Saira Choudhry, Jason Manford to join cast of BBC's ‘Waterloo Road’

The BBC has announced that Saira Choudhry and Jason Manford will join the cast of Waterloo Road when it returns for its next series later this year.

Choudhry will play Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road's newest maths teacher.

Manford will play Steve Savage, who has a big impact on the staff and pupils at Waterloo Road when he becomes headteacher - but not before ruffling a few feathers along the way. While Manford's new role as headteacher will leave fans questioning how the future looks for current headteacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), viewers will have to wait and see how the storyline plays out.

Waterloo Road's current series launched in full on BBC iPlayer in early January and concluded its weekly BBC One run recently. Jason Manford will appear in Waterloo Road's next series - series 14 - coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.

Jason Manford said, “What an absolute treat it is to join the cast and crew of Waterloo Road, right here in my home city of Manchester. My kids and I binged the show on iPlayer during lockdown. It’s such a brilliant, iconic show, so I’m dead proud to now be part of its history. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher and now becoming a headteacher, I know I would have been terrible!"

Choudhry and Manford will be seen alongside a host of new students: Olly Rhodes as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa as Aleena Qureshi, Miya Ocego as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan as Jared Jones.

Waterloo Road is known for tackling real-life topics affecting teens, families, and school staff, along with its trademark mix of sharp writing, warmth, and wit. The series returned to screens last year after becoming popular amongst audiences on BBC iPlayer during lockdown, and since its return, has continued to perform as one of the top shows on BBC iPlayer for viewers Under 35.

All episodes of Waterloo Road are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.