Waterloo Road introduces a troublesome new student to the school in early January as former Hollyoaks star Andrew Still takes on the role of Scott Fairchild.
Scott has been expelled from several other schools, but is given a chance by headteacher Vaughan Fitzgerald along with a handful of other new pupils with difficult backgrounds.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Andrew to hear more about his new character and his memories of playing Joel Dexter on Hollyoaks.
How did your new role come about?
"I originally auditioned for a character for the Waterloo Road series that has just gone out. It went really well, but with different things happening, we were unable to go for it.
"When we came back around for this series, all of the producers had changed so it wasn't like they'd already seen me and wanted me to play Scott - I still had to go in for a regular audition process. It ended up working out really well for me and I can't thank the guys enough for giving me the opportunity."
How was it to join for the show's final series?
"Waterloo Road has been on screen for ten series now and it was a fantastic place to work. The atmosphere in the place was electric. Everyone knew the show was winding down, but they really wanted to go out with a bang. I think that showed in the writing and in everyone's performances."
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What can we expect from Scott?
"Scott first appears to be quite a self-assured and arrogant smart-arse! (Laughs.) But as the series goes on, one of the most interesting things about Scott is that he's a really three-dimensional character.
"The great thing was that, because everyone knew this was the final series, there was a real character arc for Scott from beginning to end. He really changes as the series progresses and you'll see a lot of different sides to him. It was definitely the most challenging role I've had to do so far."
Scott has been expelled from many other schools! Is it fair to describe him as a troublemaker?
"He is! Scott is a troublemaker but he's so blasé about it. He thinks however he falls, he's going to land on his feet. Scott doesn't quite realise that Waterloo Road is his last chance. He's been kicked out of seven schools before this, but he doesn't seem to care. Over the course of the series, though, he finally discovers some things about himself and has a bit of a realisation."
We've heard that Scott has a history with Kenzie, one of the new female pupils…
"Yeah, straight off the bat in the first episode, Scott and Kenzie cross paths in the playground. You can already feel that there's a tension there and a bit of history. They've definitely met before! At first you're not quite sure what's happened, but that will play out and you'll see there's definitely something there. You'll have to wait and see what that could be, though!"
There's also an interesting dynamic between Scott and another new character called Bonnie…
"Yeah, Scott's a bit of a ladies' man, I'll give him that! He's a bit of a dirty dog! Scott has got a lot of things going on with a lot of different people and you'll see how he tries to worm his way out of different situations - sometimes a lot more successfully than others! He sometimes backs himself into a corner!"
Does Scott clash with the show's current bad boy Justin?
"Yeah, he does. Max Bowden who plays Justin was a real pleasure to work with. He'd just come off the back of doing his first series, which has just been on TV, and he totally knocked it out the park in that.
"Max really stepped it up a gear for this final series and me and him had a really, really good working relationship. I haven't seen anything yet so I'm excited to see how it plays out!"
What was the atmosphere like on set when Waterloo Road shut down production for the final time?
"It was really bittersweet because we all knew that we'd done a really good job and really pushed ourselves, but of course it's sad when you're saying goodbye to all of these people who you've been working with.
"A lot of them had been working with each other for a lot longer than me. I was there for three months, but some of them had been working together for years and years! I think we're all happy with how it's all turned out and how it's going to look, though."
Have you kept in touch with the cast since then?
"Yeah I've met up with a couple of them. I really like the guys and me and Max keep in contact. It's nice because a lot of times you can come out of a job and lose contact with people, but I can't be more complimentary of the people I was working with. They're such good guys."
You seemed to take some time out from acting after Hollyoaks. Was it a conscious choice to take a break for a while?
"I came out of Hollyoaks and I was still really young. I was pretty homesick so I just wanted to get back to Glasgow. When I got back, I was still acting and still loved acting but I think I needed a bit of time to look at myself and figure out what was going on with me, which is what I did and I'm a lot happier now.
"After doing Waterloo Road, I've got a lot more confidence in myself and I think that's really important for any actor. You have the down times and then you have the up times and it's learning to deal with both of them."
Do you look back fondly on your time playing Joel on the show?
"I do! I look back and go, 'Oh God, I was young and I made a lot of mistakes' but I think the essence of the character was there. I'm very proud of the work that I did in Hollyoaks Later. When I look back on my time, I see a very young guy who wasn't sure what he was doing, but I do look back fondly. Actors like Emmett [J Scanlan] and Rachel [Shenton] were fantastic to work with and they really taught me a lot."
Do you keep in touch with any of the Hollyoaks gang?
"Everybody's so busy and a lot of the people that I worked with have gone away and they're doing crazy things! I saw Emmett in Guardians of the Galaxy and I thought, 'Jeez, he's done well for himself!' Of course he was always going to do well for himself!
"Everybody is so busy and it's hard to keep in touch, but they'll always have a place in my heart. They were my family for a year and a half."
You did some music work in a band called Peppermint Fiction after Hollyoaks - are you still involved with that?
"Yeah, I'm still doing music stuff. I've been doing that for a good while now. We're releasing our first EP in the New Year. That should come out January, February time so I'm really excited about that."
What else is coming up next for you?
"I've been doing some filming for a BBC Three comedy that'll be coming out in the summer. I'm just trying to keep working away. Like I said, Waterloo Road has given me that confidence back, so I'm ready to throw myself into the acting world again and see what happens."
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Waterloo Road returns on Monday, January 5 at 8pm on BBC Three. The show will also have a repeat slot at 10.35pm on BBC One.
