A vengeful father threatens Rachel’s life

When Waterloo Road closed for a break at the end of 2009, Executive Head mad Max Tyler had been kicked out, Head Teacher Rachel Mason had her office all to herself again and the students and staff were celebrating. Now, as the school gates reopen, Rachel is ready to move ahead but has little time to relish being back in charge… Bombshell number one: Art teacher and Head of Pastoral Care Kim Campbell reveals that her affair with Max will have lasting consequences: she’s carrying his baby. Bombshell number two: Head of English Grantly Budgen gets his head out of his Racing Post long enough to allow Year Eight birthday girl Bianka Vale to leave school with her dad, Gary (guest star Dean Andrews – Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes). But Gary, who’s separated from Bianka’s mum, is banned from seeing his kids without supervision. Rachel sees them leaving the school and follows, only to discover Gary’s deadly plan: to teach his wife a lesson by killing Bianka. And now that Rachel knows, he plans to kill her, too! Back at school, naughty new boy Finn Sharkey challenges Deputy Head Chris Mead. Finn’s a challenge Chris has met before, though – he had him expelled from a previous school. But when the bell has rung and school is out, Finn is a very different boy…

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.