Comedian Jason Manford talks about his new role as a headteacher on Waterloo Road

​The 43-year-old also wasn’t the best or worst at football. He just got through school, and met some really good friends – people he’s still friends with now – who helped him get into drama and music through the band he joined.

He got involved with all the school productions and plays. But he just wasn’t a memorable kid. Even now, when he bumps into people who he went to school with, they still can’t believe he’s a comedian – as he wasn’t very funny.

They would probably also be surprised to hear that he has joined series 14 of BBC One and BBC iPlayer’s Waterloo Road, as the new headteacher Steve Savage.

Manford’s lead role will ruffle some feathers at the school, leave viewers thinking about what the future looks like for current headteacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), and have a huge impact on the staff and pupils, who will be dealing with some of the hard-hitting storylines the TV drama is known to explore, including bullying, grief, the cost-of-living crisis and the teacher shortage.

Before the actor makes his debut, he talks about why we need to modernise the education system, the legacy of Waterloo Road, mentorship and what he enjoyed most about his experience.

How would you describe the legacy of Waterloo Road?

I think what’s great about Waterloo Road is that it’s been on TV for a very long time. It’s one of the most watched shows on iPlayer for young people. We rediscovered it during lockdown and my kids got into it that way. So getting the phone call to come on was like serendipity.

It’s also important for the North West, especially for the people of Manchester. When I was on set, behind the scenes, there were junior producers and writers, brand-new sound techs and lighting people. A lot of people get a chance on that show that they might not get elsewhere. It’s really hard.

But on a show like Waterloo Road, you’ve got the experience of everyone working on it, so you’re able to just feed those new people in. We had a first-time director and John Maidens, another director, who is deaf.

He was working on an episode that was about deaf children coming into the school. I just don’t know where else you’d be able to do that and have that freedom and talent. I really wanted to support the show as well, because of how much it’s done for my city.

Steve Savage used to be a horror at school but turned out okay. He became a headteacher. Why do you think it’s important for classrooms to become more equitable spaces where every pupil – good or bad – can learn and grow?

We still have an education system that’s built around what they decided was right in Victorian times. There are children making millions of pounds editing YouTube videos. Who’s right here?

The whole thing needs modernising. You’d be much better doing a class on social media than you would on stuff you can Google. When I was at school, during maths lessons, the teacher would say that you won’t have a calculator in your pocket all the time. But I’ve got that. I’ve got Google Translate, I’ve got maps, I’ve got all these things and yet, we’re still forcing kids to learn things that they can find out in a second on their phones. I’m not saying you should get rid of everything, but it definitely needs an update.

As far as kids are concerned, thankfully we now live in a society where we can spot autism and ADHD, ADD and dyslexia, because when I was a kid, you’re either difficult or thick. If you had any of those things, you weren’t thought about, you’d be forgotten. As a result, when you speak to a lot of these billionaires about their time in school, they are labelled as disruptive or bad kids.

I think that’s what’s great about Steve Savage. He is the kid who would have been forgotten about. He’s in the care system and was on the wrong side of the tracks, with no parents to look out for him. Everyone thought he would amount to nothing. And here he is, in charge of this school. I think it’s an important story.

What have you learnt from the leadership style of Stevie Savage?

I think Steve Savage is the sort of headteacher that you want at your kid’s school. He’s cutting red tape. He’s not messing around. If he says he’ll do something, he’ll do it in the best interest of the school. Yes, he’s ambitious. He wants what’s right for him, but he’s got his eye on results and making sure his kids don’t fall through the cracks.

Later on in the series, there’s a kid who he sees – one of his old pupils – who’s now a drug dealer, and that hurts him like it’s his own child. So he tries to help them again.

That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t cut corners, but he does cross boundaries but most of the time they work out for him.

Savage was also a mentor. How have you gained from mentorship in your career?

I had a couple of really brilliant teachers at school who showed a little bit of interest.

There’s also something in a teacher you are scared to disappoint. Of course, that’s got its effects in certain places, but I think with children, having a teacher you want to make proud is huge. That’s so powerful.

I had a couple of those teachers. I remember Miss Elson, our drama teacher, Miss Cooper, our English teacher, and Mr Wiley, who was our deputy head. I just remember they were the teachers you wanted to get a little “well done” from.

And then when I got into stand up, Peter Kay was an early hero of mine, who helped me out and gave me some advice, and then I guess now the flipside of that is that, 25 years later, there’s newer comics who I sort of keep an eye out for.

I think it’s important, in any area of life, to not just get as much help as you can from people who are higher up the food chain, but it’s also about leaving the ladder down for the people behind you, so they can get up as well.

l Waterloo Road returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday September 10 at 9pm.