Waterloo Road’s biggest transformations – from Bridgerton stars to Doctor Who companions

BBC’s Waterloo Road was loved by many viewers for the high school programme’s dramatic storylines and incredible cast of young actors.

It’s been more than eight years that the iconic show last hit the airwaves, but the coming-of-age series is back with a bang as fans anxiously wait to watch the highly anticipated reboot series.

The long-running show returns to the Rochdale school which is now run by Kim Campbell as fan favourites return to the old dumping ground where their children prepare to walk the halls as they did.

The casting directors for the BBC One soap certainly had a knack for spotting future stars of the silver screen, which kickstarted the careers of a handful of talented young British actors.

READ MORE:Waterloo Road star Kym Marsh shares sweet post as she celebrates ‘new career moves’

It’s fair to say the school has had quite the glow-up from what we remember it looking like back when it first aired in 2006, and they’re not the only ones who have changes since the show ended.

As we prepare for the launch of the rebooted series set to broadcast this week, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside where the cast are now and how they’ve changed since they left the series.

Phoebe Dynevor

Before she found fame as the eldest Bridgerton daugter, Daphne, in Netflix’s wildly successful Regency romance, Phoebe got her first taste of the industry with her debut acting gig as a Waterloo Road student.

The fiery redhead played the role of Siobhan Mailey after Waterloo Road, a state comprehensive, merged with private school John Fosters.

Throughout her time on the BBC One show, the young actress dipped her toe in the acting world by stealing the hearts of many school heartthrobs including TV hunk Luke Pendle (played by Richie Jeeves) and Finn Sharkey (portrayed by Jack McMullen).

Since then, the actress has gone on to blossom as a character and embraced her gorgeous auburn hair and followed up the part with a string of TV appearances in shows such as Prisoners’ Wives in 2012 and period dramas like The Village in 2014 and Dickensian in 2015.

But her biggest breakout role has to be her performance in the hugely popular romance series Bridgerton which she reprised in the second series.

Regé-Jean Page

But she’s not the only Waterloo Road star to grace the halls of Bridgerton House, as her future co-star Regé-Jean Page also dazzled viewers with his dashing good looks when he joined the cast in its tenth series.

The devilishly good looking actor portrayed the role of Guy Braxton, a newly qualified graphics and design teacher, on the BBC One show.

And although his time on the TV show was brief, it didn’t mean that his role in the show didn’t leave a lasting impression on viewers who struggled to concentrate when he graced the screen.

Despite the lead Bridgerton stars appearing on the same series, the pair never crossed paths in the school hallways because Page joined the show five years after Dynevor’s exit.

Instead, after the series came to an end, the 34-year-old went on to appear in the the iconic 70s miniseries Roots in 2016 and in Shondaland legal drama For The People in 2018.

Since then, he has gone on to cement himself in Hollywood after his award-winning role as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in the Regency period drama.

Jenna Coleman

Another actor who wowed viewers with her impressive acting abilities was none other than Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman.

The brunette beauty first joined the show back in 2009 after appearing in Emmerdale for several years, and it didn’t take long before she wowed viewers with her impressive performance.

She played the role of Lindsay James, who was a troubled and sometimes violent individual in the beloved TV series, and it’s fair to say fans were gripped by her nail biting storyline.

Following her hard-hitting role as the troubled teen, Jenna went on to join the cast of the British science-fiction series Doctor Who as Clara Oswald – the companion of Matt Smith’s and Peter Capaldi’s Doctors.

And the star only continued to flourish on the silver screen as she went on to steal the leading role in the ITV drama Victoria as the Queen herself.

In more recent years, the actress gave a stellar performance when she took on the role as Johanna Constantine in the Netflix series The Sandman.

Jodie Comber

Another familiar face loyal fans of the show will remember is blonde bombshell Jodie Comber.

The award-winning actress featured on an episode of Waterloo Road in series six episode three back in 2010 which was one of the actress’s first ever acting gigs.

She played the role of Sarah Evans, the girlfriend of pupil Ronan Burley, and despite only appearing in one episode, she still stole quite a punchy storyline.

The actress was seen the day after she had unprotected sex with the student and follows her journey of sneakily getting a morning after pill.

Since then, the starlet has gone on the steal the hearts of the nation with her dazzling good looks and has gone on to appear in numerous stellar shows.

Some of her biggest roles to date include her breakout role as Chloe in the Channel 4 series My Mad Fat Diary, scandalous side piece Kate Paks in Doctor Foster and her famed role as murderous assassin Villanelle in the BBC drama Killing Eve.

Lucien Laviscount

Lucien Laviscount was on Waterloo Road back in 2010, playing the role of school heartthrob Jonah Kirby until he left in 2011.

The actor dazzled viewers with his charming good looks and his cheeky smile, and it’s clear to see that not much has changed for the TV hunk in the looks department.

Over the years he went on to steal the hearts of fellow Waterloo Road star Chelsee Healey, Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock and is even rumoured to steal a kiss from Kelly Osbourne.

Since then, the star went on to become a housemate in Celebrity Big Brother where he made it down to the final five before inevitably finishing in fifth place.

His acting career has continued to catapult since his time on the BBC show, with the star playing one of the lead roles in the Netflix series Emily in Paris where he continues to break hearts on the silver screen.

He also took on the leading role of Ennis Ross in Supernatural: Bloodlines, a spin-off of the US show Supernatural and played a recurring role of Earl Grey in Fox’s US horror comedy series Scream Queens.

Denise Welch

One of the most beloved teachers on the BBC One TV drama was none other than Loose Women presenter Denise Welch.

The 64-year-old played the role of Modern Foreign Languages teacher Steph Haydock who got herself caught up in a drama or two between 2006 to 2010.

And it’s fair to say loyal fans of the long-running show look back at her time on the show with fondness.

After she bid farewell to the Rochdale school, the TV star returned to Loose Women as a permanent panellist on the ITV show.

But it wasn’t long before the starlet dipped her toe back into the acting industry including a major role in Cheshire-based soap opera Hollyoaks.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk