[Scarlett.]

The BBC has announced that the tenth series of Waterloo Road will be its last.

Announcing the news on Twitter, the broadcaster said it was "incredibly proud of the show".


"Series 10 of #WaterlooRoad will be the final series. We're incredibly proud of the show but believe it has reached the end of its lifecycle.

"We still have a further 20 episodes to look forward to before #WaterlooRoad finishes in 2015, and we'll be sending the show out on a high."

A new drama is expected to fill Waterloo Road's 8pm slot when the series bows out.

The secondary school television drama - produced Shed Media - first appeared on BBC One in March 2006 and has won several awards over its eight year history, including the Most Popular Drama award in the 2012 National Television Awards and Most Popular Drama Series at the 2013 Inside Soap awards.

In 2011, the series was controversially relocated from Rochdale to Scotland, which some cast members criticised at the time.

The show has also been successfully exported across the globe to countries including Spain, Australia and Estonia.

BBC One Controller Charlotte Moore and BBC Drama Controller Ben Stephenson said: "We are incredibly proud of Waterloo Road, and would like to thank Shed Productions and all the cast and teams involved across the ten series.

"However, we believe it has reached the end of its lifecycle and won't be returning after series 10 finishes in 2015. On BBC One it's important to make room for new drama and we are committed to commissioning new drama series for 8pm. There are some really exciting ideas currently in development but nothing to confirm yet."

BBC Scotland's Head of Programmes Donalda MacKinnon added: "When we originally committed to making 50 hours of Waterloo Road in Greenock we did so for a number of reasons which included boosting drama production skills here in Scotland, as well as improving training and development opportunities for the future.

"We were very pleased to significantly increase our commitment to 70 hours recently and that was partly thanks to the efforts of the Greenock community who helped make the move happen so smoothly and who made cast and crew so welcome.

It's always sad when any long-running show comes to an end and I know the Waterloo Road team will miss Greenock - as will fans of the show.

"Our firm aim now, however, is to use that to continue growing the TV and the wider creative sector here in Scotland utilising the increased skill base arising from Waterloo Road to build up future home-grown culturally representative output."

DS

Not surprised, its been a zombie series since it randomly moved to Scotland.