Waterloo Road series 12

The twelfth series of the British television drama series Waterloo Road commenced airing on 16 May 2023, and concluded on 27 June 2023.

The show follows the lives of staff and pupils of the eponymous secondary school in Greater Manchester while tackling a range of social issues. Topics covered in this series include the cost-of-living crisis, teen homelessness, racism, bulimia, being LGBTQ+, mental health, behavioral problems, young carers, gay fostering and adoption, elitism, knife crime, ADHD and the prioritisation of academic subjects over the arts in schools.

Production
In February 2023, following the conclusion of the eleventh series, cast members Angela Griffin and Kym Marsh revealed that they were back filming on the set of the show. On 18 April 2023, the BBC confirmed that Waterloo Road would return in May 2023 and would contain seven episodes.

Story development
Stories from the show's previous series were continued into this series as part of the characters' ongoing development. The fallout from Danny Lewis (Adam Addou) bringing a knife into school and stabbing local gangster Vinny McCullen (Jason Milligan) in self-defense is a major focus, impacting several characters including music teacher Valerie Chambers (Shauna Shim), Danny's guardian who hid the weapon from the Police, his new girlfriend Samia Choudhury (Priyasasha Kumari), and Heateacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), who must prevent the other pupils from glorifying Danny's actions. Additionally, Kim's storyline features her struggling to maintain order at Waterloo Road in the wake of past events following a betrayal by her former lover and Deputy Head Linden King (Vincent Jerome) which almost caused her to lose her job. Kim's arc will see her reconnect with old flame Andrew Treneman (Jamie Glover), who last appeared in the show's fourth series. Discussing the relationship between the two characters, Glover stated that, "for Andrew, I think Kim is probably the most important person in his life. Because of their history, there's been a reticence to get back in touch with her, because it's maybe too painful for both of them to stir things up but in the end, the pull is inevitable." Jerome also talked about the impact of the previous series on Lindon, explaining "Lindon had his identity completely stripped from him. Everything he thought he knew about himself was proved wrong: him as a teacher, him as a colleague, him as a father and him as a husband. In the middle of all of that is Kim", and talked about how the character will be trying to make amends with her.

Pupil Preston Walters (Noah Valentine) features as part of several key storylines. Following their kiss last series, Preston continues to grapple with his sexuality as he considers going public about his relationship with Kai Sharif (Adam Ali) and continues his struggle with an eating disorder. The Walters family's financial struggles continues to be explored, as Nicky (Kym Marsh) resorts to desperate measures in order to keep herself and her children from becoming homeless and keeping food on the table. Kelly Jo Rafferty's (Alicia Forde) behavioral problems continue to receive focus this series, as the conflict between Nicky and her mum Debs (Hollie-Jay Bowes) gets in the way of her battle to receive an ADHD diagnosis. Following the death of his wife in the previous series, Donte Charles (Adam Thomas) continues his journey through grief and begins to consider the possibility of moving onto a new relationship, something which causes strains his relationship with daughter Izzy (Scarlett Thomas) and his colleague Amy Spratt (Katherine Pearce).

The series increases its focus on Deputy Head Joe Casey (James Baxter) by expanding his home life, with a greater spotlight on his relationship with Mike Rutherford (Ryan Clayton) and their foster sons Dwayne (Thapelo Ray) and Zayne Jackson (Inathi Rozani). Baxter expressed his excitement at this development, stating ""I think we were both really looking forward to having more to do and also exploring the family dynamic a little bit more. From my point of view, there was a bit of trepidation with wanting to get it right and not wanting to drop the ball." Similarly, Clayton explained that "it's interesting to explore the family dynamic, because there's a lot of dilemmas going on there with the characters. You'll see what Mike's position is about fostering Dwayne and Zayne and taking them on, how that works throughout the series and the challenges that come with that", and noted that he and Baxter did a lot of research around the adoption process in preparation for the storyline. Dwayne's character is also involved in a rivalry storyline with new pupil Myles Massey (Osian Morgan). Discussing his character, Morgan explained "if I had to describe Myles in three words, I'd say calculated, misunderstood and alpha – but in capital letters. His ego is through the roof", and predicted that fans would "absolutely despise" him. The character of Shola Aku (Chiamaka Ulebor) also features in a prominent young carer storyline beginning in the fourth episode, when it is revealed that she has been looking after her mother, who suffers from fibromyalgia.

Casting
The twelfth series of Waterloo Road (and second since the series' revival in January 2023), features a cast of characters working at and attending the eponymous fictional high school set in Greater Manchester. All of the cast members from the previous eleventh series reprise their roles in this series. Angela Griffin stars as Kim Campbell, current Headteacher at Waterloo Road, alongside Vincent Jerome and James Baxter as Deputy Headteachers Linden King and Joe Casey respectively. Additional faculty members include Shauna Shim as music teacher Valerie Chambers, Neil Fitzmaurice as history teacher Neil Guthrie, Rachel Leskovac as Head of English Coral Walker, and Katherine Pearce as newly-qualified early careers teacher Amy Spratt. Other staff at the school include Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell, Kim's personal assistant, Adam Thomas as caretaker Donte Charles, Kym Marsh as canteen worker Nicky Walters and Sonia Ibrahim as school social worker Jamilah Omar. Ryan Clayton, who appeared in the first episode of the eleventh series as Joe's partner Mike Rutherford, returns this series when he is assigned as Waterloo Road's allocated police officer.

Among pupils, Adam Abbou appears as Danny Lewis, who moved in with Val during the previous series, Adam Ali as his best friend Kai Sharif, and Priyasasha Kumari as his love interest Samia Choudhry. Noah Valentine stars as Preston Walters, with Summer Violet Bird featuring as his sister Tonya. Alicia Forde appears as their cousin Kelly Jo Rafferty, while Francesco Piacentini-Smith appears as her boyfriend and school troublemaker Dean Weever. Scarlett Thomas returns as Izzy Charles, Donte's daughter, while Ava Flannery appears as Linden's daughter Verity. Thapelo Ray and Inathi Rozani feature as Dwayne and Zayne Jackson, the foster children of Joe and Mike. Other returning students include Liam Scholes as Noel McManus, Lucy Eleanor Begg as Caz Williams, Chiamaka Ulebor as Shola Aku, Sahil Ismailkhil as Norullah Sayid, and Randi Agyare as Millie Adebayo.

On 18 April 2023, the BBC revealed that former cast member Jamie Glover would reprise his role as Andrew Treneman, Kim's former colleague and old flame who is now working as a representative of the Schools Against Knife Crime initiative and is sent to Waterloo Road following the events of the eleventh series' final episode. New characters introduced in the twelfth series include Osian Morgan as Myles Massey, a transfer student from a prestigious football academy, and Jenny Platt as his mum Rose Massey, who sits on the school's board of governors. Paul Bazely debuts as Ramesh Choudhury, Samia's father and the chair of governors at Waterloo Road, while Sia Kiwa features as Lisa Jackson, mother of Dwayne and Zayne who is a recovering alcoholic. Olwen May and James Quinn appear in the fifth episode as Ofsted Inspectors, Mrs Doubleday, and Mr Cribbins respectively. Hollie-Jay Bowes returns as Kelly Jo's mother and Nicky's sister Debs Raffety, having previously appeared in two episodes of series eleven.

Scheduling
The twelfth series debuted on 16 May 2023 at 8pm on BBC One and will air weekly. Following the broadcast of the first episode, the six remaining episodes were also made available to watch immediately on BBC iPlayer.

Podcast
On 18 April 2023, the BBC also confirmed that the Waterloo Road podcast series, hosted by Adam Thomas and Priyasasha Kumari would return for Series 12, with the BBC confirming that the podcast series would build up to the new series, and that it would continue to shine a light on the behind the scenes of Waterloo Road.

Main cast
Clayton and Glover are credited only when appearing.
 * Angela Griffin as Kim Campbell; Headteacher
 * James Baxter as Joe Casey; Deputy Head and languages teacher
 * Ryan Clayton as Sergeant Mike Rutherford; School security officer
 * Jo Coffey as Wendy Whitwell; PA to Headteacher Kim Campbell
 * Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie; History teacher
 * Vincent Jerome as Lindon King; Deputy Head and science teacher
 * Rachel Leskovac as Coral Walker; Head of English
 * Kym Marsh as Nicky Walters; School canteen worker
 * Katherine Pearce as Amy Spratt; Early career english and drama teacher
 * Shauna Shim as Valerie Chambers; Music teacher
 * Adam Thomas as Donte Charles; School caretaker
 * Jamie Glover as Andrew Treneman; Headteacher of St Mary's school and a former colleague of Kim's

Pupils

 * Adam Abbou as Danny Lewis
 * Noah Valentine as Preston Walters
 * Alicia Forde as Kelly Jo Rafferty
 * Adam Ali as Kai Sharif
 * Priyasasha Kumari as Samia Choudhry
 * Francesco Piacentini-Smith as Dean Weever
 * Liam Scholes as Noel McManus
 * Lucy Eleanor Begg as Caz Williams
 * Summer Violet Bird as Tonya Walters
 * Scarlett Thomas as Izzy Charles
 * Ava Flannery as Verity King
 * Thapelo Ray as Dwayne Jackson
 * Inathi Rozani as Zayne Jackson
 * Chiamaka Ulebor as Shola Aku
 * Sahil Ismailkhil as Norullah Sayid
 * Randi Agyare as Millie Adebayo
 * Osian Morgan as Myles Massey

Recurring

 * Sonia Ibrahim as Jamilah Omar; School social worker
 * Paul Bazely as Ramesh Chowdhury
 * Jenny Platt as Rose Massey
 * Jason Milligan as Vinny McCullen
 * Hollie-Jay Bowes as Debs Rafferty
 * Jack Ashton as Lenny Sampson
 * Sia Kiwa as Lisa Jackson

Guest

 * Olwen May as Mrs Doubleday (episode 5)
 * James Quinn as Mr Cribbins (episode 5)