Entertainment

New school drama Ackley Bridge 'a Poundshop version of Waterloo Road'

Viewers didn’t like Ackley Bridge as much as Waterloo Road – except the scenes with Paul Nicholls in.
Viewers didn’t like Ackley Bridge as much as Waterloo Road – except the scenes with Paul Nicholls in. Viewers didn’t like Ackley Bridge as much as Waterloo Road – except the scenes with Paul Nicholls in.

Television viewers have said Channel 4′s new school drama Ackley Bridge is just “a budget version of Waterloo Road”.

The drama depicting the merging of two segregated schools – one predominantly white, one predominantly Asian – debuted on Wednesday night.

But viewers were largely unimpressed, declaring that it was a poor imitation of the award-winning BBC series Waterloo Road, which wrapped in 2015.

“So far this is like a budget version of waterloo road,” said another, while one disgruntled viewer deemed it “cheap and weird”.

Others said the series was only different in that it had a race issue thrown in.

The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire mill town of Ackley Bridge, features several television newcomers as well as established stars such as Jo Joyner and Sunetra Sarker.But it was former EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls who proved to be one of the high points for viewers.

One even said that having Paul in the cast gave Ackley Bridge the edge: “Waterloo road didn’t have Paul Nicholls though did it? #AckleyBridge for the win!!!”