Monday 9th March marks 20 years since the launch of award-winning school drama, Waterloo Road, set and filmed in Greater Manchester.

To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the BBC will air Series One of Waterloo Road on BBC Three. From Monday 9th March, two episodes from the first series will air each week on BBC Three from 7pm. The full series has been available as a box set on BBC iPlayer since September 2019, and this BBC Three run will give viewers the chance to watch the show on terrestrial TV and sync watch with iPlayer.

First broadcast on the BBC between 2006 and 2015, and revived in 2023, Waterloo Road remains one of the UK’s most popular and long-running television dramas. Created by Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick, since 2006 Waterloo Road has been invested in nurturing and developing creative talent in the North of England in front, and behind, the screen.

It’s cemented itself as an entryway for new British talent, launching the careers of successful actors including Christopher Chung, Jenna Coleman, Jodie Comer, Phoebe Dynevor, Holiday Grainger, Lucien Laviscount, Katie McGlynn, Jack McMullen, Regé-Jean Page and Tom Payne.

Familiar faces like Jack O’Connell and musicians, Louis Tomlinson and Matt Healy have also made appearances on the school drama during its run. Since the show’s return in 2023, it has welcomed back original cast members Angela Griffin, Katie Griffiths, Chelsee Healey, Lauren Drummond, Jason Merrells, Denise Welch, and Adam Thomas.

The original series built a loyal audience, but when all ten series were made available as a box set on BBC iPlayer, the show experienced a major resurgence, particularly during lockdown, attracting both new viewers and returning fans alike. It continues to rank among the top five most-watched programmes for young audiences on BBC iPlayer

The broadcast of Series One on BBC Three offers new audiences the chance to experience Waterloo Road for the very first time, whilst providing long-time fans an opportunity to revisit the series twenty years after it first debuted.

Waterloo Road is a Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North co-production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The executive producers are Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.

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