The ninth series of the British television drama series '' Waterloo Road'' began airing on 5 September 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 ...

and ended on 12 March 2014. The series follows the lives of the staff and pupils of the eponymous school, a troubled Scottish

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 ...

. It consists of twenty episodes. This series also marks the departure of Grantly Budgen (

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 ...

), the last of the original cast members.

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

drug dealing The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

sexting Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21st ...

catfishing Catfishing is a deceptive activity in which a person creates a fictional persona or fake identity on a social networking service, usually targeting a specific victim. The practice may be used for financial gain, to compromise a victim in so ...

stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

prescription drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

identity fraud Identity fraud is the use by one person of another person's personal information, without authorization, to commit a crime or to deceive or defraud that other person or a third person. Most identity fraud is committed in the context of financial ad ...

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

and

empty nest syndrome Empty nest syndrome is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents may feel when their children move out of the family home, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition. Since young adults movin ...

Cast and characters

Staff

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; Headteacher (19 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 (20 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; Deputy Headteacher and Head of Modern Foreign Languages (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; Head of Pupil Referral Unit and English teacher (20 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 and Housemistress (20 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 (20 episodes) * Vanessa Hehir as Sue Lowsley; Science teacher (20 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 (20 episodes) *

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 o ...

as Carol Barry; Canteen assistant and mother of the Barry children (12 episodes) *

Leon Ockenden Leon Ockenden (born 16 August 1978) is an English actor, director and writer who works in TV, film, theatre and radio. He grew up in the resort town of Looe, Cornwall. He is best known for his role as Norman Jayden in ''Heavy Rain''. Career Ocke ...

as Hector Reid; Head of Physical Education (10 episodes) *

as Grantly Budgen; English teacher and Housemaster (4 episodes) * Elizabeth Tan as Princess Windsor; Mandarin Teaching Assistant and George's wife (3 episodes)

Pupils

* Mark Beswick as Darren Hughes (20 episodes) * Rebecca Craven as Rhiannon Salt (20 episodes) * Abby Mavers as Dynasty Barry (20 episodes) * Kirstie Steele as Imogen Stewart (20 episodes) * Kane Tomlinson-Weaver as Harley Taylor (20 episodes) * Caitlin Gillespie as Lisa Brown (19 episodes) * Je'Taime Morgan Hanley as Shaznay Montrose (19 episodes) * Tommy Lawrence Knight as Kevin Chalk (19 episodes) * Joe Slater as Lenny Brown (19 episodes) * Marlene Madenge as Lula Tsibi (17 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 (16 episodes) *

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 (15 episodes) * Christopher Chung as Archie Wong (12 episodes) * Brogan Ellis as Kacey Barry (12 episodes) *

Naomi Battrick Naomi Faye Battrick (born 11 April 1991) is an English actress. Career She was born in Kettering Northamptonshire and her first television appearance was in a guest role on ''The Bill'' as Miranda Roscoe, following which she won the part of 15- ...

as Gabriella Wark (10 episodes)

Others

Recurring

* Kristin Atherton as Vix Spark; Sue's sister and Nikki's fiancée (10 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 and Sue and Vix's father (4 episodes) *

Sophie Skelton Sophie Alexandra Skelton (born 7 March 1994) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Brianna Fraser in the Starz drama series '' Outlander''. Biography Skelton was born and raised in Woodford, Greater Manchester, the daughter o ...

as Eve Boston; Nikki's estranged daughter (2 episodes) *

Connie Hyde Connie Skov Hyde (born 15 November 1969) is an English actress. Hyde was born to an English father and Danish mother. She grew up in Haslingden in Rossendale, Lancashire. She is best known for playing PC Cathy Bradford in ''The Bill'' from 2 ...

as Amelia Wark; Gabriella's mother (2 episodes) * Sarah Niles as Cecile Tsibi; Lula's mother (2 episodes)

Guest

* Tomasz Aleksander as Josef Kowalski; Shopkeeper (1 episode) *

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; Former Mathematics teacher and Kevin's adoptive father (1 episode) *

Daniel Brocklebank Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is a British actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (2014 ...

as Stuart Cooper; Nikki's ex-husband and Eve's father (1 episode) * Naveed Choudhry as Tariq Siddiqui; Ex-pupil (1 episode) *

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children (TV series), Not in Front of the Children'', ''...And Mother Makes Three'', ''...And M ...

as Marjorie Windsor; George's mother (1 episode) * Nicola Jo Cully as Avril Mack; Stevie's mother (1 episode) * Charles De'Ath as Vincent Wark; Gabriella's father (1 episode) *

Keeley Forsyth Keeley Forsyth is an English actress and musician. She has released the albums ''Debris'' (2020) and '' Limbs'' (2022). Acting Forsyth's first acting role was as Nicky in the BBC children's television series '' The Biz'' in 1995, appearing a ...

as Sammy Hughes; Darren's mother (1 episode) * Grant Gillen as Stevie Mack; Pupil (1 episode) * John Kazek as Mr. Kowalski; Shop owner (1 episode) *

Duncan Pow Duncan Pow (born October 8 1977) is a Scottish actor. He is known in the United Kingdom for television roles in the Sky 1 series ''Dream Team'', and the BBC One series '' Holby City''. He is known internationally for his role in the '' Star Wa ...

as Jim Ronsley/"Frankie McGregor"; Fraudulent supply teacher (1 episode) *

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also a ...

as Sergeant Major Lawrence Brown; Lenny and Lisa's estranged grandfather (1 episode) * Jenny Ryan as Sally Stewart; Governor and Imogen's mother (1 episode) * James Young as Larry Brown; Lenny and Lisa's older brother (1 episode)

Episodes

Footnotes

References

{{Waterloo Road 2013 in British television 2014 in British television 2013 British television seasons 2014 British television seasons Waterloo Road (TV series)