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Waterloo Road and Heartbeat star cast in Coronation Street

A fresh face on the cobbles

It has been reported that former Waterloo Road star Vanessa Hehir has been cast in Coronation Street, playing the role of one of Billy’s parishioners.

Vanessa – who played Sue Lowsley in the BBC show – is set to make her debut on the cobbles.

She is said to be involved in a storyline with Billy and will be on our screens “for a while”.

Vanessa Hehir at the Inside Soap awards
Vanessa played Sue Lowsley in Waterloo Road (Credit: FameFlynet UK/SplashNews.com)

Waterloo Road star Vanessa Hehir to join Coronation Street

Vaneesa Hehir played the role of Sue Lowsley in Waterloo Road.

She appeared in series 9 and 10 of the popular BBC school drama.

In the show, Sue was a science teacher who ended up having to resign from the job after having an affair.

She was married to Simon Lowsley but cheated on him with his best friend and fellow schoolteacher, Hector Reid.

Vanessa also appeared in ITV soap Emmerdale between 2010 and 2011 playing nurse Summers.

Since her departure in Waterloo Road, Vanessa has gone on to have roles in the likes of Doctors, Hollyoaks, Midsomer Murders and The Dumping Ground.

She is also well-known for playing Rosie Cartwright in Heartbeat.

Now, she’s reportedly adding one more popular show to the list with her upcoming role in Coronation Street.

An insider told The Sun that Vanessa will be playing the part of one of Billy’s parishioners and “she’ll be onscreen for a while now.”

Entertainment Daily has contacted Coronation Street reps for comment on this story.

Coronation Street Will smiling with Michelle outside of the Rovers
Vanessa’s husband has been in Corrie before (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Vanessa’s husband has also been in Coronation Street

Interestingly, Vanessa is in fact married in real-life to the Waterloo Road Hector Reid star, Leon Ockenden.

Leon has been in Coronation Street before, playing the role of Will ChattertonMichelle Connor‘s ex-boyfriend.

Will had dated Michelle when they were kids and re-appeared back into her life when he wanted help planning his wedding.

When Michelle’s husband, Steve, was away, she started an affair with Will.

However, whilst Will split up with his fiancée to be with her, Michelle had second thoughts.

She decided to stay with Steve.

Steve eventually found out about the affair and broke up with Michelle, although this was mainly due to the fact that he’d got Leanne pregnant.

However, Will returned once more the next year and began to become obsessed with his ex.

He started stalking her, but Michelle soon started to get suspicious and asked Leanne to spy on him for her.

Leanne broke into his house but was caught, falling down the stairs.

After a face-off between, Will and Michelle, Will was eventually arrested for stalking Michelle, marking Leon’s last scenes in the soap.

Read more: Who is in the cast of Coronation Street 2022? Meet the full line-up

Coronation Street - The Story So Far: Michelle's Stalker

Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.

Are you excited to see Vanessa Hehir arrive on the cobbles? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Tamzin Meyer
Assistant Soap Editor