Scout's honour

THERE was a time when Waterloo Road looked like a mixture of Grange Hill and Coronation Street with a pop soundtrack punctuating every other scene. However, partly thanks to a lot fewer songs and lot more drama, the show has come on in leaps and bounds.

One of the reasons for its success has been the fresh blood pumped into the show each term.

It kicked off in 2006 with Angela Griffin and Jason Merrells heading the adult cast, and by series three Neil Morrissey and Eva Pope were the long-suffering teachers coping with all manner of domestic and professional problems.

Earlier this year the show landed a coveted National TV Award, and given recent episodes, especially those involving the death of Sambuca Kelly (Holly Kenny) earlier this month, more could be in the pipeline.

When Sam’s character died in her mother’s arms on June 8 it left a massive hole in the show, and many viewers reaching for the hankies. Of course, there’s no shortage of moving plotlines ready to help plug the gap.

And there’s a good chance the on-off romance between headteacher Karen Fisher and caretaker Rob Scotcher will be at the heart of season seven’s remaining episodes.

In the latest instalment, Karen doubts Chris’ judgement when he attempts to help scruffy newcomer Scout (Katie McGlynn). Chris (William Ash) discovers she is working as a drug courier, so steps in to rescue her from her useless family.

However, he’s soon in trouble, both with Karen and the police, as he tries to do right by her.

OF those of us that allow ourselves to imagine a new life, the percentage who actually go through with it has been on the rise for a long while now.

Six million British people now live abroad as expats – and Australia is up there with the most popular destinations.

It’s hardly difficult to see why. With its almost- guaranteed year-round sunshine, comparatively low crime rates and a penchant for barbecues that are as regular as our home-cooked Sunday roast dinners, there’s nothing not to like about the land Down Under.

The documentary series Poms In Paradise continues to keep a close eye on the Brits who have set up camp on Australia’s Gold Coast. We meet the British boss of one of that country’s busiest animal hospitals, while cameras follow a Birmingham couple who have settled in the area, as well as two Londoners living out their retirement there.

THE medical team at King’s College Hospital treats several young men with stab wounds in 24 Hours In A&E. For the hospital’s staff, this isn’t an unfamiliar sight because the areas they serve in London are particularly crimeridden.

First to be brought through the doors is 17-year-old Levi who’s been stabbed during a street fight. His injuries aren’t life-threatening, but his mum is distraught all the same. However, Levi refuses to speak to police officers about the attack.

Meanwhile, two young men who’ve been involved in the same altercation need tending, as well as a young woman who’s been punched in the face.

ONE man’s weed is another man’s flower, but what is it that defines such a thing? Is it just a plant growing in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or, as Jack R Harlan and JMJ de Wet commented in their 1965 article Some Thoughts About Weeds, is it a “a generally unwanted organism that thrives in habitats disturbed by man”?

In Wonderful Weeds, horticulturalist Chris Collins travels the UK to show the extraordinary story behind the plants most people call weeds. He visits assorted back gardens and giant greenhouses, and encounters experts in botanical history, genetics, pharmaceuticals and wild food along the way, in his quest to discover exactly what weeds are.