A Waterloo Road icon is stepping back into the famous school next year after 15 years away – it’s none other than Steph Haydock!
Fiery French teacher Steph – played by Loose Women legend Denise Welch – was an original character in the BBC drama, appearing regularly for five series.
She made a further guest appearance in series six, which aired in 2010.
Since the show’s revival in 2023, fans have been desperate to see her back – especially since a number of fan-favourites have already reprised their roles.
We’ve seen Adam Thomas as Donte Charles, Angela Griffin as Kim Campbell, Jamie Glover as Andrew Treneman and Jason Merrells as Jack Rimmer all back in a regular capacity.
Meanwhile, Katie Griffiths, Lauren Drummond, Chelsee Healey and Zeriozha Annika stepped back into Chlo and Mika Grainger, Janeece Bryant and Celine Dixon’s shoes for guest stints.
It has been reported that Chelsee will be taking more time away from Hollyoaks in the coming months to film another return.
Now, it has been officially confirmed that Denise is coming back was wayward Steph in series 17, which will air next year.
Who was Steph Haydock in Waterloo Road?
One of the most memorable characters, Steph was pretty hopeless at teaching and enjoyed the more social side of the job.
She flirted with pretty much everybody, and saw herself as more of a mate to her students than their teacher.
Steph fostered pupil Maxine Barlow (Ellie Paskell) and was left devastated when she was killed, and found a love rival in Davina Shackleton (Christine Tremarco) when she set her sights on headteacher Jack.
She also shared scenes with then real-life husband Tim Healy, who played a security guard in series four.
After an off-screen departure, which was explained by Steph resigning, she made a brief comeback to support colleague Grantly Budgen (Philip Martin Brown) while he cared for his wife Fleur (Lorraine Cheshire), who was living with dementia.
How does Steph return?
At the conclusion of last night’s series finale, we were treated to a trailer showing what’s coming up next term.
Dastardly new deputy head Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson) can be seen trying to introduce a ‘new era’ to the troubled academy, while facing off with a rowdy student and a wayward dog running through the corridors.
He also enjoys a smooch with Nisha Chandra (Saira Choudhry), while Joe Casey (James Baxter) locks lips with special educational needs coordinator Mitch Swift (Christopher Jeffries).
Students Schuey Weever (Zak Sutcliffe) and Agnes Eccleston (Niamh Blackshaw) are also seen in an intimate moment in a car, before being interrupted.
When headteacher Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson) shows doubts over Darius’ management, he decides to tackle a staffing issue – by employing Steph!
Making herself cosy with a newspaper, she boldly announces: ‘Every supply teacher you’ve seen in your life will pale into insignificance.’
Following a brief snap of her grabbing hold of Neil Guthrie’s (Neil Fitzmaurice) hand, she continues: ‘I’ve got this covered.’
We don’t think his girlfriend Coral Walker (Rachel Leskovac) will be too pleased about that!
What has Denise Welch said about her return?
Speaking of her comeback, Denise beamed: ‘I’m thrilled to see the return of Steph to Waterloo Road.
’15 years older, but certainly not wiser. She’ll soon show that time has certainly not dulled her shine!
‘Still unmarried but eternally hopeful, Steph is back as a supply teacher. What she is supplying remains to be seen, but I am having a great time stepping back into the shoes of a character I love.’
Denise also addressed whether or not she’ll cross paths with Jack Rimmer, who seemed to leave the school in yesterday’s finale after trying to expose Darius’ devious ways.
Luckily, it seems like he’ll be back.
‘It’s also been great to reunite with some of my old castmates, like Jason Merrells,’ she added.
‘Steph and Jack go back a long way, but will they move forward?! You’ll have to wait and see.’
Executive Producer Cameron Roach said: ‘Steph Haydock is a Waterloo Road icon, so we knew we had to find the right story if we were to see her back in our world.
‘We were thrilled that Denise enjoyed our pitch and that the fans will get to see Steph once more – her one liners are just as sharp, her lip stick is fiercely drawn, and the staff room atmosphere is changed for good.
‘Neil Guthrie has met his match. We can’t wait for the fans to see her episodes.’
All episodes of Waterloo Road are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
