Teen crushes are an occupational hazard that teachers have to learn to negotiate with sensitivity, as Deputy Head Chris is learning. He’s a very popular figure among the Year 10 girls and, in this episode, they’re not backwards in being forward with their favourite teacher. It becomes more than a bit of embarrassment, though, when one of his brightest pupils, Vicki (Rebecca Ryan, Shameless), starts to skip classes. Concerned, Chris investigates, and discovers Vicki’s working as an exotic dancer. She’s not prepared to quit, either and tells Chris she’ll accuse him of sexual harassment if he reports her. He learns the hard way that he can’t handle the situation on his own… Lindsay is another student whose life outside Waterloo Road is having a negative effect on her school work. She’s told she can’t see her mother, Marion, who’s charged with murdering her father and who’s facing a long spell in prison. Unable to bear the separation from her mum, Lindsay opens up and tells head teacher Rachel that her father had been sexually abusing her. She told her mother about it and Marion killed her husband to protect her daughters… Finally, Rachel can help the family. Elsewhere, Josh is keen to play happy families with mum Georgia and his newly-discovered dad, English teacher Tom. And studious Ros sets up a comedy club with impressive results.
