'' (English tour, 1995) * ''The Beautiful Game'' (London, 2000) - Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Music ...

as Theresa Doherty; Fergal's mother (1 episode)

Episodes

DVD release

The Autumn Term (episodes 1–10) was released on 4 February 2013. The Spring Term (episodes 11–20) was released on 3 June 2013. The Summer Term (episodes 21–30) was released on 7 October 2013. The Complete Series Eight was released on 15 September 2014.

Footnotes

References

{{Waterloo Road 2012 British television seasons 2013 British television seasons Waterloo Road (TV series)