The main cast from Series 5
The Fifth Series of Waterloo Road first aired on Sunday 25th October 2009 on BBC One Scotland, and in the rest of the UK on BBC One on Wednesday 28th October 2009 at 8pm. It ran until 15th July 2010. There are several new characters in the fifth series of Waterloo Road. The series was 20 episodes long and was shot in High Definition.
It takes place on the first day of term, after the events of the last episode of the fourth series, with around one hundred new pupils and six new teachers joining the school after another school, John Fosters, closes down. The school has been rebuilt after Ralph Mellor knocked it down. In addition to the new cast, several cast members have left before this series, most notably Neil Morrisey (Eddie Lawson), who does not appear in this series.
Synopsis[]
It’s all change at Waterloo Road, the school has been merged with local private school John Fosters after it was forced to close when wealthy parents could no longer afford the fees. As a result around a hundred new pupils are enrolled at Waterloo Road and neither the “scuzzy” Waterloo Road kids nor the “posh” John Fosters pupils are happy about it.
The playground divisions are echoed in the staffroom as many of the old John Fosters team have been ushered in to ensure the smooth transition much to the annoyance of the existing staff. Amongst them are Christopher Mead, an ex city boy turned science teacher and now the Deputy Head; Ruby Fry the food technology teacher who is every bit as snobby as her pupils; and a new Head of Languages, Jo Lipsett whose enthusiasm and competence spells trouble for the hapless Steph. The biggest rivalry however seems to be between Rachel Mason and Executive Head Max Tyler played by Tom Chambers.
When lessons are disrupted by a fight between Michaela White and new girl Lindsay James, the tensions soon engulf the whole school with both sets of pupils waging war on the playground, leaving new English teacher, Helen Hopewell injured and unable to cope with the psychological pressure, after Michaela accidentally punches her while fighting Lindsay. All the teachers manage to calm the situation down and send all the combatants over to the cooler, but Rachel has some devastating news for Lindsay and her little sister Em. Their father is dead and their mother, Marion has confessed to his murder.
Meanwhile, Max tends to the combatants of the brawl in the cooler. He informs them that they will be detained every lunchtime for the next week and must each write an essay explaining why schools have rules in place, and that anyone who fails to deliver will be excluded. Devastated by the two violent incidents she has witnessed, Helen throws herself down a staircase, and is taken to hospital, claiming to Max that Michaela pushed her. Max then drops his own bombshell on Rachel, insisting that after today's events there is no way he can leave her in charge and informs her that he intends to be permanently based at the school.
Characters[]
Teachers[]
- Philip Martin Brown as Grantly Budgen
- Jason Done as Tom Clarkson
- Eva Pope as Rachel Mason
- Angela Griffin as Kim Campbell
- Denise Welch as Steph Haydock
- Elaine Symons as Rose Kelly
- Kay Purcell as Candice Smilie (To Episode 5)
New Teachers[]
- Tom Chambers as Max Tyler - The new, determined Executive Head Teacher.
- Elizebeth Berrington as Ruby Fry - The new food technology teacher.
- Vinette Robinson is Helen Hopewell - A 23 year old English teacher.
- Sarah Jane Potts as Jo Lipsett - The new Head of Languages, and Steph's sucessor and boss.
- William Ash as Christopher Mead - Rachel Mason's deputy.
- Steven Waddington as Adam Fleet - Rachel Mason's former crush whom she ends up marrying.
Teachers Not Returning[]
- Eddie Lawson has left after forty episodes.
- Matt Wilding, former music teacher, has also left.
- Jasmine Koreshi, English Teacher, has left.
Pupils[]
- Reece Douglas as Denzil Kelly
- Holly Kenny as Sambuca Kelly
- Darcy Isa as Lauren Andrews
- Dean Smith as Philip Ryan
- Tachia Newall as Bolton Smilie
- Tom Milner as Paul Langley
- Jessica Baglow as Karla Bentham
- Lauren Thomas as Aleesha Dillon
- Lucy Dixon as Danielle Harker
- Zaraah Abrahams as Michaela White
New Pupils[]
- William Rush as Josh Stevenson
- Sophie McShera as Ros McCain
- Shannon Flynn as Emily James
- Ayesha Gwilt as Amy Porter
- Phoebe Dynevor as Siobhan Mailey
- Jenna-Louise Coleman as Lindsay James (Episode 1 to 9)
- Jack McMullen as Finn Sharkey (Episode 11 onwards)
- Rebecca Ryan as Vicki MacDonald (Episode 5 to 6)
Pupils Not Returning[]
- Janeece Bryant, Chlo Charles and Donte Charles have gone to university. This marks the first series in which these three will not be appearing.
- Flick Mellor and Marley Kelly have also left.
Series Five Promo[]
Air Date[]
The airdate was expected to be in September 2009, before 28th October was confirmed. The first episode was shown on the 25th October in Scotland. The first ten episodes ran until December 30th 2009. After this, there is a break. Unlike the previous 2 mid-season breaks (one from March 1 - 29, 2007 in Series 2, and another from December 13, 2007 - January 10, 2008 in Series 3), episodes 11 - 20 ran from April 7, 2010 - July 15, 2010.
Series 5 of Waterloo Road began on BBC ONE, Wednesday 28th October 2009, and was available for several weeks afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.
Trivia[]
- Kim Campbell's office as Head of Pastoral Care is heavily featured in this series.
- The Sixth Form Common Room is also heavily featured.
- Rachel was still the Head Teacher in the last episode of the series, but is not in Series 6 Episode 1.
- Bolton Smilie is accused of rape in episode two.
- The front of the school has been rebuilt (see the background of the first image below)
Images[]
These images are from www.waterlooroadtv.co.uk
