Alex Norton to join Waterloo Road

Scottish actor Alex Norton is to join the cast of BBC One drama Waterloo Road.

Norton is probably best known for his role of DCI Matthew Burke in STV/ITV‘s crime drama Taggart. The future of Taggart is currently up in the air as while ITV have axed it STV are keen to continue the series and are seeking co-producers to fund further seasons.  While Taggart remains on hiatus Norton has been cast in BBC One drama Waterloo Road reports the Sunday Mail. The actor will play the headmaster of a rival private school and will clash with Michael Byrne (Alec Newman).

‘Alex will be joining as the character Gerard Findlay, the headmaster of rival school Havelock High….He has a very different philosophy to ­teaching from Michael and they are going to clash and butt heads. A lot of the local pupils will be attracted to Waterloo Road at the expense of the roll call at Havelock and that’s going to get right up his nose.’ – Gaynor Holmes, acting head of drama for BBC Scotland, speaking to the Sunday Mail.

The BBC announced last year that production on Waterloo Road would relocate from Rochdale to Scotland with a further 50 episodes commissioned, to air over a two-year period, as part of the relocation. Waterloo Road’s move to north of the border is part of the BBC’s drive to produce more drama outside of England. Saturday evening drama Casualty relocated from Bristol to Cardiff for similar reasons. The move, as with Casualty‘s move, is not without its critics.