Fans of Hollyoaks will recall Niamh Blackshaw’s character Juliet Nightingale was killed off in emotional scenes back in 2023 – but now it seems she has a brand new soap role
Former Hollyoaks star Niamh Blackshaw has been cast in Waterloo Road – with the reveal being accidentally leaked.
The 25-year-old actress has been building up an impressive acting CV since debuting on Coronation Street as a character called Lara Cutler in 2017. While Niamh’s time on the Cobbles only lasted for five episodes, her career has only gone from strength to strength.
She featured in a short film titled Landline in 2018 – which was also the same year she began playing Juliet Nightingale on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. Her time on the ‘oaks came to a brutal end in 2023 when her character was killed off in a heartbreaking terminal cancer storyline.
She then appeared in a short film titled SnapCatch in 2023, before impressing TV fans by playing a character named Rosie in the BBC One crime drama The Jetty earlier this year. And now it has been accidentally revealed that she has joined the cast of revived school-set soap Waterloo Road.
The star has seemingly landed a role on Waterloo Road (Image: BBC)
A director inadvertently let slip of Niamh’s casting while sharing a string of photos of clacker-boards via Instagram alongside a caption celebrating the end of filming the latest batch of episodes. The director wrote: “Heading into my last week of shooting @waterlooroad with the fabulous cast and crew there. #tvdrama #femaledirector #tvdirector.” The director tagged all the cast of the show – with Niamh noticeably among the names on display.
It is unknown what character Niamh will play on the show, and the actress herself has remained tight lipped over this latest development in her career. Season 14 of the show is currently airing – as the newest set of episodes started broadcasting on Tuesday night.
Waterloo Road – which is made by Warner Bros. owned Wall to Wall – first ran for 10 seasons between 2006 and 2015 before getting cancelled. It was then sensationally revived in 2023 with an 11th season – and two more seasons have aired since. The current 14th season is to consist of eight episodes, while a 15th season has already been commissioned. It is good news for Niamh who previously hinted she was upset over her Hollyoaks character being killed off.
She previously told Digital Spy: “It’s very complicated. I was open to options about my exit, and this felt like a finite, powerful story which made me excited. I love the character deeply and I’m upset for her – we all have grieved a fictional character at some point. But I’m happy to have seen her through to the end. It’s been difficult, but I’m very proud of the work. I feel like it’s the best work I have done on the show.
“I’ve always known [it would end like this]. The response [from fans] has been very overwhelming. I was very shocked at how loved Juliet is.” Waterloo Road is set to continue on BBC One and via BBC iPlayer on Tuesday 17 September.
