Comedian Jon Richardson is turning his hand to teaching in the next series of Waterloo Road.
The star, 42, is best known for his appearances on Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats and its Countdown themed spin-off, and also portrays a fictional version of himself in mockumentary Meet the Richardsons.
Now, after a cheeky tease on Instagram, it has been confirmed that he’s joining the hit BBC school-based drama.
He took to social media yesterday to reveal that he was taking ‘a little break’ from his stand-up routines.
‘Hello everyone, it’s Jon Richardson here. I just thought I’d give you a little update’ he said.
‘I don’t really do social media updates because, I’ll tell you why, I don’t think anybody cares.
‘I have a little bit of news. I’ve obviously been taking a little bit of a break from stand-up and it’s really made me want to carry on taking a break from stand-up.’
He continued, alongside a picture of his childhood writing: ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about a diary entry that I found from 1997, I’m fourteen years old and it says: “Although I’d love to be a stand-up comedian, I’ll probably end up being a teacher”,
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I’ve loved being a comedian, it was absolutely the right choice, but I have decided it would be nice to try the other option – so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
‘I’ve been doing some training. I’ve taken a teaching position. I will update you as and when I can, but that’s all from me from now. Just wanted to let you know where I’ve been. Bye for now.’
With over 12.3k likes and almost 800 comments, it seems that everyone is fooled. Either that, or they’re in on the joke.
Fellow comedian Aisling Bea commented: ‘OH MY GOD THE LUCKY CLASSROOM THAT GETS YOU JON BOY!’
The Weakest Link host Romesh Ranganathan added: ‘You’re going to be brilliant mate.’
Shappi Khorsandi, who has starred alongside him on Cats, wrote: ‘I am so happy for you. You were always, as the kids say, a real one.’
There was one notable other comment, though, and it came from Jason Manford – who was headteacher Steve Savage in Waterloo Road last year.
‘Hmmm this isn’t going to end well’, he said.
As someone very familiar with Greater Manchester’s most notorious educational establishment, perhaps Jon should take heed of his words!
Exact details of his role are yet to be revealed, but we do know that he’ll be under the leadership of fierce Dame Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson).
Jon will be joined by Jason Merrells, who is reprising his Jack Rimmer part in a regular capacity following his guest appearances during the current series, which concludes tonight.
Speaking of his casting, Jon said: ‘I would say that joining Waterloo Road is a dream come true, but in truth most of my dreams about school revolve around not having done my homework or put on my uniform.
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‘I wanted to be a teacher growing up so hopefully this role will put all those ambitions to bed, and I can stop telling my friends and family that I will be testing them on what I’ve been saying or telling audiences on tour that it’s their own time they’re wasting.’
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Executive producer Cameron Roach added: ‘Waterloo Road always strives to strike the right balance between big emotion and comedy, and we feel we’ve struck gold in casting Jon Richardson as a new media studies teacher at Waterloo Road.
‘Not only does Jon have brilliant comic timing, his dramatic performance will surprise and delight his fans in equal measure. Next term promises laughter, tears and whole lot of mayhem.’
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Series 16 of Waterloo Road airs on BBC One and iPlayer later in the year, with Series 1-15 available to stream now.
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