Comedian Jon Richardson admits 'dream come true' as he makes major career change (2025)

The comedian revealed that he has traded in stand-up for something different

Jon Richardson announced it's a "dream come true" as the BBC confirmed that he'll be starring in their school drama series, Waterloo Road.

Best known for his appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC Radio 6 Music, Jon teased his followers with a small lie about what he's up to next.

On Monday (March 31) the comedian posted a rare update on his Instagram as he shared: "I've been taking a little bit of a break from stand up... I've been doing some training, I've taken a teaching position. I will update you as and when I can."

After he made the announcement, he was met with tons of praise in the comments, with comedian Josh Widdicombe who wrote: "Comedy’s loss is teaching’s loss" and Romesh Ranganathan added: "You’re going to be brilliant mate x".

The BBC confirmed that he'll be a new addition to the staff room when the new series first airs later in the year. Jon shared: "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.

"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."

Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction and Exec Producer for Waterloo Road said: "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."

Jon joins current stars Lindsey Coulson, who will continue in her role as Dame Stella Drake, Waterloo Road’s new head, and Jason Merrells, who reprised his role as Jack Rimmer as a guest in the most recent series and will return as a regular main cast member in the next series.

Series 15 of Waterloo Road which airs its final episode of the current series on Tuesday 1st April, saw the arrival of Dame Stella, who joined the school to save it from its notorious reputation as the ‘murder school’ following the fatal actions of Billy Savage (Olly Rhodes) and Steve Savage (Jason Manford) the previous term.

With her Ofsted background at the forefront of her mind, Stella struggled throughout the series to find the right balance between protecting the students and teachers of Waterloo Road and getting their education back on track. The end of the series saw Dame Stella, realised the error of her ways and recruited Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrells) back into the education system as a counsellor.

Posting on their official Instagram, Waterloo Road wrote: "Dear parents/guardians, You may have heard Jon Richardson is going through a huge career change… We’re pleased to share with you the newest addition to the #WaterlooRoad teaching staff. He’ll be joining us next term."