Jason Manford has responded to claims that he quit his role as headmaster Steve Savage in Waterloo Road after just one year in the role.
The 44-year-old actor and comedian joined the BBC school drama in September 2024, with his character last seen in prison after throwing pupil Brian ‘Boz’ Osborne’s (Nathan Wood) body into a canal.
“I mean, I didn’t ‘quit’ but [it’s] really tough to carry on as headteacher once you’ve chucked a pupil’s dead body in the canal! It doesn’t look good on the old Ofsted report!” Manford told fans on X/Twitter, following news reports that he’d left the show.
One social media user replied to say they’d miss seeing Savage in his headmaster’s suit. Meanwhile, another said the 8 Out of 10 Cats star had been “brilliant” in the fleeting role.
“Shame you can’t have some prison visits on it. One of my favourite headmasters,” a third person added, while another joked: “I think you’d be fine as long as all the paperwork was filed correctly.”
In Manford’s final episode, he was jailed for perverting the course of justice. His character will be replaced in the show’s forthcoming season by Dame Stella Drake, played by Lindsey Coulson.
Dame Drake, who began her career as a working-class teacher, climbed up the ranks of Ofsted after gaining recognition for her work to improve struggling Northern schools.
Coulson’s character is said to have a “wry sense of humour” but can come across to others as intimidating, which “she’ll use to her advantage” at Waterloo Road.
Her character synopsis reads: “Stella never thought she’d find herself back in mainstream education but when her choice of words get her in trouble, Stella finds herself knocked off her pedestal, sacked by Ofsted and is left with no other option but to take over as the Head of infamous ‘murder school’ Waterloo Road and see if she can turn it around.”
Manford shot to fame for his role as team captain on Channel 4 favourite 8 Out of 10 Cats, from 2007 until 2010.
The Mancunian star has presented programmes such as The One Show in 2010, Bigheads in 2017, Children in Need and Starstruck in 2022. He has also enjoyed a stage career in London’s West End, appearing in productions such as The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
