Waterloo Road star Heather Peace says viewers can expect serious storylines as well as 'a lot of laughter' in the new series.
The 38-year-old actress and musician - who was speaking in Glasgow, where she lives while filming the popular BBC drama - plays English teacher Nikki Boston.
She said of the new Waterloo Road series: "It has kind of reinvented itself again. There is a lot of laughter in this next series.
"For Nikki, the storyline is a little bit more serious. It sees me and Kacey, who is played by Brogan Ellis, pairing up through boxing, trying to get her anger sorted out. I suggest that she takes up boxing and she becomes really quite good at it.
"It is a really nice dynamic because Brogan is 18 and I am 38. There is a really nice relationship between the two of us. It is a really lovely energy. I think you see a softer side of Nikki through that relationship."
Bradford-born Heather, who joined Waterloo Road in 2011, enjoys making the show in Glasgow.
"It feels like it is my second home," she said. "I have been here for four years. I did a show called Lip Service for two years as well. When they said we were moving Waterloo Road to Glasgow, I was thrilled. I think Scottish people are very similar to Yorkshire folk. They say it as it is and we have got a similar sense of humour, so I have totally loved it."
Heather, who has successful careers in both acting and music, also told how she has had to work hard to get where she is today.
She said: "It was hard work, I wasn't that kid that was out on street corners, I didn't watch soap operas, I didn't watch TV. I always knew what I wanted to do and I worked so, so hard. I was so single-minded. I'm lucky that as a child I was so single-minded because I don't think that that can be taught. I am really thankful to the young me, but I worked my backside off. "
The ninth series of Waterloo Road premieres on September 5.
