Waterloo Road's Denise Welch set for shock return to BBC drama 14 years after exit

In a move that no Waterloo Road fans will have seen coming, Denise Welch is set to make a shock return to the hit drama, 14 years after filming her last scenes as French teacher Steph Haydock.

Denise was one of the original stars of the recently rebooted school based show, when it launched in the mid-00s, with her on-screen alias Steph, one of Waterloo Road's biggest characters. In a cast full of household names, Denise, nearly a decade on from causing a stir in Coronation Street, shared a screen with the likes of Jason Merrells, as headteacher Jack Rimmer, Angela Griffin who played Kim Campbell and fellow Geordie actress Jill Halfpenny, whose character Izzy Redpath met a tragic end.

Denise stayed on Waterloo Road for five years, leaving in 2010 and since then has been on TV in BBC comedy Boy Meets Girl and Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks; on stage in shows like Calendar Girls and The Gap, alongside Stars in their Eyes legend Matthew Kelly, as well as being best known for being a regular on the Loose Women panel and the mum of The 1975 frontman Matt Healy, her eldest son with ex husband Tim.

READ MORE:Match of the Day's Gary Lineker to 'quit' BBC show after 25 years as host

READ MORE:BBC pundit's three Newcastle United heroes as Premier League goal machine shut out

The latest series of Waterloo Road had millions of BBC viewers gripped, as Jason Manford took over as head and now, after its tense finale, Denise is being tipped to go back to her old role in the show.

On the prospect of her making a return as Steph, a BBC insider said: "“Waterloo Road fans love a comeback, particularly when it is someone of Denise’s calibre .The character is certainly one which will live long in the memory of devotees, and it’s an absolute no brainer to have her return.”