WHY WATERLOO ROAD CHOSE THE POST-PRODUCTION PROWESS OF MEDIACITY’S DOCK10, CREATING MEANINGFUL TALENT PATHWAYS IN THE PROCESS

About Waterloo Road

Waterloo Road, the long-running school drama, is celebrating its 20^th anniversary in 2026. It focuses on the staff and students at a troubled comprehensive school in Greater Manchester and tackles social issues such as teenage pregnancy, bullying and teacher-student relationships. Produced by Rope Ladder Fiction for the BBC, it counts the likes of Jack O’Connell, Jodie Comer, Adam Thomas, Angela Griffin, Denise Welch and Neil Morrissey amongst its alumni. After a seven-year hiatus, it returned to BBC One in 2022 and remains one of the top brands on BBC iPlayer for viewers under 35.

Concept to Camera: Navigating the complexities of drama production

There is always pressure on any returning drama series to pick up where the accolades left off; that means the right storylines, for the right cast, with the right director and the right production and post infrastructure in place. It was the latter that Rope Ladder Fiction turned to dock10, MediaCity for.

As a regional production, filmed across multiple locations – including its studio base neighbouring MediaCity – and with a relatively short timeframe from shoot to output delivery, Rope Ladder Fiction needed to create the right ecosystem to streamline the collaboration between production and post.

Additionally, Waterloo Road has always run several programmes to develop emerging creative talent, and it was no different with the reboot, with 35 trainees from the local community involved. As part of the post-production contract, dock10 was challenged with ensuring the same opportunities were provided through its own career pathways.

Designing the ecosystem to go from script to screen

For the return of Waterloo Road, dock10 needed to provide a robust package to meet the creative and connectivity requirements proposed by Rope Ladder Fiction.

Jon Nunn, Commercial Manager at dock10, MediaCity said: “Our team, which included representatives from post-production, technology and cyber security, created a tailored solution for Rope Ladder Fiction, that blended technology, creativity, and streamlined workflow management. We pride ourselves on giving clients the feeling and attentiveness of a boutique post-production house, with the unrivalled infrastructure of dock10 and MediaCity, as the most connected creative campus in the UK, with one of the most resilient data centres in the world due to our role in live broadcast.”

The tailored package for Rope Ladder Fiction included:

• Commitment to include a percentage of team places to future talent
• Dedicated producer – dock10’s Senior Post Producer, Kirby Dunlop, became the integral link in the workflow chain, working alongside the producers, directors and the production’s own post-production co-ordinator to manage the post-production for Waterloo Road throughout every stage of the process
• On location edit suites connected to dock10’s servers, enabling editors and edit assistants to work closely with the directors without requiring them to leave set
• All media and project data held on dock10’s servers for safety, security, high resilience and availability
• Installation of remote Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR) booths on set to catch actors between takes to record any required ADR lines and reduce time spent off set travelling to recordings, and edited into the final mix in a seamless way
• Synchronous download and upload speeds from shoots on campus at MediaCity
• Cloud-based workflow management platform, accessible in real-time to both the Rope Ladder Fiction and dock10 teams
• Regular visits from dock10 post-production creatives – online editors, colourists, dubbing mixers – to the sets to meet with production counterparts and discuss upcoming scenes to ensure aligned outcomes
• A post-production team, made up of dock10 employees and freelance resource, who had previously worked on Waterloo Road and could provide the level of creative continuity needed for the show to be produced against the imposed timeframes

Kirby Dunlop, Senior Post Producer at dock10, MediaCity said: “For many of the post team at dock10 this wasn’t their first encounter with Waterloo Road. Many of us worked on the original incarnation earlier in our careers, so the chance to be involved in the revival of such a well-loved series was exciting for everyone. Waterloo Road has always been a huge proponent of pushing new talent in front of and behind the camera, and that’s very much aligned with dock10’s ethos around staff progression.”

A production process that delivered on the vision

In the four years that Waterloo Road has been back at dock10, the Rope Ladder Fiction team have experienced:

• 184 weeks of edit
• 140x 58-minute episodes delivered for UK & International TX
• 430 Terabytes of media stores and backed up
• 1525 hours of media edited with an average of over 50TB or around 185 hours per series
• A handful of talent who had the opportunity to train and work on Waterloo Road and since gone on to become professionals in their field including:
  • 3 x Audio Assistants for ADR recording
  • 2 x Audio Tracklay dubbing editors
  • 1x Colourist
  • 3 x Online Editors (first drama)
  • 1 x Post Production Co Ordinator
  • 4 x Edit Assistants

Cameron Roach, Founder and Executive Producer at Rope Ladder Fiction, said: “dock10 has proven itself to be the perfect post-production partner, which is why we’re still here four years later, celebrating an incredible 20-year milestone together.

“Advances in connectivity, remote workflows and high-resolution production mean you can combine world-class regional facilities like dock10 with talent working from across the UK and beyond. What really matters is bringing those elements together, great infrastructure, collaborative post-production and technology teams and a commitment to developing people. When that works well, you create a cluster that not only supports production but also generates ideas, IP and the next generation of talent.”

Roach added that long-running dramas like Waterloo Road play an important role in sustaining both creative talent and regional production ecosystems.

“As discussions around the BBC and Charter Renewal gather momentum, it’s important we highlight that returning drama series create a sustainable base, from which we can grow talent, specialism and expertise for the future. Returning dramas, often funded by public sector broadcasters can build visible and attainable pathways for regional talent. The trainees at both dock10 and across all our craft disciplines on Waterloo Road are active proof of this.” 

Alice Webb, CEO of MediaCity and dock10, said: “Shows like Waterloo Road don’t come around too often – it has social impact, doesn’t shy away from the tough stories, and has remained relevant as new generations discover it. It fully deserves to be celebrating this 20-year milestone and we feel privileged to be part of its production story.

“Not only is dock10 built on some of the most advanced technology and connectivity in the production world, we also start from a position of true collaboration with our partners. We will continue to invest in large‑scale studios, end‑to‑end production, innovation and talent, so that the productions that turn to us for our expertise can deliver ambitious work that drives growth for them, the sector, and the region, as well as creating meaningful talent pathways.”