Waterloo Road's PE teacher Hector Reid panics in tonight's episode (February 5) as he realises that schoolgirl Gabriella Wark has put herself in danger as part of her desperate quest for attention from him.
When a group of teachers and students head off for Waterloo Road's resilience camp, reckless Gabriella decides to go out rowing alone on the nearby lake, putting herself in danger just so Hector can rescue her.
Digital Spy recently chatted to Leon Ockenden, who plays Hector, to hear more about the episode and his time on Waterloo Road.
What can we expect from this week's episode?
"It's the pinnacle of what Simon and Hector have been working towards with their resilience education ideas. Filming this episode was a lot of fun, because we were up in a beautiful loch.
"There's some good stunts in the episode when things go wrong, and I think visually it's going to be quite spectacular. You also see the real beginnings of Hector's affection blossoming for Nikki and him really trying to get involved with her."
What is it about Nikki that attracts Hector so much, especially as she's with Vix?
"Hector thinks Nikki Boston is fit in every single way, and he sees a bit of himself in her. She's a slightly more conservative version of him. Hector sees a woman who's dynamic, authoritative and yet physical. There's a real physical bond between the characters and that's what draws him towards her. Over the course of the series, Hector is caught out by how genuine his attraction is for Nikki."
What has the Gabriella storyline been like to film?
"Naomi Battrick who plays Gabriella is a cracking actress. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of her in all kinds of different mediums in her future career. We started on the show pretty much at the same time, so it was nice to do our introductory scenes together.
"It's so off Hector's radar that there would ever be a schoolgirl interested in him. He's not unaware of getting female attention, but the students are so off-limits to him, so he's been a bit slow on the uptake with regards to this."
Does Gabriella finally see the error of her ways after her antics in this episode, or will the story run further?
"The story will run across the length of this series and it definitely reaches a climax where it can't continue as it has been, that's for sure!"
Are you in the show just for this set of ten episodes, or longer?
"I'm going to be in the show for a while longer. Scheduling-wise, there won't be a summer term this year because of the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, but I've filmed another ten episodes which will go out in the autumn."
How have you found being part of the show in general?
"I fell in love with Scotland as soon as I moved up there. Michelle Smith, the show's casting director, does such a good job so it's also great to work with a young cast who are extraordinarily talented and will go on to have great careers.
"As well as that, you have the chance to work with actors you've always admired. People like Angus Deayton, Melanie Hill and Neil Pearson were great heroes of mine growing up so it's been brilliant to work with them."
How has it compared to your previous work?
"It's been a while since I've done a continuing drama, where the schedule is so busy as you're filming four episodes at any one time. That takes a bit of getting used to, but because the cast and crew are so helpful, it does all work out. It's also really good fun to film something that's set in a school!"
We know that Vanessa Hehir, who plays Sue, is your wife in real life. What was it like to work on a project with her?
"It was such brilliant fun, actually. We'd been preparing auditions together and helping each other for so long, but our dream was always to work together. Initially when we moved up to Scotland as Vanessa had joined Waterloo Road, it was going to be the case that my acting would take a back seat for a while, because we've got a young daughter and needed to think about childcare.
"Acting can take you all over the place, so then to be able to work on Waterloo Road nearby was really brilliant. Vanessa is a hugely talented actress, so I felt like I had somebody looking out for me and giving me helpful acting notes - which she's not shy of doing! She definitely makes me a better actor, that's for sure!"
Have you been recognised by any fans in public yet?
"We're in Manchester at the moment, where they used to film the show. There's a girl next door who I've known for a while, and she's right in the demographic of people who enjoy Waterloo Road. Vanessa and I are actually going into her school in a couple of weeks to teach a drama lesson. She set that up with her teacher and is very excited about it. But I haven't had anyone who I don't know recognise me yet!"
We read online that you used to be a baker. How did you make the jump into acting?
"Essentially what happened was that I was given the opportunity to work in Germany and Sweden on an international exchange of labour for trainee chefs and bakers. I'd just qualified as a baker at that point. I went to Germany for six months and Sweden for six months. I got to see a bit of the world, grow up and become more confident. Then I worked in London in the kitchen in a posh hotel, but I ran away from that job on April Fool's Day! I ended up working in Amsterdam and it was there that I had the epiphany and decided that I should be an actor.
"I came back to the UK, went into a careers advice place and said, 'I want to be an actor'. They said, 'No you don't!', but I explained that I had something to fall back on. They asked if I'd thought about drama schools, so I did a BTEC in performing arts and then applied to drama schools. I ended up going to a drama school in London."
What have your career highlights been?
"Definitely finally getting to work with Vanessa - that's been a big highlight. I was in a really fun play called Muswell Hill which was certainly one of the best pieces of writing I've been involved with.
"I also did Tripping Over, a show created by Mike Bullen who did Cold Feet. Filming-wise it was the best job. We filmed for three weeks in Bangkok, three weeks in London, three weeks in Sydney and seven weeks in Melbourne. I got to play a real off-the-rails guy from the north of England called Callum. That was a lot of fun because the character I was playing was either ecstatic and taking lots of drugs or crying his eyes out! As an actor, you always like those extremes."
Read our recent interview with Vanessa Hehir about playing Sue
Read our spoiler for tonight's Waterloo Road episode
Read more Waterloo Road spoilers and news
Waterloo Road airs tonight (February 5) at 8pm on BBC One.
