WATERLOO ROAD RENEWED FOR FURTHER SERIES ON BBC ONE

Waterloo Road has reportedly been renewed for a further two series by BBC One, in addition to the double recommission announced last year, meaning at least four new series are on their way - taking the show to Series 17.

The news of its recommission for a 16th and 17th series was revealed within an announcement for a Directors Programme on upcoming series of the BBC drama. Since questioning this was the BBC, mention of its 17th series has been removed.

In the next series, Series 14 which will air later this year, Jason 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.

Joining Waterloo Road in the next series is Saira Choudhry (No Offence, Life) as Nisha Chandra, Waterloo Road's newest maths teacher, alongside a host of new students: Olly Rhodes (The Last Kingdom) as Billy Savage, Nathan Wood as Boz Osbourne, Sonya Nisa (Damsel) as Aleena Qureshi.

Plus Miya Ocego (Wreck) as Lois Taylor-Brown, Danny Murphy (The Parts You Lose) as Luca Smith and Matthew Khan (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder) as Jared Jones.

Adam Thomas (Donte Charles) and Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters) will also return, alongside the teaching staff played by James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), and Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt).

Returning to the series is the student cast Aabay Noor Ali (Mollie "Mog" Richardson), Alicia Forde (Kelly-Jo Rafferty), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku), Francesco Piacentini-Smith (Dean Weever), Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus).

Plus Lucy Eleanor Begg (Caz Williams), Maisey Robinson (Portia Weever), Noah Valentine (Preston Walters), Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Thapelo Ray (Dwayne Jackson), Tillie Amartey (Stacey "Stace" Neville), and Zak Sutcliffe ("Schuey" Weever).

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.

Waterloo Road is available on BBC iPlayer.