Waterloo Road series 4
| Waterloo Road | |
|---|---|
| Season 4 | |
 DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 7 January – 20 May 2009 |
| Series chronology | |
The fourth series of Waterloo Road, a British television school drama series created by Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick and produced by BBC Scotland and Shed Productions, commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2009 and concluded after 20 episodes on 20 May 2009.
Waterloo Road's fourth series aired in the United Kingdom on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm GMT on BBC One, a terrestrial television network, where it received an average of 4.76 million viewers per episode.[N 1]
Plot
The show follows the lives of the teachers and the pupils at the eponymous school of Waterloo Road, a failing inner-city comprehensive, tackling a wide range of issues often seen as taboo such as steroids, giving birth, shooting, poverty, alcoholism and smuggling.
Premise
The fourth series picks up after the events of the third series finale, which involved a fire almost destroying the school and left the fate of several staff and pupils unknown.
The Kelly family are introduced as prominent characters this series, often referred to as the "family from hell". The family consists of alcoholic mother, Rose Kelly, and her five children, who all enrol at Waterloo Road and bring many problems with them. Later in the series, a major plot sees pupil Maxine Barlow (Ellie Paskell) led to tragedy after getting together with Earl Kelly (Reece Noi).
Other plots this series include new Head of PE Rob Cleaver (Elyes Gabel), who trains pupil Bolton Smilie (Tachia Newall) using pills that give him an unfair advantage and more of Head teacher Rachel Mason's (Eva Pope) secrets being exposed following the arrival of her sister, as well as her nephew. Also, troubled pupil Chlo Grainger (Katie Griffiths) giving birth and, finally, the return of former Head of Pastoral Care Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), who smuggles a baby girl into the country on her return from Rwanda.
Cast and characters
Staff
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Pupils
Others
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Episodes
| Autumn Term | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (million)[1] | ||
| 41 | "Episode 1" | Minkie Spiro | Lisa Holdsworth | 7 January 2009[N 2] | 4.69 | ||
| 42 | "Episode 2" | Minkie Spiro | David McManus | 14 January 2009 | 4.85 | ||
| 43 | "Episode 3" | James Erskine | David McManus | 21 January 2009 | N/A[N 3] | ||
| 44 | "Episode 4" | James Erskine | Phillip Dodds | 28 January 2009[N 4] | N/A[N 3] | ||
| 45 | "Episode 5" | Dominic Keavey | Ann McManus & Avril Russell | 4 February 2009 | N/A[N 3] | ||
| 46 | "Episode 6" | Dominic Keavey | Louise Ironside | 11 February 2009 | 4.85 | ||
| 47 | "Episode 7" | Matthew Evans | Karen McLachlan & Phillip Dodds | 18 February 2009 | N/A[N 3] | ||
| 48 | "Episode 8" | Matthew Evans | Nick Hoare | 25 February 2009 | 4.85 | ||
| 49 | "Episode 9" | Jonathan Fox Bassett | Michael Jenner | 4 March 2009 | 4.81 | ||
| 50 | "Episode 10" | Jonathan Fox Bassett | David McManus | 11 March 2009 | 4.44 | ||
| Spring Term | |||||||
| 51 | "Episode 11" | Tim Hopewell | Lisa Holdsworth | 18 March 2009 | 4.92 | ||
| 52 | "Episode 12" | Tim Hopewell | Nazrin Choudhry | 25 March 2009 | 4.95 | ||
| 53 | "Episode 13" | Jon Sen | Marc Pye | 1 April 2009 | 4.86 | ||
| 54 | "Episode 14" | Jon Sen | Phillip Dodds | 8 April 2009 | 4.51 | ||
| 55 | "Episode 15" | James Erskine | David McManus | 15 April 2009 | 4.60 | ||
| 56 | "Episode 16" | James Erskine | Nick Hoare | 22 April 2009 | 4.93 | ||
| 57 | "Episode 17" | Julie Edwards | Louise Ironside | 29 April 2009 | 4.62 | ||
| 58 | "Episode 18" | Julie Edwards | Michael Jenner | 6 May 2009 | 4.76 | ||
| 59 | "Episode 19" | Keith Boak | David McManus | 13 May 2009 | 4.54 | ||
| 60 | "Episode 20" | Keith Boak | Lisa Holdsworth | 20 May 2009 | 4.94 | ||
DVD release
Three different box sets of the fourth series was released. The first ten episodes of the series were released on 21 September 2009,[2] and the back ten episodes were released on 26 April 2010.[3] All twenty episodes were later released together on 18 October 2010. They were released with a "12" British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certificate (meaning it is unsuitable for viewing by those under the age of 12 years).[4]
Notes
- ^ The number is based on available ratings data posted on the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board website
- ^ Series 4 Episode 1 was shown in Scotland 30 mins before the rest of the UK. (7:30pm in Scotland & 8pm in the rest of the UK)
- ^ a b c d The episode did not appear in the top 30 viewings on the BARB website
- ^ Series 4 Episode 4 was shown in Scotland on the Sunday after the rest of the UK at 7pm due to live coverage of the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final between Celtic and Dundee United on 28 January 2009.
References
- ^ "Weekly Top 30 Programmes (See relevant weeks)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Waterloo Road: Series Four - Autumn Term". British Video Association. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Waterloo Road: Series Four - Spring Term". British Video Association. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Waterloo Road: The Complete Series Four". British Video Association. Retrieved 2 November 2012.