Fans should expect a big shake-up to the Waterloo Road cast in series 18, with another star confirming they shot their “final ever scene” in series 17.
Just last week, Hollie Jay-Bowes (who plays Debs) quietly revealed that she wouldn’t be returning for another series.
While that makes sense for her character (read our breakdown of Waterloo Road series 17’s ending to find out more), it’s still sad to see a fan favourite depart the show.
However, another star has confirmed they won’t return – and this one stings.
***Warning: spoilers from Waterloo Road ending ahead***
Luca leaves Waterloo Road as star confirms exit after series 17
Danny Murphy, who plays deaf student Luca, will not reprise his role in Waterloo Road series 18.
The star posted a clip of one of his last scenes in series 17 episode 8, writing: “At last, getting to watch my final ever scene at WLR.”
It’s a hard pill for fans to swallow, given the emotional ending of the new series.
“Luca needs to come back to Waterloo Road I love the character,” one user commented on Reddit.
“What, that’s gutting. He has been my favourite of the students,” a second wrote. “It’s really upsetting,” a third added.
“Luca will probably still be mentioned by Freddie in next series. They can’t exactly brush that over,” another fan speculated.
Alas, there’s reason to believe they will “brush that over”.
Don’t expect to see Luca and Freddie in series 18
To make matters worse, it looks like Freddy (played by Freddy Chippendale Smith) won’t be coming back either.
“I had a blast working together well done mate,” he commented on one of Murphy’s Instagram post (which was also captioned, “That’s a wrap for me”).
In his own post promoting the new series, Smith captioned it, “What an incredible experience.”
Given both students were in the same year in series 17, they will have graduated, which explains why they won’t be coming back.
Series 17 ended with Luca and Freddie finally getting together (after a BSL rendition of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’). It’s a nice way to end their arcs, but viewers want to see more.
“Noooo, I really wish Luca and Freddie had more time together, they were great!”
Read more: Waterloo Road fans react to Scarlett Thomas’ shock kiss after fan demands: ‘Oh my god’
Waterloo Road series 17 continues every Tuesday on BBC Two. You can stream the series on BBC iPlayer now.
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