Kym Marsh opens up about channeling real life grief into Waterloo Road scenes
WATERLOO Road star Kym Marsh has revealed how she channelled her real-life grief into upcoming emotional scenes.
The actress and singer, 48, has been playing canteen worker Nicky Walters in the BBC school drama since its return last year.
Kym, who lost her father in January, highlighted how her personal grief was incorporated into series 14 scenes.
She said: “Right at the beginning we see that she loses her mum, and that in itself is a bit of a journey for her because obviously she didn’t have a good relationship with her.”
Kym added: “With the death of her mum, we see her go through a bit of a struggle.
“Absolutely, as actors, we draw off our own experiences a lot of the time if we can.
“During that time we were filming my own father was sick, obviously that was something emotional because I knew that it was an imminent thing that was going to happen to my dad.
“It was an emotional time. I think sometimes it’s good to use those, though.
“It’s good to use your own emotion to put into something because it just adds to tell the story, and it adds something else.
“My dad was always very like that, though, always like, ‘Oh, come on, come on, get up and get to work. Off you go, never mind that’.
“Acting can be very cathartic, it does give us the opportunity to lay things out.
“Of course if you’re having a bad day, and you’ve got to bring the fun it can be tricky, but it can be very cathartic.”
Meanwhile, comedian Jason Manford will be appearing in series 14 as Steve Savage, the fictional school’s new headmaster.
That position has most recently been filled by Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin), who dates all the way back to series one as an art teacher.
In a description provided by the Beeb, Steve was described as a “a charismatic charmer who impresses everyone he meets and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to achieve the results he wants.”
Discussing his new gig, Jason said: “What an absolute treat it is to join the cast and crew of Waterloo Road, right here in my home city of Manchester.
Waterloo road main cast - past and present
Who was part of the main cast of Waterloo Road series 13?
Parents and Staff
- Angela Griffin – Headteacher Kim Campbell
- James Baxter – Deputy Head Joe Casey
- Vincent Jerome – Deputy Head Lindon King
- Ryan Clayton – School security Sergeant Mike Rutherford
- Jo Coffey as PA to headteacher, Wendy Whitwell
- Neil Fitzmaurice – History teacher Neil Guthrie
- Rachel Leskovac – Head of English Coral Walker
- Kym Marsh – School Canteen worker Nicky Walters
- Katherine Pearce – Junior teacher Amy Spratt
- Shauna Shim – Music teacher Valerie Chambers
- Adam Thomas – School caretaker Donte Charles
- Jamie Glover – Former deputy head Andrew Treneman
Pupils
- Noah Valentine – Preston Walters
- Priyasasha Kumari – Samia Choudhry
- Adam Ali – Kai Sharif
- Alicia Forde – Kelly Jo Rafferty
- Francesco Piacentini-Smith – Dean Weever
- Liam Scholes – Noel McManus
- Lucy Eleanor Begg – Caz Williams
- Summer Violet Bird – Tonya Walters
- Scarlett Thomas – Izzy Charles
- Thapelo Ray – Dwayne Jackson
- Inathi Rozani – Zayne Jackson
- Chiamaka Ulebor – Shola Aku
- Hattie Dynevor – Libby Guthrie
- Zak Sutcliffe – Schumacher “Schuey” Weever
- Tillie Amartey – Stacey “Stace” Neville
- Maisie Robinson – Portia Weever
- Aabay Noor Ali – Mollie ‘Mog’ Richardson
- Zanele Nyoni – Jess Clarke
- Teddy Wallwork – Declan Harding
Returning
- Lauren Drummond – Mika Grainger
Who were some of the past notable characters from across the years?
Previous Heads
- Jack Rimmer – Jason Merrells
- Rachel Mason – Eva Pope
- Karen Fisher – Amanda Burton
- Michael Byrne – Alec Newman
- Christine Mulgrew – Laurie Brett
- Vaughan Fitzgerald – Neil Pearson
Notable Teachers
- Drama teacher Izzy Redpath – Jill Halfpenny
- English teacher Tom Clarkson – Jason Done
- English teacher Lorna Dickey – Camilla Power
- English teacher Grantley Budgen – Philip Martin Brown
- French teacher Steph Haydock – Denise Welch
- Deputy Head Eddie Lawson – Neil Morrissey
- Deputy Head Chistopher Mead – William Ash
- Executive Head Max Tyler – Tom Chambers
- Drama and Music teacher Matt Wilding – Chris Geere
- English teacher Jasmine Koreshi – Shabana Bakhsh
- Special needs assistant Davina Shackleton – Christine Tremarco
- Home Economics teacher – Ruby Fry Elizabeth Berrington
- Head of Foreign Languages Jo Lipsett – Sarah-Jane Potts
- Foreign Languages teacher Francesca “Cesca” Montoya – Karen David
- Geography teacher Marcus Kirby – Wil Johnson
- Head of Pastoral Care Adanna Lawal – Sharlene Whyte,
“My kids and I binged the show on iPlayer during lockdown.
“It’s such a brilliant, iconic show, so I’m dead proud to now be part of its history.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher, and now, becoming a headteacher, I know I would have been terrible!”
Waterloo Road series 14 will begin airing from September 10.