Waterloo Road spoilers follow.
Waterloo Road star Rachel Leskovac has revealed her shock over the tragic death of a beloved original cast member.
The BBC series, which returned earlier this month, premiered with a huge twist when original character Chlo tragically died following a car accident at the hands of new teacher Coral (played by Rachel Leskovac).
Speaking of her role in the accident, Leskovac told Inside Soap that her jaw dropped when reading the script after she had become invested in Chlo and Donte's story.
Related: Waterloo Road star Katie Griffiths addresses episode one's big storyline twist
"Over lockdown I binged through all the old series; I was hugely invested in Chlo and Donte's return, so my jaw dropped when I saw the first script. I kept thinking: 'They can't do this!'"
Realising her part in the tragic twist, Leskovac said she thought that audiences would hate her having followed the relationship between Adam Thomas' Donte and Katie Griffith's Chlo since the series began.
"Well, I had this horrible realisation – then the sinking feeling came, and I thought: 'Everyone's going to hate me!' But the writers have done a really good job, and the incident has been a catalyst for so many storylines.
Next week the series will revisit the sad storyline as an inquest is held into Chlo's death. Touching upon what's to come, Leskovac said that Coral "feels a huge amount of guilt".
Related: Waterloo Road exposes two death secrets in 7 huge spoilers for next week
"By the time we get to the inquest, Coral is feeling the pressure. She's having to face Izzy and Donte, and it's all getting on top of her."
Teasing fans with emotional and heartbreaking scenes to come, Leskovac said that filming scenes for the inquest was so hard that she struggled to switch off after filming wrapped.
"Those scenes were massively challenging, and so emotional that sometimes it was hard for me to let it go when we wrapped for the day."
Waterloo Road airs on Tuesday nights on BBC One. The new series is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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