New faces for Waterloo Road

The fifth series of BBC’s Waterloo Road will see several new additions to the cast. Along with the previously announced Tom Chambers actors Will Ash, Sarah Jane Potts, Elizabeth Barrington and Vinette Robinson will join the cast of the School drama.

There are new faces both in the staff room and in the playground as school drama Waterloo Road returns to BBC One. Strictly Coming Dancing winner and Holby City star Tom Chambers joins the cast as Max Tyler, a new Executive Head brought in to oversee a merger between Waterloo Road and local private school John Fosters.

Will Ash (Dr Who, Lilies, Sold, Burn It) is Christopher Mead, the new Deputy Head, with Sarah Jane Potts (Casualty, Sugar Rush, Bodies) as Jo Lipsett, the new Head of French. Elizabeth Berrington (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Apparitions, Moving Wallpaper) is Ruby Fry, food technology teacher and domestic goddess, who tries to teach the pupils some manners.

Vinette Robinson (Hope Springs, The Passion) also joins the teaching staff as Helen Hopewell, a newly qualified teacher who soon finds out that Waterloo Road is nothing like what she was taught during teacher training.In the classroom tensions are raised by Lindsay James, a troubled teenager played Jenna Louise Coleman (Emmerdale), who enters into a battle for power with Michaela White for supremacy in the playground.

The new series also sees a welcome return for Waterloo Road regulars Eva Pope, Jason Done, Denise Welch, Angela Griffin, Philip Martin Brown, Zarrah Abrahams, Lucy Dixon and Dean Smith. Waterloo Road is a Shed Production for BBC Scotland. The Executive Producer is Sharon Hughff and the Executive Producer for the BBC is Gaynor Holmes. The series has been commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning.