Cillian Darcy Goes to Waterloo Road (Series Nine)

The Ninth Series of Cillian Darcy Goes to Waterloo Road.

Plot
n the first term, Christine Mulgrew attempts to establish herself as acting headmistress but comes into conflict with her new deputy, Simon Lowsley, especially when she discovers he is the future son-in-law of the Head of Glasgow Education, Robert Bain. As revenge, she appoints her old friend, Modern Languages teacher George Windsor, as deputy head alongside Simon; George is unsympathetic with students and staff and generally incompetent, starting up a Mandarin scheme despite not knowing the language. His wife, Princess, a Chinese teaching assistant briefly, leaves him, ruining the scheme. Christine continues to struggle with her alcoholism through the series.

Vanessa Hehir joins the cast as Simon's fiance, newly qualified Science teacher Sue Spark. Sue cannot handle behaviour and relies on her husband and father, Bain, to advance her career. Their relationship is troubled but they eventually marry, escaping the pressures of Sue's family and their friends by eloping. Simon also lets go of his pedantic behaviour and puts forward Christine as the better permanent fixture as head.

Other stories include Audrey's dealings with troubled new students Lenny and Lisa Brown (Joe Slater and Caitlin Gillespie), Kacey Barry's journey to become a professional boxer with the help of spurned ex-deputy head Nikki, and Grantly's brief return to the school before his sudden death hours before he was due a kidney transplant; this marked the departure of the show's longest running character.

The second term of the series is started with the arrival of troublemaking student Gabriella Wark (Naomi Battrick), a privileged girl who has been expelled from her previous school. She sets her sights on new P.E. teacher Hector Reid, played by Leon Ockenden, who in turn attempts to seduce Nikki, despite her current lesbian relationship with Sue's sister Vix (Kristin Atherton). Jealous, Gabriella sabotages Nikki and Vix's relationship, but they reconcile and depart together at the end of the series.

Christine starts the term confidently as full headmistress and now has Simon's support. However, when son Connor leaves for a job as a chef in London, she feels increasingly isolated, especially when George starts a relationship with Kacey Barry's mother Carol (Zoe Lucker). Kevin Chalk suffers a stroke, leading to a one-episode return for his adopted father and ex-teacher Chalky, played by Mark Benton. Kevin struggled to come to terms with his condition, despite the support of Dynasty Barry, who in turn followed her aspiration to become a police officer, despite being discriminated against due to her family ties with criminal brother Barry. He returned for several episodes, in which he set up an illegal smuggling ring. To prove herself, Dynasty exposed his actions and he was arrested.

With all this taking its toll, Christine begins drinking again. Drunkenly driving, she crashes her car and abandons it, leading to her arrest and Connor's brief return. She is suspended, but the board, to the surprise of Robert Bain, chooses to let her stay at Waterloo Road, on the condition she does not hold a position in senior management. Simon steps into the role of Headteacher, but is surprised to learn this position was only temporary.

Other storylines include Gabriella sabotaging Kacey's boxing career by causing her to fall and injure herself on a climbing wall; George losing the position of deputy head when he runs the school for the day with disastrous consequences; Hector kissing Sue following Nikki and Vix's departure, hinting that there could be a romantic future for the pair despite Sue's marriage to a preoccupied Simon  and The Twelfth Cillian Darcy returns to resume his role as a student teacher for the short time.

Cast

 * Philip Martin Brown as Grantly Budgen; English Teacher (until episode 10)
 * Mark Benton as Daniel 'Chalky' Chalk; Ex-Teacher and Foster Parent (episode 16 only)
 * Kane Tomlinson-Weaver as Harley Taylor; Pupil
 * Naveed Choudhry as Tariq Siddiqui; Ex-Pupil (episode 7)
 * Melanie Hill as Maggie Budgen; Home Economics Teacher, Housemistress
 * Heather Peace as Nikki Boston; English Teacher (until episode 20)
 * Tristan Beint as the Twelfth Cillian Darcy; Pupil Teacher (episode 1 to 10)
 * Rebecca Craven as Rhiannon Salt; Pupil
 * Laurie Brett as Christine Mulgrew; Head Teacher
 * Shane O'Meara as Connor Mulgrew; Pupil, Ex-Pupil (episode 1-13, 20)
 * Georgie Glen as Audrey McFall; History Teacher
 * Kirstie Steele as Imogen Stewart; Pupil (until episode 20)
 * Marlene Madenge as Lula Tsibi; Pupil (until episode 19)
 * Jenny Ryan as Sally Stewart; Parent and Governor (episode 10 only)
 * Tommy Lawrence Knight as Kevin Chalk; Pupil
 * Victoria Bush as Sonya Donnegan, Personal Assistant to Christine
 * Zoe Lucker as Carol Barry; Canteen Assistant and Parent (episode 7 onward)
 * Carl Au as Barry Barry; Pupil, Ex-Pupil (until episode 18)
 * Abby Mavers as Dynasty Barry; Pupil
 * Brogan Ellis as Kacey Barry; Pupil (until episode 10, episode 19 onwards)
 * Shaun Prendergast as Robert Bain; Head of Education (episode 1, episode 8 to 10, episode 19 to 20)
 * Angus Deayton as George Windsor; Modern Foreign Languages Teacher and Deputy Head
 * Richard Mylan as Simon Lowsley; Deputy Head and English Teacher
 * Elizabeth Tan as Princess Windsor; Wife, Mandarin Teaching Assistant (episode 2 to 4)
 * Joe Slater as Lenny Brown; Pupil
 * Caitlin Gillespie as Lisa Brown; Pupil
 * Vanessa Hehir as Sue Lowsley (previously Spark); Science Teacher
 * Mark Beswick as Darren Hughes; Pupil
 * Je'Taime Morgan Hanley as Shaznay Montrose; Pupil
 * Christopher Chung as Archie Wong; Pupil (until episode 19)
 * Leon Ockenden as Hector Reid; Head of Physical Education (episode 11 onward)
 * Naomi Battrick as Gabriella Wark; Pupil (episode 11 to 20)
 * Kristin Atherton as Vix Spark; Partner (episode 10 to 20)