While her friends trudged into school each day last term, teenager Katie Griffiths was working in a very different classroom -- on the set of the major new television drama she stars in.

Katie, 17, from Kildwick, has a lead role in BBC1 drama series Waterloo Road, which starts early this month and is billed as a rival to Coronation Street.

Described as Grange Hill meets Teachers, the eight-part series is set in a failing comprehensive school and follows the attempts of staff and pupils to turn it around after the head teacher quits in despair. Created by the team behind Footballers' Wives, it stars Jason Merrells and Angela Griffin, who were in BBC1's hairdressing drama Cutting It.

The cast also includes Denise Welch, who starred alongside Merrells in The Jealous God, a film based on a novel by Bingley writer John Braine, which was shot in and around Bradford.

In the film, released last autumn, Merrells played a school teacher and filmed scenes at St Bede's School, Heaton, where Braine was a pupil. In Waterloo Road Merrells plays pragmatic deputy head Jack Rimmer who is left to take control of the school.

The series was shot in Rochdale and filming ended just before Christmas. Katie plays the daughter of a teacher, played by former EastEnders actress and last year's Strictly Come Dancing winner Jill Halfpenny.

"My character is called Chlo Granger, she's 14 and feisty but very emotional deep down," said Katie.

"It was quite a heavy filming schedule. Sometimes we didn't finish until 2am, so I stayed in a hotel in Manchester. It was a fantastic experience, I've learned loads.

"It was great working with such a strong cast. They didn't hesitate to help if I needed it and we all socialised together with the crew. I also learned about the technical side of filming."

Katie appears throughout the series and two Bradford teenagers, Scott Kay and Nikki Patel, also appear in episodes.

All three youngsters attend Idle theatre school Stage 84.

Katie beat more than 200 other hopefuls for the role.

An A-level student at South Craven School, in Cross Hills, Katie took her schoolwork to the set. "I did some of it in my dressing room," she said.

"On the days when I wasn't filming I went to school. It's going to be a high profile show and there's already talk of a second series."