About Waterloo Road
The long-running, award-winning drama series follows the day-to-day activity at Waterloo Road school, where lessons learned, it seems, have a way of extending beyond the classroom. Initially set at a rundown comprehensive school in Rochdale, England, before moving to an independent school in Greenock, Scotland, the drama revolves around the never-dull lives of the school's teachers and students, and its story lines address many attention-grabbing social issues such as sex, abortion, divorce, child abuse and suicide.
Newspaper headlines: Tina Turner 'simply the best' and 'more rate rises ahead'

......
Newspaper headlines: 'Cops probe Boris again' and 'secret Rolf funeral'

......
Waterloo Road: Samia actress Priyasha Kumari talks breaking barriers

... Now she s on our screens in Waterloo Road...
Waterloo Road: Why BBC school drama is back after eight-year break

... Waterloo Road has now been rebooted, with some familiar faces returning, although another long-running drama was axed to make way...
TV lookahead: 23 highlights to look out for in 2023

... Waterloo Road (BBC One)Nearly eight years after the popular drama was axed, Waterloo Road is returning to the nation s screens...
Richard Mylan: Waterloo Road star reveals heroin addiction battle

... The former Waterloo Road and The Bill star, who has been in recovery for 10 years, said he is one of a " number of many functioning professional addicts"...
Denise Welch shares her mental health survival tips

... Welch, whose roles soldier belong to Waterloo Road, Coronation Street and soldier, she admits someone who is very sensitive and tends to get on the cares of the world ...
Coronavirus: How England's coastal resorts are faring?

... Never in his 92 years Waterloo Road has closed, in the middle of the season, says manager Luca Vettese...
Waterloo Road: Samia actress Priyasha Kumari talks breaking barriers
By Tania SanghaBBC Asian Network
About a year ago, Priyasasha Kumari was pulling 10-hour shifts at Aldi and working at a Post Office to make ends meet. Now she's on our screens in Waterloo Road .
Priyasasha had just finished a 10-hour supermarket shift when she got The Call .
She'd won The Role of Samia Chaudhary in acclaimed High School drama Waterloo Road .
Since the new series launched on Bbc One last month, Priyasasha says we've seen Samia's " fierce, empowering" personality come out.
She says the Year 11is " not afraid to speak her mind" - Something Priyasasha thinks there's a lack of in South Asian parts.
But she feels her new role is a step in The Right direction for South Asian representation on-screen.
'Voice of her own'" I think in The Beginning you can get stereotyped for particular roles and I think it's really great for us to break those barriers, " Priyasha told BBC Asian Network.
" A lot of The Time South Asian characters are put into a Pigeon Hole .
" If she's a young girl, she's oppressed by her parents, she doesn't have much ambition and she can't do anything in life that she aspires to do".
" What Samia's character does is break all of those stereotypes. She has a voice of her own and leads The Way for her fellow classmates. "
Priyasasha also says her character's steering away from old narratives often associated with South Asian culture.
She points out how Samia's " interracial relationship" with Preston Waters , Played By Noah Valentine " wasn't made a 'thing'.
" It wasn't addressed. It was just as it was, " says Priyasasha.
" Society today has changed and everyone is moving with The Times , " she says.
" Many Young People can relate to that and relate to her and the situations she goes through".
'People Like Me on the telly'Since starting The Show she's received a lot of support, particularly from the Asian community.
" A lot of girls message me saying it's so amazing to see you on our screens, Thank You so much for telling A Story and representing us".
" When I grew up I didn't see anybody that was Like Me on the telly. "
" It's quite taboo trying to talk about being a creative in an Asian family and I think if there's more representation…. [it gives] families a chance to understand it and get behind and be supportive".
Priyasasha, who graduated in 2016, says there was a " two-year gap" before she managed to break into the industry.
She auditioned for BBC soap Doctors in 2018 and juggled two Jobs - Aldi and the Post Office - while trying to get more acting work.
" Sometimes I'd finish a ten-hour shift, And Then I'd have to come home, learn my lines, do a self-tape, go to sleep and do it all over again, " she says.
And it was after a long day at her full-time job that she got the Good News about Waterloo Road .
" I found out like a ten-hour shift that I got The Job so it was a crazy thing, " she says.
Priyasasha, who's from Blakenhall in the West Midlands , now hopes to use her platform to continue telling more relatable stories " that represent us as young brown Asian girls".
And despite the uncertainties of the industry she's " excited for what's to come, because you never know what's going to happen".
" You're constantly living in The Unknown , " she says.
" There's like a thousand no's before you get that yes.
" You really have To Believe in yourself. "
.
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com