Waterloo Road: which actors from the original are in the reboot series of the school-based drama?

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Let’s take a look at which actors and actresses have reprised their roles - and what they have been doing since the original series

Waterloo Road is back on our screens after an eight-year hiatus, and so are some of the original cast members.

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The original series of the school-based drama ran from 2006 to 2015 - and earlier this month, BBC revived it once more.

Series 11 starts with students staging a protest about the racist name of their school, due to it being named after a slave trader.

Headteacher Kim Campbell soon gets permission to change the name from William Beswick High School to Waterloo Road - in honour of a school she once worked at, which was merged.

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So, let’s take a look at which actors and actresses have reprised their roles - and what they have been doing since the original series.

Adam Thomas as Donte Charles

Adam Thomas attends The 2012 British Soap Awards at ITV Studios on April 28, 2012 in London, England.  (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)Adam Thomas attends The 2012 British Soap Awards at ITV Studios on April 28, 2012 in London, England.  (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Adam Thomas attends The 2012 British Soap Awards at ITV Studios on April 28, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Adam Thomas reprised his role as Donte Charles.

Between series one and four, Donte was a pupil at Waterloo Road - and the original high-school bad boy.

Donte and his girlfriend Chlo Grainger, who were just 16-years-old, get married in the first episode of series three.

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Despite many ups and downs in their relationship, Chlo gives birth to their daughter, Izzie, in season four and the young family move to Manchester so Chlo can continue studying at University. This becomes Adam Thomas’ first departure from the show.

Fast forward 14-years, and Donte and Chlo are still together in the first episode of series eleven (the reboot). The couple now have two children; Izzie (played by Adam’s real life niece Scarlett) and Tommy (Adam’s real life son Teddy).

However, on Izzie’s first day at William Beswick High School, Chlo is hit by a car. Following the death of his wife, Donte takes on the role of a school caretaker shortly after the school has been renamed Waterloo Road.

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In 2009, after Adam’s character departed from Waterloo Road, he featured (for the third time) in BBC’s Doctors, as Ben Hamilton.

That same year, he took on the role of Adam Barton in ITV’s Emmerdale - a role he had until 2018.

He took a brief break from the ITV soap at the end of 2016 to appear on the 16th series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! - where he finished in third place. Later, in 2019, he became a co-host on I’m a Celebrity: Extra Camp.

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He became a property executive for the Kamani Property Group in 2018 alongside former Emmerdale co-star Marc Silcock.

Adam portrayed the role of Rob for one episode of BBC’s Moving On in February 2019.

In September 2019, the actor opened a bar/restaurant in Stockport with his school friend, Scott Graham. The Spinn has since shut down.

Angela Griffin as Kim Campbell

Angela Griffin attends a gala evening of 'School Of Rock The Musical' at Gillian Lynne Theatre on March 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)Angela Griffin attends a gala evening of 'School Of Rock The Musical' at Gillian Lynne Theatre on March 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
Angela Griffin attends a gala evening of 'School Of Rock The Musical' at Gillian Lynne Theatre on March 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Angela Griffin has reprised her role as Kim Campbell.

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Kim Campbell was a pastoral care teacher at the original Waterloo Road High School in season one and season two. Angela’s character then returned again in season four, before leaving at the end of season five for maternity leave.

In series eleven, Kim reprises her role but this time as the headteacher of William Beswick High School, and after the pupils riot over the name of the school, she makes the decision to rename the school Waterloo Road.

Angela’s second departure from the show came in 2010, so that she could focus on hosting her Sky1 daytime show called Angela and Friends. The self-titled show discussed health topics and celebrity gossip.

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In January 2010, Angela co-presented Sky’s coverage of the Golden Globes, alongside Gethin Jones.

Angela has a main role in the first two series of Mount Pleasant in 2011, and presented Emergency with Angela Griffin on Sky1 that same year.

She was one of three finalists on BBC Two’s The Great Sport Relief Bake Off in January 2012.

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Between 2014 and 2021, she had main roles in detective drama Lewis, comedy Brief Encounters, police drama The Detail, mystery thriller White Lines, mystery-drama Crime, and a mini-series about people living through Covid-19, titled Isolation Stories.

During that time, she also had recurring roles in comedy series Turn Up Charlie and period drama Harlots.

On 17 September 2018, Angela co-presented The One Show on BBC One alongside Matt Baker.

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She began hosting BBC Radio 2’s Unwinds in August 2021, and from September that same year, Angela started sitting in for Steve Wright on Sunday Love Songs on various occasions.

Last year, Angela starred in Netflix Horror film Choose or Die, rom-com Your Christmas or Mine?, and three episodes of ITV’s The Suspect.

Katie Griffiths as Chlo Crainger (Charles)

Actress Katie Griffiths arrives at The Hollywood Reporter & The History Channel Screening Of "Hatfields & McCoys" at Milk Studios on May 21, 2012 in Hollywood, California.  (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)Actress Katie Griffiths arrives at The Hollywood Reporter & The History Channel Screening Of "Hatfields & McCoys" at Milk Studios on May 21, 2012 in Hollywood, California.  (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
Actress Katie Griffiths arrives at The Hollywood Reporter & The History Channel Screening Of "Hatfields & McCoys" at Milk Studios on May 21, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Katie Griffiths reprised her role as Chlo Charles, but sadly, for just one episode.

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Chlo was a main character between season one and four of Waterloo Road, before she departed to live in Manchester with her husband Donte and her daughter Izzie (whom she had when she was a teenager).

When the first episode of the reboot series begins, Donte and Chlo are still happily married and now have a second child, Tommy.

However, when Chlo takes Izzie to her first day at William Beswick High School, she is hit by a car during a school riot.

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She refuses to get a head X-Ray as she is due to pitch an idea for the school to headteacher Kim Campell. She later collapses in Donte’s arms, and is pronounced dead in hospital.

Following her first exit from Waterloo Road in 2009, Katie only picked up one main role, playing Alifair McCoy in 2012 Western miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

However, the actress did feature in two episodes of Five Days (2010), two episodes of comedy miniseries Rock & Chips (2010) and four episodes of medical soap opera Doctors (2010 and 2020).

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Katie has also made five guest appearances in medical drama Casualty. She portrayed Lucy Hainford in 2007, Ella Graham Poplikova twice in 2009, Sarah Samuels in 2012, and Livvy Minter in 2016.

She also appeared in science fiction police drama Paradox (2009), period comedy Father Brown (2016), and detective drama Prime Suspect 1973 (2017).

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