Back in the classroom

HE was a werewolf in Being Human not so long ago. Now, Robson Green looks more his normal self and has gone back to school.

Waterloo Road returns for a fresh series with Amanda Burton in charge as headmistress Karen Fisher, who’s joined by Green as new site manager Rob Scotcher.

The drama kicks off when a Year 12 pupil abandons her baby in the school gym, and then claims it. Karen is understandably concerned for the girl, her child and the dark secret she’s keeping.

We are also introduced to new teachers Eleanor Chaudry (Corrie veteran Poppy Jhakra) and Daniel Chalk (Mark Benton, another North-East actor), who want to make a good impression, but the kids aren’t going to give them an easy ride.

“Chalky” is instantly marked out as a soft target, while Ms Chaudry’s strict rules land Sambuca Kelly (Holly Kenny) in the “cooler”.

What Eleanor sees as unruly behaviour in Sambuca is just a personality clash according to Tom, but her erratic behaviour gives cause for concern.

Meanwhile, new boy Aiden Scotcher (Oliver Lee) has caught the eye of Jess (Linzey Cocker), but it’s her friend Vicki (Rebecca Ryan) who’s got his attention.

After a quarter of a century in the business, Green decided to take a few risks last year in the hope of landing some different roles. “I hadn’t had an agent for 25 years and only took one on last year,” he explains.

“One of the reasons was to get away from me captaining a ship for so long, with the company and my own business.

I kind of wanted to pass that over to someone else, but you do ignore the business side at your peril.”

His new representative suggested the part of a werewolf in BBC3 hit Being Human, and Green jumped at the chance.

If he looks rather buff in this series, that’s probably because he burnt off a few calories training for the BH role, and a load more running from that set to Waterloo Road’s.

“I was no stranger to the sweet trolley when I first started, so I took on a personal trainer, John Ashwood, and he got two stone off me within four months,” says Green.

“They wanted me totally bald, but because I was doing another job (Waterloo Road) and the producer of the other job said, ‘no, we can’t have you bald. You’re playing the love interest with Amanda Burton, she’ll not go for a baldie,’ so I had to juggle a certain amount.”

He admits it was a bit of a crazy period dividing his days between the two BBC series.

“No joke. I was driving from Waterloo Road to Cardiff,” he explains, adding: “Do you know what? I love what I do. It’s not work to me. My dad, God rest his soul, always used to say, ‘work is not something that’s meant to be enjoyed. That’s why they call it work’.”

ANY programme featuring poorly children is bound to leave even the hardest-hearted person with at least a wobbly bottom lip, so seeing the brave youngsters who’ve been dealt terrible blows so early in life is likely to cause some serious sobbing.

Children’s Cranio Surgery charts the work of staff at the world-renowned craniofacial unit at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. From the initial consultation, through the incredibly complex surgery to the nervous moments of first recovery, we see parents, surgeons and children as they undergo their high-risk, unpredictable and ground-breaking procedures.

Among those being treated is two-yearold Coral who has Crouzon syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes her brain to grow through her skull. Her mum and dad now face a difficult decision that could positively change her life, or cause a stroke, paralysis, coma or death.