Waterloo Road
Denise Welch plays Steph Haydock
What happened to Steph at the end of the last series?
"Steph had almost got the sack but had hung onto her job by basically blackmailing Jack, the headmaster. Then, right at the very end, she saved Jack's life – something she's not going to let him forget in a hurry."
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Do you think Steph has changed at all?
"I think she's perhaps realised she can no longer coast along with her lackadaisical teaching methods at Waterloo Road anymore. She now has to face up to doing some work. Steph is not a very good teacher, which didn't seem to matter when the school was falling apart. But now it has been turned around, she's found she needs to catch up.
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"She still fancies Jack but I think it's more that she is quite lonely. I don't think she has much of a home life so, although she doesn't particularly like her work, it's all she's got."
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Does she still try to seduce Jack this series?
"Absolutely! I think Steph will always try to charm Jack into bed with her – and if he's drunk enough or desperate enough, he'll go with it."
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Why doesn't Steph get the hint that Jack isn't interested?
"Jack is happy to bounce back to Steph when he's either drunk or lonely so, as a pair, they are friends and I suppose prop each other up. But deep down I think Steph probably realises that Jack is not fully interested in her – although that doesn't mean it changes her feelings towards him.
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"She does really like him and uses any opportunity to attract him back to her, which usually means getting him when he is at his weakest. She'll always give it a try. But I don't think Steph has any aspirations that she's going to become his partner."
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But isn't there some potential competition on the scene?
"Steph knows the minute she meets Jack's new secretary, Davina, that she's competition and it annoys her that Davina is working so closely with Jack and sitting outside his office.
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"I think Steph realises she doesn't really stand a chance now. I don't want to give the story away but, when she finds out something about Davina later in the series, it might just give Steph the ammunition she needs!"
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What are Steph's best qualities?
"She's kind and, although she's a gossip, I think she does genuinely stand by those she likes and respects. I love her sense of humour and the fact that she keeps trying, even if the situation is completely hopeless."
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And her worst?
"The worst thing about Steph is that she's a hopeless French teacher – and she drinks too much ... and gossips too much. All fun to play, though!"
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Why do you think Steph takes on something of a maternal role when it comes to Mika and, later this series, Maxine?
"I think Steph would have loved to have been a mother. I think it comes very naturally to her – she genuinely cares about people and particularly kids who are having a rough time like Mika and Maxine.
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"I'm not saying she's a very good at it, though – she is still a bit naive. She blurs the boundaries between someone the kids should respect and someone they can call a mate. I think the Maxine storyline is a very interesting one and it's nice to see a different side to Steph – but I wouldn't want her to get too serious!"
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What goes through your mind when you think back to your own school days?
"I really enjoyed school, even though I didn't work hard whilst I was there. In fact, when I look back at my school days I wish I had worked a bit harder. But school for me meant being with my mates, standing on the radiators, watching the boys go by. It still irks me that I was never made a prefect ... and I still get sweaty palms at the thought of double maths!"
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What were your school reports like?
"Well I was quite naughty and chatty – I suppose nothing changes! – so they were peppered with 'Denise talks too much', 'She must stop playing the class clown' and 'If she put her mind to it, she could do much better'." I was academically lazy but, funnily enough, the minute I got to drama school, that all changed and I was really committed.
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Did you have an inspiring teacher at school?
"Terry Cudden, who was my drama teacher, was brilliant. He really did give me the belief I could do something. He was an inspiration. If he hadn't encouraged me to go to drama school, I don't think I'd have tried. I was going to teacher training college – so I do have a great deal to thank him for. If it hadn't have been for Terry, I could have been Steph for real!"
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What are your own ambitions now?
"In an ideal future I would love to do a film with Judi Dench, Julie Walters and Helen Mirren, with June Whitfield playing my mother! People have said for years that June and I have a similar look..."
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