Waterloo Road repeats on BBC iplayer

[Papergirl1968]

All the series of Waterloo Road are now available on BBC iplayer.
I missed the first few series so it will be good to catch up.
I just watched episode one of series one and enjoyed it although it does show its age - teachers smoking in pubs, the mobile phones they’re using, even the police uniforms.
Some well known faces in it including Jill Halfpenny and Denise Welch.
I’ve forgotten a lot of the storylines apart from the farcical removal of the entire school to Scotland but I do remember how the lovely Tom met his demise and want to warn him to be more careful!

The girl who plays the student with Asperger’s in s3, she’s a good little actress.

Just to add, she puts lots of the adult actors and actresses to shame.

Anyone watching extra camp?? Adam Thomas is so bloody annoying in it! He's just shouting like an idiot.

Thanks @SavoyCabbage - I've not got to that episode yet but would have expected it to be mentioned sooner & also Chlo going to visit her for the weekend etc!

Izzy!!! Noooooooooo 😭😭😭

As much as Earl Kelly really is a wrong ‘un, you can’t slate him for how much he tries to defend his family and brothers and sisters. Especially during the Marley drugs row.

I’m screaming at the tv for Maxine to stay away from Earl everytime they are together. Donte is now reaching peak annoying in S4!

I hate Donte and Chlo together - was hoping they'd stay split following the split after her shaggjng Brett!

Agree re Max - that was shocking.

It's bugging me though that after the dad's rooftop protest in season 1, he's nowhere to be seen after their mum has died! It's also annoying me that the Kelly's seem like I have forgotten about the younger boy who was wrongly caught with the gun!

The more I watch S4, the more I cringe with Donte and Chlo.

I feel so bad for her and you can see by the look on her face she knows she's trapped with a man she doesn't want to be with at all, she's far too intelligent and wants to get on in life. He wants to settle down and run DVD scams with their baby and she wants Uni, and you can see it's an impossible situation for her. Donte comes across as more and more thick and unlikeable in every episode of the series.

Also, I don't get the classes. I know there's a 'core' of characters like Bolton, Paul, Michaela, Chlo, Donte, Danielle and Aleesha - but they're in different year groups or seem to stay in the same year group every year. You see them in classes with Y7's. Bolton and Marley in the same class, and Marley is meant to be older - it's a huge suspension of reality for it.

The death of Maxine was horrible to watch and I admit shedding a tear when it happened. It just goes to show how lax schools were ten years ago, it would never happen now!

Thanks for posting this. I used to watch it starting with the series Max came in, so I'm enjoying watching the older series.

Season three finished. On to season four!

I've just finished season four, onto season five. Season four was probably my favourite.

However, it's made me realise a few things from first time I watched;

-Matt Wilding is awful. He's selfish, antagonistic, actually calls a pupil 'a cheating liar' in a venomous voice infront of people causing her to run out crying.
-Steph Haydock is one of the few comic relief moments we have in the series, so what if she doesn't teach well. Without her on the staff it's a very poor roster
-Donte and Chlo in no other world than TV would be together. The whole baby storyline was stupid and I can't fathom why Chlo would want to be with such a chancer/loser
-Tom is involved in EVERYTHING. Kelly family - he's there/crisis at school - he's there/food poisoning - he's there. Everything.

Marley and Flick were great characters, I wish they had stayed beyond season four. My favourite episodes are the one with Karen Fisher as Headteacher with Chris Mead and Finn Sharkey and Ronan so I'm looking forward to getting to those soon.

Yes, Steph is a great character. She irritated me at first with her flirting and incompetence, but now I find her funny but kind of tragic too. Her heart is in the right place.

Season four, episode one - bloody hell, the Kelly family!

So glad there's a thread on this! I'm finishing series 6 now...so have been bringing for a while!!!

Thoughts (there may be spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched it all...)

• agree that the Chlo and donte story is ridiculous.
• Love Tom Clarkson but he really gets around doesn't he?!
• Grantly Budgen's storyline with his wife is the most heartbreaking thing I sobbed and sobbed
• What is it with all the teacher and pupils sleeping with each other/being accused of such
• Maxines storyline was so so sad *Love Ronan Burley in series 6!

Oh and Davina is the worst!!!!! What do they all see in her?!

Why do lots of the girls wear knee length white socks? I know this was a few years ago but I don’t thing I’ve seen any secondary school students in them since the 80s. They just look really weird and unflattering.
On the other hands I can’t see many schools letting girls wear long black socks that come up to midthigh with short skirts like Chlo does.

I’m onto series six, and from memory I always believed the episodes with the Fisher family and Vicki, Ronan and Jonah were my favourites.

However watching it again you can see how much the programme is struggling without the main core of Y12’s and without Rachel Mason. I’ve watched the first couple of episodes of S6, and it’s mainly Jess Fisher acting like a child and a few scenes of Lauren, Sam and Amy. Really hoping it improves as S5 for me so far is where the show peaked.

@TheTruthAboutLove I totally agree. I'm onto season 7 now and apart from "that death" nothing has happened that I've been really fussed about.

Currently on an episode where they're doing student hustings and Jess is standing for conservative and Vicky is labour. Feels very topical!

The whole Jonah and Cesca storyline in season 6 was too much, especially as Jonah was so angry at Chris Mead for sleeping with Jess once!

I've only just spotted this. I watched a couple of the series when they were repeated on Drama or something, but they didn't show very many, so it would be good to be able to watch all of them.

It makes me laugh that the sixth form students do every lesson. They all study English, maths, chemistry, home economics, Spanish, PE, what ever subject the teacher whose storyline it is!

I gave up watching once the school moved to Scotland, the series went really downhill at that point.

I'm now up to season 5 (where the schools merge and there's an exec head) but it's so annoying as Matt and the Scottish teacher have gone but no mention of them at all. It irritates me so much the way characters just disappear with no further mention!

@InvisibleWomenMustBeRead I agree - it is a bit annoying how people disappear with no explanation. I seem to remember (or read somewhere) that Matt comes back. I think he left to work at the private school with the other man who was in the choir competition they went to, but I may have totally made that up!

I like that theory though @TheBananaInPyjamas

I hate to say it, but the episodes are fast losing my interest and I'm becoming a bit bored and distracted when watching them.

I'm about two thirds of the way through season six, and the whole Bex and Hodge storyline is boring so I'm forwarding that. The Cesca and Jonah storyline - I remember the first time I watched it I thought it was great, now I look at Jonah and think what a stupid little boy he actually is! The Tom being attacked and staying home is boring, Nate and Josh is verging on hilarious (gay boy appears at the school and it just so happens him and the other only gay boy in the school find each other attractive and get together). It's really missing Sam, more Amy and Lauren and really missing the Y13's from Season 5. I'm talking Michaela, Phil, Bolton, Paul, Carla, Aleesha and Danielle.

@TheTruthAboutLove I know what you mean. It gets very slow halfway through that season! Jonah is also ridiculous!

Hate to say it but season 7 isn't much better so far. Love Chalky though (the new maths teacher) but nothing really exciting so far. Seasons 1-4 I was addicted but have definitely lost interest. I want to see it out though!