JON RICHARDSON JOINS CAST OF BBC's WATERLOO ROAD FOR NEXT SERIES

The BBC has announced that comedian and TV personality Jon Richardson (Meet the Richardsons, 8 out of 10 Cats) will join the cast of Waterloo Road as a new addition to the staff room when the hit drama returns for its next series later this year.

Today’s announcement comes as Jon surprised fans on social media yesterday with the revelation that he was retiring from the comedy circuit to pursue teaching. However, there was more to the news than Jon first revealed. Viewers will have to wait for the next series of Waterloo Road to find out exactly who Jon will play, and what lies in store for him at the famous school.

Jon Richardson says: "I would say that joining Waterloo Road is a dream come true, but in truth most of my dreams about school revolve around not having done my homework or put on my uniform. I wanted to be a teacher growing up so hopefully this role will put all those ambitions to bed, and I can stop telling my friends and family that I will be testing them on what I’ve been saying or telling audiences on tour that it’s their own time they’re wasting."

Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road says: “Waterloo Road always strives to strike the right balance between big emotion and comedy, and we feel we've struck gold in casting Jon Richardson as a new media studies teacher at Waterloo Road...

"Not only does Jon have brilliant comic timing, his dramatic performance will surprise and delight his fans in equal measure. Next term promises laughter, tears and whole lot of mayhem.”

Jon joins Lindsey Coulson, who will continue in her role as Dame Stella Drake, Waterloo Road’s new head, and Jason Merrells, who reprised his role as Jack Rimmer as a guest in the most recent series and will return as a regular main cast member in the next series.

The most recent series of Waterloo Road (available in full on BBC iPlayer, and airing its final episode on BBC One tonight) has seen the arrival of Dame Stella, who joined the school to save it from its notorious reputation as the ‘murder school’ following the fatal actions of Billy Savage (Olly Rhodes) and Steve Savage (Jason Manford) the previous term.

With her Ofsted background at the forefront of her mind, Stella struggles throughout the series to find the right balance between protecting the students and teachers of Waterloo Road and getting their education back on track. The end of the series saw Dame Stella, realise the error of her ways and recruit Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrells) back into the education system as a counsellor.

Filmed and set in Greater Manchester, Waterloo Road has cemented itself as one of the top performing shows on BBC iPlayer for under 35s and continues to highlight real-life topics affecting teens, families and schools, all with its trademark warmth and humour. More information on the next series will be announced in due course.

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