It feels so good to go back to school

Waterloo Road star Zeri returns to hit show... after 16-year absence

- DIANNE BOURNE

IT has been 16 years since actress Zeriozha Annika first appeared on hit BBC series Waterloo Road - but now she's back to bring the drama once again as Celine Dixon.

Her character was last seen in 2009 when she told everyone she was pregnant following a brief romance with Donte Charles, played by Adam Thomas. But no-one believed the schoolgirl at the time, so she left.

However, it was quickly revealed upon her return to the latest BBC series that she HAD been pregnant after all, and is now a single mum to a teenage son - with Donte swiftly confirmed as the dad.

In her time away, Zeri, 41, has had her own family with her husband, Manchester business owner Paul Cheetham-Karcz, and is mum to sons Rocco, 10, and Romeo, eight, and daughter River, four.

And her children are already following in her acting footsteps - with Rocco starring in The Inheritance with Gaynor Faye on Netflix while Romeo played baby George (Mary's grandson) on Coronation Street.

Talking of her Waterloo Road return, Zeri says: "The first time I filmed Waterloo Road was 18 years ago and I was 24, playing a schoolgirl! I actually did look 16 when I had no make-up on."

She admits when she first got the email from Waterloo Road, she thought it was for a role for Rocco!