"They encouraged me to be creative and confident"
The new series of Waterloo Road will return to screens on February 11, 2025.
All episodes of the new series will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6 am and episode one airing on BBC One at 9 pm that night.
It will be the 15th series of the beloved school drama and the fifth since Waterloo Road‘s revival in 2023.
Known for its balance of fun and humour whilst also reflecting important social issues affecting the nation, this series will be no different with storylines of coercive control, women’s health, unemployment, addiction and issues facing teachers.
Among the returning cast members is Saira Choudhry, who reprises her role as maths teacher Nisha Chandra.
Born in Manchester, Saira’s acting career began in 2008 when she was cast as Anita Roy in Hollyoaks. She played the role until 2011.
After appearing in Coronation Street and Doctors, Saira starred as PC Tegan Thompson in Channel 4’s comedy-drama No Offence from 2015 to 2018.
She joined the cast of Waterloo Road in February 2024 and she previously revealed that she enlisted the help of a friend to understand her scripts.
Saira said: “I scraped a C in maths. I’m not the best at maths at all.
“I have a friend, Sam, and he is a part-time maths tutor.
“So when I first joined Waterloo Road and I had these massive monologues, I would be like, ‘Sam, help me, what does this mean?
“He would send me maths videos and draw all these triangles. He’s been really useful.”
Waterloo Road viewers will see Saira’s onscreen daughter in the upcoming series as Lauren Patel joins the cast as teacher Jas Sharma.
The young actress was born and raised in Bolton.
She was cast as Pritti Pasha in the 2021 Amazon Prime Video film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Lauren got the role having auditioned when she was 17 after seeing an advertisement requesting an actress of her age and Indian origin.
In the same month as being cast, all her applications to London theatre schools were rejected.
Lauren’s big break came in 2024 with BBC’s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
She voiced PC Mukherjee, a plucky young police officer who figures out what’s really going on but faces disbelief from her idiotic superior.
Speaking about performing, Lauren said: “I had such a wonderful time at The Sixth Form Bolton’s performing arts department.
“They encouraged me to be creative and confident and really helped nurture my love for performing.”
With Saira and Lauren playing mother and daughter, as well as colleagues, in Waterloo Road, it will be interesting to see how they balance teaching with their relationship when the new series arrives.
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