Major Emmerdale star joins Waterloo Road while show legend returns
Waterloo Road has confirmed its comeback date, as well as a major soap star for the next series.
The BBC school-based drama had a major resurgence in 2023 and is set to hit our screens for its 17th series in January 2026.
As well as the highly anticipated return of Denise Welch in her role as iconic French teacher Steph Haydock, viewers can expect to see a new face among the teachers.
He won’t be unfamiliar to long-time fans of Emmerdale, however, as he is played by former Robert Sugden star Karl Davies.
During his tenure as Robert between 2001 and 2009, Karl was involved in some major storylines, including Robert’s feud with brother Andy Sugden and affair with sister-in-law Katie Sugden.
He was also involved in a story that saw some of the teens run over their headteacher after a drunken night out.
Karl’s Waterloo Road character is a far cry from the Dales bad boy, as he takes on the role of Anthony Walters – Nicky’s (Kym Marsh) ex-husband.
Anthony is brought in as a coach for the girls’ football team, but his arrival causes a stir for Nicky, who has taken on a new role at the school herself, and daughter Tonya Walters (Summer Bird).
Elsewhere, as revealed at the end of the last series, Steph is back at Waterloo Road as a supply teacher amid a staffing crisis.
She later comes to the rescue when a different crisis arises among the students.
Steph was a major character in Waterloo Road for the first five series, appearing as a guest in a couple of series six episodes.
Away from the BBC drama, actress Denise Welch has appeared as a Loose Women panellist, as well as taking on speaking roles in all four of the major UK soaps.
This year, she has even released a Christmas song!
Speaking to Metro during the promotion of her single, she revealed that Waterloo Road has garnered her fans in all corners of the world.
Denise and husband Lincoln visited Tallinn, Estonia, while on a cruise, hoping to visit the town where part of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed. It was there that her tour guide recognised her.
‘She went to me, “Oh, my God, I don’t believe it”, and I said, “What?” She said, “You[‘re off] the Waterloo Road school”,’ Denise laughed.
‘Apparently, they got Waterloo Road in Estonia. She was going to people, “She’s off the Waterloo Road school”, and all these people were waving at me.
‘That was quite bizarre. To think that I’m quite a name in Estonia. I love that.’
Meanwhile, in the upcoming series of Waterloo Road, the arrival of excluded students and familiar faces is set to cause chaos in the corridors, as staff and students alike face new challenges with both prom and a wedding on the horizon.
And with new deputy head Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson) at the helm, how far will he go to keep his power?
With topical issues often at the centre of Waterloo Road, the upcoming series will explore topics such as hearing impairment management at schools, young love, exploitation, grief, addiction and family dynamics.
Also joining the cast as new students are Freddy Smith as Freddie Hollister, Olivia Booth-Ford as Leoni Tennant, Myra-Sofia Iftikhar as Aisha Azzi, Sana Ali as Badr Azzi and Isha Kaur as Harleen Lamba.