EastEnders legend reveals her Waterloo Road character's potential for long-term future

Discussing her character’s demeanour and personality, Coulson made it very clear that she’s not to be messed with.

On Dame Stella, Coulson said: "She's firm but fair. She's pretty old school in terms of how she views education. I think she really is passionate about education for young people. And I think at first she might come across as being a bit scary.

"She's new to the job again, and I don't think she felt after Ofsted that she would be going back to school, so she's not suffering any fools, but I'm hoping she softens a little."

Also, Coulson made clear that work is everything to Dame Stella: "You don't really get to know about her outside of school. Actually, it's really about school.

"Everything is at school. So you don't really have too much history on her, or she won't give too much away."

When asked about the longevity of the character, given the high turnover of headteachers at Waterloo Road, Coulson felt rather positive that Dame Stella could stay for a longer stint.

"I think she could, yeah," answered Coulson. "I think they learn by her, and she learns by them. So there's a lot of listening going on. And one of the things actually that I really liked about the programme, funny enough, [were] the issues that they deal with, for the young people that she has to take on board and learn and listen.

"Because it's really punchy, but through that much softer lens and sort of hard-hitting stuff coming at you. And they deal brilliantly with young people's issues or lots of, just, life issues. And I think her earning a lot of stuff from the young people gives me hope for the future. I think she starts to try to do that."

However, of course, there’s the caveat, where Coulson adds: "If that's what the school wants, and obviously the school is run by academies. Run by a CEO. There are so many execs that have to make decisions about stuff, so it's whether or not she can be in that environment, and listen to other people – I think she does quite like to be her own boss."

So, will Dame Stella Drake stay with Waterloo Road? Fans will have to keep watching to find out.

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Waterloo Road season 15 airs on BBC One on Tuesdays and is available as a box set on BBC iPlayer on Tuesday 11th February 2025. Seasons 1 to 14 are currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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