As Waterloo Road begins a new term, the school is reeling from pupil Danny Lewis’s death. To help other troubled teens, the BBC One school's head teacher Kim Campbell welcomes the local "school refusers"... and they make quite the entrance! Here, Angela Griffin, who plays Kim, reveals more...
What's Kim's motivation for welcoming 'school refusers' to Waterloo Road?
Angela Griffin: "Kim doesn't like to do anything by halves. She's so community focused and understands that there's often a lot going on for kids at home and that, actually, one of the safest places for so many of them is in school. So she goes all out to welcome these 'refusers'. Normally, you would get maybe two or three refusers but she decides to take about 12. And they certainly bring lots of drama to Waterloo Road!"
Why is she so determined to help these kids? Does it always feel like a battle for her?
Angela: "I think Kim loses hope on a daily basis. But she refuses to beaten. So she's a refuser herself! She understands these kids and refuses to let them down. For Kim, being a head is a vocation. And she was born to be in a school. It would have to be something huge to take her away from Waterloo Road."
What do these students bring to Waterloo Road?
Angela: "Well, for starters, it's a great way of getting a new generation into the school. They're all really, really fantastic kids from the north of England and from all walks of life. It's that amazing thing for Waterloo Road where we're championing young talent."
The last series ended with the shock death of student Danny Lewis. What impact does that have on the series moving forward?
Angela: "I think the death of any child, especially a child that was in your care, and in the care of the school, it'll never leave you. There will always be the ghost of Danny at the school forever. With the child that she lost, Dexter, and the child that she believes she let down, Danny, absolutely becomes a real driving force for Kim. Going forward, she doesn't want to lose another kid like Danny, so it's a new impetus for her."
Is that why she's so desperate to help these kids?
Angela: "Yes, she can't control what's happened but she can control what happens going forward. And she's going to try her hardest to make sure these children don't fall through the cracks and that she can save them."
Do you wish you, as Angela, could go in and give Kim advice?
Angela: "I do but, then, you've got to have teachers like her because it's a thankless task. If you haven't got these teachers, these heads and these members of staff within schools who are willing to go above and beyond for very little, for no thanks and barely any money, where would our kids be nowadays? So, as a mate, I probably would give her a bit of advice, but I wouldn't want her to take it because, if she did, we'd all go to hell in a handcart."
Meanwhile, it's suggested that Waterloo Road should turn into an academy. What does Kim make of this?
Angela: "Kim doesn't necessarily think it's a good idea. Ultimately, becoming an academy means it frees teachers up to teach their own curriculum. You've got a lot more control over that, you've got a lot more money, you've got a lot more facilities, you've got access to so much more. So there's so many benefits to it. But there are also negatives to academies, too, which will be investigated and interrogated across the eight episodes."
What are Kim's concerns? And what persuades her to give the idea some thought?
Angela: "Well, academies are run by companies and Kim's not a company. Kim is in no way corporate and, to her, the kids aren't commodities. She's toying with the idea to start off with as it gets put to her by Andrew Treneman (Jamie Glover), who she trusts. So she's willing to entertain the idea to see whether it is something that would be right for Waterloo Road."
What's the romantic dynamic, like between Kim and Andrew this time around?
Angela: "Oh, she's head over heels in love with him. They're getting their second chance, so it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. And him putting the academy idea in front of her means that, yes, she will consider it. Whether it happens or not, you'll have to wait and see. It's ripe for a good bit of conflict, though, that's for sure!"
Waterloo Road returns on Tuesday January 2 at 8pm on BBC1.
