Former EastEnders star Lindsey Coulson has joined the cast of Waterloo Road.
The actress will play new headteacher Dame Stella Drake in the school drama when it returns to BBC One in 2025.
Her character will take over from the previous headteacher, Steve Savage, played by comedian Jason Manford, who was taken away by the police at the end of series 14 for helping to cover up the murder of Boz Osbourne.
Speaking about her new role, Coulson said:
“I’m delighted to be joining Waterloo Road as the new headteacher, Dame Stella Drake. 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.”
Once at the top of the Ofsted ranks, Dame Stella was knocked off her pedestal thanks to her cutting words about parental incompetence going viral, but her uncompromising work ethic, strict moral compass and no nonsense approach makes her the perfect candidate to reform Waterloo Road.
She joins the school as the students become increasingly unruly following the effects of last term and she soon feels out of date as she clashes with the school’s modern pastoral approach. Stella might have the students best interests at heart but soon her personal life spills over into the professional and fans will be left wondering what skeletons she could be hiding?
Cameron Roach, Executive Producer of Waterloo Road, said:
“We’re really thrilled that Lindsey Coulson is joining Waterloo Road, she has absolutely embraced the spirit and ethos of the show, and she completely inhabits the role of Dame Stella Drake, we can’t wait for the audience to meet her. The fact that the show has attracted an actor of Lindsey’s calibre is testament to the continued ambition and commitment from our writing and story teams, as well as our brilliant cast and crew.”
Coulson is most famous for her portrayal of Carol Jackson in the BBC soap EastEnders, a role she played from 1993 to 1999 and then again from 2010 to 2015.
