Waterloo Road have revealed a first look at former EastEnders star Lindsey Coulson’s new role.
The actress, 64, is best known to BBC viewers for playing matriarch Carol Jackson in their flagship soap opera for over 10 years across three separate stints.
Whilst fans have been hoping she would be the next in line to make a huge return to Albert Square for the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations, following in the footsteps of her co-stars Patsy Palmer and Michael French.
Whilst a Walford arrival isn’t on the cards, Lindsey is set to head northbound as the new headteacher of troubled Mancunian school Waterloo Road.
The academy has had quite a dramatic term, with Steve Savage (Jason Manford) stepping in as interim principal in the wake of Kim Campbell’s (Angela Griffin) departure.
Before long, his son Billy (Olly Rhodes) found himself victim of twisted bully Schuey Weever (Zak Sutcliffe) and his crony Boz Osbourne (Nathan Wood).
In an attempt to defend himself, he rigged some wire on the canal path to trip the lads’ bikes – unaware that Boz’s resulting fall would prove fatal.
Steve covered for his son’s actions – pushing the body into the water – but ultimately the pair’s secret was exposed in tonight’s series finale when Billy attempted to take his own life from the school’s rooftop, and they were arrested.
In a new trailer, Lowry Community Academies CEO Serena-Michelle Davies (Kerry Howard) can be seen meeting with Dame Stella Drake (Coulson) in a swanky bar, attempting to recruit her as the new head of the ‘murder school’.
Upon meeting her new deputies Coral Walker (Rachel Leskovac) and Joe Casey (James Baxter), it becomes evident that Stella will brush her staff up the wrong way.
She gathers the staff together to address the damaging reputation, and begins to put plans in place to ‘bring Waterloo Road back.’
On her casting, Lindsey said: ‘I’m delighted to be joining Waterloo Road as the new headteacher, Dame Stella Drake.’
‘It’s a role I haven’t played before so I’m really enjoying peeling back the layers of who Stella is and seeing how the teachers and students react to her no-nonsense approach.
‘Waterloo Road tackles social issues head on which is so important to see on television and this series will be no different.’
BBC Drama director Lindsay Salt added that the newbie is ‘a force to be reckoned with’, whilst executive producer Cameron Roach praised Coulson, saying she has ‘absolutely embraced the spirit and ethos of the show.’
Whilst details of the next series – which will debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer next year – are being kept under wraps for now, we do know that Stella was once celebrated by Ofsted (the government department that regulates educational environments) but has found herself knocked off her pedestal.
The no-nonsense Dame wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about parental incompetence in her previous job, which led to her going viral.
With the students becoming unsettled and unruly, she’s the perfect candidate to set them on the path to reform… but will struggle to cope with the school’s modern pastoral approach.
We also know that soon, her personal life will begin to spill over into the professional and there could be some skeletons in her closet.
It wouldn’t be a new term on Waterloo Road without it!
