Waterloo Road: what are the iconic stars up to now?

We still fancy Bolton Smilie, not gonna lie

Waterloo Road

by Ruby Norris |
Updated on

Many years ago, the popular TV show Waterloo Road appeared on our TVs. Back in 2006, it was a time when a vest top paired with an oversized waist belt was the height of fashion, £10 of phone credit would last you a month of texting your spikey-haired, frosted-tipped bae and nobody was entirely sure who or what a Kardashian was.

Waterloo Road was one of our favourite TV shows of the time. If you didn't catch it first time round, it was a school drama which was basically 100% accurate with its realistic depiction of our early noughties school experience.

Minus the arson, multiple teen pregnancies and whole moving the entire school to Scotland thing - of course. Seeing as we’ve been feeling all nostalgic of late (you need to check out our look back at the Footballers Wives cast , btw), we thought we’d take another trip down memory lane and catch up with the Waterloo Road cast.

Now take a look at where the Waterloo Road cast are now:

Gallery

Where are the Waterloo Road cast now

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CREDIT: BBC

Chelsee Healey (Janeece Bryant) then

Troublemaker Janeece was a firm favourite on the show and a big personality at the school. She was often causing all kinds of mischief with her bbf Maxine Barlow, and pals Chlo Grainger and Dante Charles. She clearly couldn't keep away from Waterloo Road after finishing her education, as she returned as a secretary after falling pregnant. She later left to take some time out in Ibiza after struggling to cope with daughter Cheryl.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Chelsee Healey (Janeece Bryant) now

Since leaving Waterloo Road, Chelsee joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Goldie McQueen in 2016. She also competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2011, and finished as a runner-up. She took a break from telly land in 2017 to give birth to her daughter, Coco.More recently, Chelsee appeared on Celebs Go Dating in 2019, where she sadly didn't end up finding the love of her life (but who does, tbh?).

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CREDIT: BBC

Jason Done (Tom Clarkson) then

English teacher Tom Clarkson was a big hit with the students of Waterloo Road. He went on to become, Head of Pastoral Care, then Head of English and Deputy Head in series 7. Tom was also stepdad to Chlo and Mika Grainger after his romance with fellow teacher Izzi (he had numerous love interests with school staff). His own son Josh joined the school in 2009.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Jason Done (Tom Clarkson) now

Jason starred on the show until 2015, enduring the big move from Rochdale to Scotland. His character Tom died in series 8 after falling from the roof of the school trying to help troubled student Kyle Stack. Nowadays he spends his time doing narration for shows like Channel 5's Can't Pay We'll Take It Away and starring in Netflix show, The Innocents.

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CREDIT: BBC

Philip Martin Brown (Grantly Budgen) then

Grumpy Grantly Budgen was part of the furniture at Waterloo Road and had a number of emotional as well as downright hilarious storylines. Who could forget that toupée.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Philip Martin Brown (Grantly Budgen) now

Since Philip's departure following Grantly's death on the show in 2013, the actor's gone on to star in a variety of other TV shows such as Endeavour and Doctors. He's also a regular on the Panto circuit.

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CREDIT: BBC

Denise Welch (Steph Haydock) then

Denise played Waterloo Road's relatively useless but fun-loving french teacher Steph Haydock from series 1 until the end of series 5. Despite her reputation as a bit of a gossip, Steph's big heart and caring nature saw her take in troubled student Maxine Barlow.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Denise Welch (Steph Haydock) now

Denise has stared in a number of other TV shows and soaps including Byker Grove, Coronation Street and Holby City, and is a regular on the Christmas Pantomime circuit. She's also a regular panelist on ITV's Loose Women and mum to 1975 frontman Matty Healy.

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CREDIT: BBC

Angela Griffin (Kim Campbell) then

Kind-hearted Kim Campbell bore the brunt of the kids' troubles as original Head of Pastoral Care at Waterloo Road.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Angela Griffin (Kim Campbell) now

Since leaving Waterloo Road for good in 2010 (she took a break at the end of 2007, returning in 2009), Angela has starred in a number of TV dramas including Netflix's White Lines, ITV's Lewis and Midsomer Murders. She's also starred on the stage in One Man, Two Guvnors alongside James Corden.She also hosted her own daytime chat show, Angela and Friends, from 2009 to 2010.

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CREDIT: BBC

Neil Morrissey (Eddie Lawson) then

Neil Morrissey played deputy head Eddie Lawson for series 3 and 4.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Neil Morrissey (Eddie Lawson) now

Established actor and comedian Neil recently spoke out about how much he hated working on Waterloo Road. Speaking on Two Shot Podcast he said: "I hated that show, I hated it so much. Even my missus said to me, 'You've got to get out of this show because it's making you into a nasty person'."Yikes.Since finishing on Waterloo Road, Neil's starred as Line of Duty baddie Nigel Morton and is the voice of many cartoon characters, including Farmer Pickles in Bob the Builder.

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CREDIT: BBC

Jason Merrells (Jack Rimmer) then

Jack Rimmer was Waterloo Roads original, tough-loving headteacher.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Jason Merrells (Jack Rimmer) now

Jason's character resigned as headteacher halfway through series 3. As well as starring in Waterloo Road, Jason has played parts in Casualty and The Bill. From 2010 until 2014 he played business man Declan Macey in Emmerdale. He's also a writer and director and often takes on theatre roles.

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CREDIT: BBC

Jill Halfpenny (Izzie Redpath) then

Jill Halfpenny played enthusiastic drama teacher Izzie in series 1 and 2. Her two daughters Chlo and Mika also attended the school.Izzie was involved in a love triangle with fellow teachers Lorna Dickey and Tom Clarkson. She was fatally stabbed by Joe Seddon while trying to protect headmaster Jack.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Jill Halfpenny (Izzie Redpath) now

Jill won the first series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, while she was playing Kate on EastEnders. Since leaving Waterloo Road Jill has taken on a number big TV roles. Most recently, she starred in ITV's epic drama Liar.

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CREDIT: BBC

Katie Griffiths (Chlo Grainger) then

Katie played Chlo from series 1 to 4. Chlo made up one half of our fave TV couple ever, marrying her childhood sweetheart Donte Charles as soon as she turned 16. After a brief affair with her sister Mika's boyfriend Brett, Chlo and Donte reconciled and Chlo fell pregnant with her daughter Izzie (named after her late mother).

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Katie Griffiths (Chlo Grainger) now

After Chlo and Donte's departure to Manchester in series 4, Katie went on to take roles in Casualty and Father Brown.

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CREDIT: BBC

Adam Thomas (Donte Charles) then

Adam played Waterloo Road's original bad boy Donte Charles. Donte cleaned up his act after spending time in jail for the accidental death of his friend Adam. He also proved to be a supportive husband to Chlo after they found out she was pregnant.

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CREDIT: Shutterstock

Adam Thomas (Donte Charles) now

Adam has gone on to become a big household name, playing Adam Barton in Emmerdale from 2009 to 2018. He also appeared came third on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016. His twin brother Scott Thomas was a finalist on Love Island in 2016 and their older brother Ryan is also an actor, starring in Coronation Street and Neighbours.He's also now a husband and father of two - it's safe to say Adam's been pretty busy since leaving Rochdale.

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CREDIT: BBC

George Sampson (Kyle Stack) then

After winning Britains Got Talent in 2008, George went on to join the Waterloo Road cast in 2011 as troubled student Kyle Stack.

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CREDIT: Instagram

George Sampson (Kyle Stack) now

Dancer and actor George Sampson underwent a hair transplant procedure in summer 2017. Since then, he's performed on stage in productions such as Our House. He also joined the cast of Emmerdale in 2016 and has appeared on Celebrity Coach Trip.

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CREDIT: BBC/YouTube

Tachia Newall (Bolton Smile) then

We're not going to lie, we had a pretty big crush on bad boy Bolton Smilie when he joined the cast for series 3. And an even bigger one when he came back as a soldier in series 8.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Tachia Newall (Bolton Smilie) now

Tachia is still acting, appearing in episodes of Casualty, Doctors and Silent Witness. He's also a rapper and a member of Manchester's Levelz crew.

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Arguably one of the biggest names to come out of the show is Denise Welch, who played Steph Haydock on the show, and went on to roles on Hollyoaks and as a panellist on Loose Women.

She's previously opened up exclusively to Closer about her addiction demons after struggling with her mental health for over twenty years.

"The root cause of my addiction was the onset of my battle with clinical depression which started 26 yrs ago after childbirth," she said. "I now receive help hormonally, something I had asked for for 20 years.

"We should encourage people to talk about Mental Health as much as possible. I try every day to lessen the stigma, that sadly still exists, but I’ve seen huge improvements in people’s attitudes over the last 20 yrs.

"If someone you know is suffering just let them know you are there for them. Tell them they are not alone and there is help out there. Tell them they WILL get better and that there is light at the end of what can be a very dark tunnel."

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