From devastating death to new headteacher: 8 huge spoilers as Waterloo Road returns

‘There’s a lot of conflict in the relationship that Steve Savage brings to Nicky and Donte, so it’s pretty difficult’ Adam Thomas revealed. ‘It was a really fun storyline to play. Getting to work with Kym and Jason was brilliant.’ He added.

What’s more, Donte and Steve find themselves in a very tense situation during this series, as Adam teased.

‘Donte is put in a very sticky situation. Steve tells Donte something and Donte doesn’t know what to do. He wants to do what’s best for Steve but also he needs to do what’s right. So, it’s very difficult. The situation that Donte gets into is very conflicted.’

A new career for Donte

Donte also gets the opportunity to broaden his horizons this series, when Steve offers him a teaching job.

‘Donte has been given an opportunity to step up from caretaker to teacher, which is a huge opportunity for him. He’s grabbing it with both hands and is trying to do the best job he can do,’ Adam told us.

However, it’s not all good news, as Donte soon begins to suspect that Steve has an ulterior motive, as Adam explained.

‘[Steve] gives my character the opportunity to become a teacher, but he later finds out the reason why, and I think it’s because there’s clearly a thing going on between Steve and Nicky, and Donte gets very jealous over this, especially when he confronts Nicky about the whole situation and she doesn’t tell him that they’ve known each other or even gone out together before.

‘So, there’s lies being told and his head’s in a bit of a mess. He doesn’t know what to believe or who to believe, and now he thinks that Steve is giving him this opportunity because he wants to get closer to Nicky. So, it’s all up in the air for Donte at this time, and he’s a little bit jealous and not too sure what’s going on.’

A new side to Coral

In the last series, Coral and Neil grew close, and we were left wondering if their relationship would go the distance. Well, Rachel Leskovac has some good news…

‘As we left off in series 13, it was will they or won’t they stay together? But he does in fact take her to the garden centre because he’s got the vouchers for the free coffee, but she insists on a slice of cake as well, and that’s what did it.’

Almost as soon as the new series begins however, their relationship is tested when a new job opportunity comes along.

‘There is an opening for a deputy head role and, to me, it seems absolutely natural that Coral would easily slip into those shoes because she’s super organised, above everything else, which you need to be, and is able to juggle lots of plates at one time.

‘So, she goes into the staff room in the morning very smug. She thinks she’s the only person that’s applied for it, so even better, give me the badge! But she soon discovers that Neil has actually gone in for it as well and hasn’t told her!

‘This is a real blow for Coral. She feels betrayed by him, and why on earth would he put himself in the mix, knowing how much it would mean to her?

‘So, because of that there is a conflict between them, and she is fuming with him in the way only Coral can be, and he definitely knows about it. He’s like a dog with his tail between his legs.

‘It’s like a competition then for her, so there’s some really funny scenes from them, because they have to adjudicate each other and so on. Whether or not she’s successful I don’t think I can say, but it’s a really good ep, seeing what will happen and who will get the job!’

Rachel has also teased that viewers will start to see a new side to Coral, during a new storyline.

‘We will get to see quite a different side to Coral in that series particularly because there is a storyline in which we have a lot of deaf students come into the school and my character in particular is quite involved in that. It’s the first time I’ve ever worked with deaf actors and it was absolutely incredible.

‘It really draws out a different side to her and I really loved playing that. She’s still a pain in the bum and likes things done properly, but for me that was the biggest highlight of that series.’

A health scare for Tonya

Tonya Walters (Summer Violet Bird) is at the centre of a big storyline this series, when she starts having health issues.

‘Tonya gets some information that she doesn’t necessarily expect,’ Summer explained. ‘Nobody believes Tonya, and she’s dismissed throughout her pain. When it gets to the realisation that there’s actually something wrong, the tables turn completely.’

Unfortunately, mum Nicky is one of the people who pushes Tonya’s concerns aside.

‘I think at first Nicky’s quite blasé about it because she kind of thinks that Tonya is being dramatic and is perhaps just trying it on for a day off or whatever it is,’ Kym revealed.

‘She isn’t necessarily as supportive as she should be in the beginning, but eventually when things get worse and worse and we get further into that, Nicky does the thing that she always tries to do and goes into full protect mode.’

‘I think what will be nice in this scenario is we’ll see a little bit of a journey with Nicky and Tonya and you do see much more of their relationship and the support and the love there that maybe we haven’t explored in other series.’

Actress Summer is also hopeful that her storyline will resonate with viewers.

‘There’s a lot of things through this storyline that will affect young girls in the audience as viewers, and hopefully it will flag up certain things in their own lives that makes them think, “that’s happening to me”, that they can relate to, in terms of some women’s problems.

‘I’m excited for young girls and even older women to see and think, “I can relate to that,” and get themselves checked out.

A family death

At the beginning of the new series, the Walters and Rafferty family are rocked by a sudden, heartbreaking death – something that has long-lasting affects throughout the rest of the series.

‘I think you see much more of the dynamic of the Raffertys and the Walters,’ Kym teased. ‘You definitely get to know them as a family more, and we enjoyed that as well, exploring all that dynamic.’