EPISODE: 2.07 AIRDATE: March 1st 2007 Written by: Ann McManus & Maureen Chadwick Episode Guide New trainee teacher, Russell Millen arrives at Waterloo Road. He's smart, keen, and ready to do his best on his placement. Having just left a career in the police to join the teaching profession, it would seem that Russell is ideally equipped to deal with even the rowdiest of pupils. He is keen to impress and desperate to teach a class on his own. Andrew isn't convinced though, and his reservations are proved well founded when Russell is forced to send a whole class to the cooler for misbehaving. Andrew is further disgruntled when he sees the easy rapport Russell has with his old friend, Kim. It was Kim who persuaded him Russell to retrain, and she really believes he has what it takes. Jack and Davina's relationship is progressing. He wants her to move in with him, but Davina's keen to hold onto her independence and doesn't want to rush into anything. However, although she's still refusing to make her mind up about moving in with Jack, Davina has at least come to a decision about Brett. She was stupid to think that she would be able to have her cake and eat it. Understandably, Brett is upset when Davina blows him out and decides to confide in Mika. Mika wastes no time in confronting Davina and accuses her of stringing Brett along. When he catches the end of this confrontation, Brett chases after Davina and tries to apologise. He trusts Mika, she won't say anything. Davina can't believe he's been so stupid and advises him to stick to girls his own age in the future. Lorna is still struggling to come to terms with having Multiple Sclerosis and is finding having Tom living with her again reassuring. Tom meanwhile has discovered that he's looking at Lorna with new eyes. He's not only hugely grateful to her for putting a roof over his head; he's also knocked out by how brave she's being in the face of her illness. But Izzie's not happy with how cosy Tom and Lorna are becoming and it's only a matter of time before the tension between the three of them spills over publicly. After all hell breaks loose in a departmental meeting, Jack is forced to step in with an ultimatum - if they can't sort out their differences, one of them will have to leave the school for good. Lorna steps forward. Jack will have her resignation by the end of the day. Andrew spots Russell coming out of an off license at lunchtime. He goes to speak to Kim about it, but she dismisses his concerns as jealousy. Meanwhile, Russell has locked himself inside a toilet cubicle and is chasing swigs of vodka with Polo mints. Later, he spots a bullying incident in the corridor and loses it completely. As the fracas gets out of hand, his secret comes tumbling out of his bag... right in front of Andrew. Russell admits that he is an alcoholic, but pleads with Andrew to give him another chance. Andrew remains firm - there is no way that Russell can continue teaching at the school - but he does at least agree not to tell Jack and Kim about his problem. That's something Russell is going to have to do himself. Steph is quickly discovering the pit falls of having a teenager living in her house - they gossip. When Maxine starts wildly exaggerating her drinking habits to her friends, Steph finds that she's looking forward to offloading her charge to a proper foster family. However, she's deflated when Maxine's Social Worker arrives with bad news - as Maxine is over sixteen, she is no longer eligible for foster care. Maxine has been given a place in a local Council-approved B&B though and after school, Steph goes to inspect it. She's appalled by the terrible conditions and goes straight home to order Maxine to unpack. She's staying. Over an after-work drink in the pub, Russell makes an announcement. In order to save face, he informs Jack and Kim that teaching just isn't stimulating enough for him and that he's decided to quit. Kim's initial reaction is to blame Andrew, but when she hears Russell's confession, she is forced to back down and apologise. In turn, Andrew admits that she was right to accuse him of being jealous of Russell. A stunned Kim asks him if they can start again. Finally, it looks like their friendship is back on track... Episode Soundtrack
(All information taken from Official Waterloo Road Website)
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