Waterloo Road actress Heather Peace played Nikki Boston from series 7 until series 9 of the show.
But who was the character she played?
And could the character return for the new reboot of Waterloo Road?
Who was Heather Peace in Waterloo Road?
Heather Peace played Nikki Boston in Waterloo Road.
She joined the show at the end of season 7 as the new Head of English.
Nikki Boston shook up the halls of Waterloo Road with her serious and strong personality on the show.
Nikki first appears as one of the candidates applying for the role of the new English teacher at the school.
Her interview doesn’t go well when she offends Tom Clarkson by giving him advice on to deal with student (who is also his son) Josh, who appears to be hooked on drugs.
However, Tom offers her the job as Head of English after Nikki bravely chases down Josh’s drug-dealing boyfriend Grady.
When Josh gets diagnosed with Schizophrenia, she becomes close to him and Tom as they support his diagnosis.
In Season 8, Nikki left her days as Head of English behind and became Head of the Pupil Referral Unit instead.
Many fans will remember her romance with Lorraine Donnegan, the businesswoman who moved the school to Scotland.
Lorraine appoints Nikki as acting Head Teacher when Michael resigns, much to the chagrin of the rest of the teachers at the school.
But the two broke up when Lorraine left the show after the school was handed over to the local authorities.
Nikki and Vix’s romance was a popular storyline…
At the end of series 9, Nikki meets science teacher Sue Lowsley’s sister Vix Lowsley at Sue and Simon’s wedding reception.
The two immediately have chemistry and their romance begins off-screen.
But things move fast for Nikki when Vix publicly declares her love for her and kisses her on school grounds.
Nikki eventually does admit that she loves Vix, and kisses her in front of the rest of the teachers. But in typical Waterloo Road fashion, this happiness does not last long.
The two eventually get engaged, but P.E teacher Hector Reid can’t keep his crush on Nikki to himself anymore, and kisses Nikki.
This starts off an affair and Hector and Nikki sleep together.
Student Gabriella Wark, who has an obsession for teacher Hector Reid, catches the two in the act and tells Vix.
When Vix learns of the affair, she is devastated and splits from Vikki.
Why did Heather Peace leave Waterloo Road?
Heather Peace left the show in 2014, she told Digital Spy at the time: “It was time to move on.
“I’ve got two careers running alongside each other with the music and the acting and I needed to focus on the music which I couldn’t fully do with the schedules that we work up there.
“So I made the decision to go.”
How did Nikki Boston leave the show?
At the end of series 9, Nikki finds out that Vix is moving to Berlin for a fresh start. Nikki is hurt and wishes she could be a part of Vix’s life.
At the same time, Nikki is dealing with the series baddie, Gabriella Wark, who has accused Nikki of hitting her.
Vix turns up at the school when Sue tells her what Gabriella did, and comforts her.
When the couple reunite, Vix invites Nikki to come to Berlin with her, but Nikki says she is too loyal to Waterloo Road.
Once Nikki is then cleared of the allegations against her, but she can’t stop thinking about Vix’s offer to move to Berlin.
Nikki then turns up at Vix’s door with her bags, informing her that she has quit her job and is moving to Berlin with her.
She apologises for her hurting her in the past and the couple finally reunite!
Will she return for the new series of Waterloo Road?
It was confirmed earlier this year that Waterloo Road will be returning.
The show will air in early 2023 and Heather has expressed interest in making a return to the school drama.
A fan tweeted Heather saying: “Cannot wait for Waterloo Road now. @heatherpeace you better return.”
https://twitter.com/heatherpeace/status/1441135234783891456
Heather responded saying: “Obviously that would be amazing at some point!”
What has Heather Peace been in since leaving Waterloo Road?
After her Waterloo Road exit, Heather worked on her music.
In 2015, Heather and her wife Ellie became parents after Ellie gave birth to their first daughter Annie Mary.
In 2017 Heather gave birth to twins Jessie and Lola.
Last year Heather joined the cast of EastEnders as Eve Unwin.
Read more: Waterloo Road: When does the new series start?
Waterloo Road returns to BBC next year. All episodes are currently avaliable on BBC iPlayer.
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