Who Cares?on set at

Waterloo Road!

Who Cares? magazine heads up north to find out what really goes on at the BBC’s Waterloo Road.

After being fed in the canteen and bumping into the new headmaster it’s time to go exploring…

The staffroom looks exactly like it does on TV - complete with pigeon holes and fish tank, but also PE teacher Mr Diamond and a jolly Mr Budgen!

We bump into Vicki Macdonald, Josh Stevenson and Ronan Burley. Denzil Kelly tells us a joke and gets all cheeky, while bad boy Naveed Choudhry tells us Tariq Siddiqui’s not all horrible...

"Don’t worry about leaving school. Don’t do drugs. Don’t get your heart broken with your boyfriend leaving school."

William Rush – Josh Stevenson, 17

Describe your character in 3 words?

Gay. Loose cannon. Mysterious.

Describe yourself in real life?

Bit mad. Geek. Fun. My character and I are both a bit crazy; you don’t know what’s gonna happen next!

What have you learnt from the storylines?

Don’t worry about leaving school. Don’t do drugs. Don’t get your heart broken with your boyfriend leaving school.

If you could write yourself a storyline, what would you do?

I’d kiss Ronan Burley!!

DID YOU KNOW?

Josh’s favourite subject at school was music and now he’s in a band called The Sticks!

Jez Diamond - Alex Warkinshaw

Who’s Jez Diamond?

The new PE teacher! An ex-footballer, fancies himself a bit but a very nice chap.

He starts off slightly confused about his path - he doesn’t know how to deal with family or problems and just focuses on what’s in front of him. Loves his wife. Just married. And when they turn up at Waterloo Rd, they’ve just come off their honeymoon.

How do you get on with your new wife?

Great. Cos I’ve got another one at home! It’s nice to have a different one when you get to work!

Was school the best days of your life?

I really liked school cos I’m a social boy but then when I left my comprehensive and went to a theatre school that was it, I loved it!

Vicki Macdonald - Rebecca Ryan, 20

Tell us about Vicki?

Underneath it all she’s nice, she’s trying to do the right thing but she gets stressed out, things get on top of her and she just explodes!

If you could give her a bit of advice what would you say?

Relax. Chill out!

What chills you out?

Music. I’m a bit obsessed with Westlife. I’ve seen them eight times in concert; I’m like a 10-year-old!

When Vicki first joined Waterloo Road she did some crazy things to help her family out, did it make you think about people who really have to do that?

Yes, some young girls see mad options as the only way to get them out of the mess they’re in. They don’t realise there are people that can help them. They feel like they’re trapped, on their own, they’ve got no one to talk to and try and work it out themselves.

What would you say to them?

Talk to someone! I know it’s easy to say but when you go through it, you do feel on your own or you’re too embarrassed to tell anyone. But you’re not on your own. It’s much easier to get help from people that understand or who have been through it themselves.