Zoe Lucker talks Waterloo Road

BBC school saga Waterloo Road will see the arrival of a new family when it returns to BBC One, headed by actress Zoe Lucker.

With Waterloo Road now settled in its Scottish home, the new school term starts with the opening of a pupil referral unit. The unit is part of head teacher Michael’s grand vision to help teenagers falling through the educational cracks. But what he doesn’t bank on is the arrival of the Barry family – a hell-raising Liverpudlian criminal clan lead by no-nonsense mother Carol Barry, lone parent to Waterloo Road’s newest pupils – bad boy Barry and daughters Dynasty and Kacey.

If Waterloo Road can turn the Barrys into model students, they’ll be the school’s greatest success story – pity they have anything but top grades on their criminal minds.

Carol Barry is played by former EastEnder and Bad Girl Zoe Lucker.

Behind Carol’s ‘trashy-glam’ image, she’s a forceful and occasionally terrifying matriarch with a fiery temper, a formidable character… tell us about her

She’s a mum of three, single handedly trying to look after her three wayward children while her husband is in prison.

Carol’s a very crass, almost undignified character! She’s immoral, hostile, fearless and raises her children with the same sort of tough love she experienced. So although she’s not the nicest character, I do understand where she’s coming from.

Even with the biggest rogue you need to find some good in them, I wouldn’t necessarily want to go out for a drink with Carol but she’s not an out and out baddie.

Are the Barrys Waterloo Road’s worst nightmare?

I would say they are definitely up there! All three of the children come to the school with the individual problems but share an added problem – their mother.

I don’t know how the Waterloo Road audience will react to Carol – I’m not sure if people will be shocked by her or not. They probably won’t quite believe what they have seen.

What are her kids – Barry, Dynasty and Kacey – like?

All three kids are desperate for their mum to praise them individually – she’s quite a cold character and they want to please her.

Barry is very wayward and he desperately needs focus in life. He can’t sit still for a moment, he’s always looking for trouble and there’s also a side to him which is constantly trying to impress his mother.

Dynasty is all about the way she looks and although she’s actually quite a bright kid, she doesn’t realise how clever she is because it’s been hidden for so long. Carol has encouraged her to make the most of her looks and not her brain.

And Kacey? Let’s just say she has lots of issues which will be revealed over time…

Do you like playing troublemaking characters and did you have any real-life inspirations for Carol?

Oh absolutely. All the things she does and the kind of mother she is the exact opposite of me!

When I was growing up there were certain people I interacted with who had elements of Carol in them. So when I first read the scripts and got to know Carol, I could see certain parts of her personality in people I’d met over the years.

I’ve never played a really nice and flawless character – maybe because there’s no such thing!

Are you a fan of Waterloo Road?

I’ve always watched it whenever I can. I tend to always watch what Shed [production company that make Waterloo Road] make as I feel part of their family.

Any memorable moments from filming?

I would probably say the scene where Carol slaps Barry – it was so alien to me, I couldn’t believe anyone would do that to someone they love. There are so many scenes with Carol which go against who I am but that’s what happens when you’re an actor.

Were your school days the best days of your life?

No, not at all! There were lots of elements of school I did like – I had lots of great friends, enjoyed sport and loved English – but I was absolutely terrible at maths and science and, because there’s so much focus on those subjects, I hated them. For me, I didn’t feel the need to be brilliant at everything, just alright would do. But maths was a subject where I was always the bottom of the class which made me feel awful. The good thing was my older brother was brilliant at maths!

What other projects have you got coming up?

I’m back with Waterloo Road in January for more episodes, I’m thinking of going to New York with my family for a while but who knows? I need to pick and choose what I do in the future because my family comes first.

Waterloo Road is a BBC Scotland programme, for BBC One, produced by Shed Productions.