It’s time to move on for telly teacher

Waterloo Road star Jason Done has spoken of his emotional departure from the BBC’s hit Greenock-set school drama.

But he told The Sunday Post that the switch to filming north of the border, rather than Rochdale, kept him on the show for longer.

“I think I’d possibly have quit before this,” confirmed Jason, whose final episode playing Tom Clarkson is screened this week.

“I found the move to Greenock refreshing. I loved my time in Scotland and, if anything, that kept the flame alive for me.

“I’ve been blessed with some great storylines in the more than 130 episodes I’ve done, so it was a huge decision to move on.”

And with Jason and wife Anoushka having a toddler and a new baby, he admits it wasn’t taken lightly.

“It’s been a very emotional time,” confesses Jason.

“It was my choice to leave as I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and seek new challenges.

“I’d like to think I’ve never been lazy playing Tom, but if you do something for so long you can’t help but become comfortable.

“I don’t want the audience to get bored with him and I wanted to leave on a high.

“I have a young family but sometimes you feel you just have to take a risk.

“I have the typical actor’s paranoia about never working again, though.

“You do think, ‘This is crazy!’

“But hopefully I’ll prove anyone saying ‘What are you doing, you idiot!’ wrong.”

Jason’s certainly getting to go out in style with this week’s thrill-packed series finale.

Bad boy Kyle (George Sampson) shows up after his spell inside.

While others try to give him the benefit of the doubt, that’s not the case with Tom who testified against him in court.

And a face-to-face confrontation has dramatic consequences.

“I’ve not seen it yet but I’m told it’s jaw-dropping,” teased Jason.

Certainly any fears over his future look unfounded with a number of jobs already ticked off. He’s also starting to film a movie called Cold Mile House this autumn.

And he has nothing but good memories from his time as a telly teacher.

“I was in the first shot on day one and I’ve loved it,” adds Jason.

“My favourite episode was when we went to Blackpool and Sam passed away.

“It had you crying one minute and howling with laughter the next it was Waterloo Road at its best.”

Waterloo Road, BBC One, Thursdays 8pm