The day is nearly upon us - Waterloo Road is back on the small screen! Though we'll get some big new storylines, the major news for the 17th season is that Denise Welch will reprise her role as Steph Haydock.
The latest saga of the BBC soap will be released in full on BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, with the eight-episode season airing across the next month on BBC One as we get a double-bill each week.
Ahead of the premiere, Welch spoke with Digital Spy and other media about her comeback as Steph, which had been a long time coming following her initial departure from the soap in 2010.
"Steph’s come back with a bang," said the actor. "Her heart is in the right place, but she's completely inappropriate and says what she thinks. But somehow, she manages to often do the right thing – usually by default.
"They’ve [producers] really worked hard on keeping the essence and DNA of her that hadn't changed in 15 years. She still remains childless and unmarried, but I didn't want her to be bitter about that."
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Though Steph will still retain that razor-sharp wit that has become something of trademark, Welch explained that there needed to be some sense of progression for the character over the intervening years.
"It's important that Steph still has a good time, but at some point, there has to be something else to her. Otherwise, it can become very one-dimensional as she's just somebody with one-liners.
"I think, deep down, there probably is a sadness about the way that life has gone," said Welch, who has also appeared on Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Loose Women. "She's just so used to pulling herself together and dusting herself off.
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"But there is going to be a lot of sadness there. It’s difficult to say what happens with this character because I've been told not to say too much! But we will certainly see another side of her."
Welch will be joined in the cast by former Emmerdale star Karl Davies, Kym Marsh, Neil Fitzmaurice, Adam Thomas, Rachel Leskovac and Jon Richardson, the latter of whom plays media studies teacher Darius Donovan.
Waterloo Road airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Read more Waterloo Road spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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