First look images accompanied the news and hinted at the drama to come. As term begins, a peaceful protest turns into a school riot with ramifications for everyone involved.

Across seven parts, teachers and parents will be put through their paces as they navigate an ever changing social landscape and help their young teens handle everything from homelessness to the cost of living crisis, being LGBTQ+, racism, sexism and mental health.

But it's not all chaos, as they will still make time for fun, friends and romance.

Angela Griffin leads the cast and school as Headteacher Kim Campbell, putting out the many fires along with her faculty.

The rest of the cast includes Adam Thomas (Donte Charles), Katie Griffiths (Chlo Charles), Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), Vincent Jerome (Lindon King), James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt), Ryan Clayton (Mike Rutherford) and Sonia Ibrahim (Jamilah Omar).

The pupils include Adam Abbou (Danny Lewis), Priyasasha Kumari (Samia Choudhry), Noah Valentine (Preston Walters), Adam Ali (Kai Sharif), Alicia Forde (Kelly-Jo Rafferty), Francesco Piacentini-Smith (Dean Weever), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus) and Lucy Eleanor Begg (Caz Williams).

Waterloo Road ran for 200 episodes over nine years, first broadcast on BBC One and latterly on BBC Three. In September 2021 it was recommissioned for an eleventh series, with production returning to Manchester.

Waterloo Road will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in January.