EPISODE: 5.03 AIRDATE: November 11th 2009 Written by: Nick Hoare Episode Guide After a night of passion, Kim and Max are acting like a pair of lovesick puppies, while keeping their burgeoning romance a secret from the rest of the staff, however, there’s a close call when Rachel arrives for that morning’s senior management team meeting. Max has called his team together to outline his new strategy for improving results at the school. He plans to start by asking all Heads of Department to assess their staff and, as Steph is high on his hitlist as Waterloo Road’s weakest link, has already asked Jo to lead the way. Rachel is appalled by the whole idea – not only has Max gone ahead without consulting her, she is also hugely concerned that the teaching staff will interpret the exercise as a show of distrust by the management team. Max smoothly overrides Rachel’s objections and then heads down to the staffroom to drop his bombshell. It’s the day of Mrs James’s bail hearing and Lindsey is buoyant, sure that her mum will be back at home to meet her and Emily when they finish school. The girls have been staying with their Aunt who has confided in Kim that she’s finding Lindsey’s behaviour challenging to say the least. Although Kim and Rachel both vow to keep a closer eye on both girls, they can’t be everywhere at once. They have no idea that at Lindsey’s instigation, ex-John Fosters girls are heading off to the local tattoo parlour to get a copy of the ‘loyalty’ symbol she has on her arm. Siobhan looks on worriedly as Amy proudly displays her new tattoo, knowing that she’ll soon be under pressure to do the same. Danielle and Aleesha stagger into school after a night out drinking in Rochdale’s bars and clubs. Danielle, in particular, is suffering, so Paul decides to steal some ethanol from the science lab in order to help her out with a “hair of the dog”. Steph is already struggling under Jo’s watchful eye, so, when Danielle takes a turn for the worse, she helps Aleesha to hide her in a store cupboard, rather than run the risk of her lesson assessment being blighted. Meanwhile, Paul and Bolton start bootlegging the ethanol to the other pupils, not realising how dangerous the side effects of their concoction could be. Rachel soon uncovers their scam but it’s too late for barely conscious Danielle who is rushed off to hospital by a frantic Steph. There’s bad news for the James sisters when they hear that their mum’s request for bail has been denied. Later, Karla comes across Emily in tears in the playground. She’s fed up of Lindsey telling her that everything is going to be okay and so Karla’s bluntness is a breath of fresh air. Emily confides that she feels she has no one to talk to, prompting Karla to offer her a leaflet written by some people who might be able to help. Across the playground, Lindsey spots Emily taking the leaflet and is incensed. Meanwhile, Michaela comes across Siobhan tearfully examining her new tattoo and blows the whistle to Kim and the whole gang are dragged in to see Rachel. Although it was touch-and-go for a while, Danielle is going to be okay. A relieved Steph returns to Waterloo Road and an ear-bashing from Rachel and Jo, neither of whom can believe she could be so stupid. If she’d reported Danielle’s condition immediately, none of this would have happened. Feeling demoralised and blaming herself, Steph walks out. Jo eventually finds Steph in the staffroom. She apologises for being harsh, but Steph tells her that she and Rachel completely right – she’s not the kids’ mate, she’s their teacher. On that subject, Jo is forced to rub salt into the wound by being honest – she wishes she could console Steph by telling her she’s a good teacher, but she’s not... in fact, if she wants to stay on at Waterloo Road, she’s going to have to retrain. Outside in the playground, Lindsey decides to take out the day’s frustrations on someone and Karla proves to be a convenient target. As the rest of her gang pin a terrified Karla to the ground, Lindsey writes “WR FREAK” on her forehead with a marker pen. After this and everything else that’s happened, Rachel is looking forward to unwinding over a drink with Kim. However, Kim finds herself placed in an awkward position when Rachel begins to vent her frustrations over Max’s behaviour. Elsewhere, Tom is determined to get to the bottom of Josh’s allegations. He’s sure that he isn’t his father and after talking the whole thing over with Rose, decides to go and confront his university fling, Georgia. Tom is left reeling when she confirms that he is Josh’s biological father... Episode Soundtrack
All information taken from Official Waterloo Road Website
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