FANS STUNNED: Coronation Street icon Denise Black SH0CKS the TV industry with Explosive Debut on rival BBC show that leaves Emmerdale fans SPEECHLESS
It has been more three decades since she first appeared on screen, but now, Coronation Street‘s Denise Black is set to appear in yet another soap.
The actress is best known for her role as Denise Osbourne, the former partner of Ken Barlow, in the long-running ITV series set in the fictional town of Weatherfield.
Denise, 67, also starred in Channel 4 series Queer As Folk, written by Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies, as Hazel Tyler, reprising her role in follow-up series Cucumber.
While she also starred in rival ITV soap Emmerdale as Joanie, the adoptive grandmother of Chelsea Halfpenny’s Amy Wyatt’s son Kyle.
She made her first appearance on the series in August 2013 before leaving just three months later, returning for a longer stint between 2015 and 2017.
But now Denise is heading over to the BBC, as she’s joined the cast of school-based series Waterloo Road as its 16th season continues.
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Coronation Street ‘s Denise Black is set to appear in yet another soap, this time taking a role in Waterloo Road
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Denis’s new character, Mo McManus, gets caught up in a showdown with the police in scenes that have aired on iPlayer
Her new character, Mo McManus, gets caught up in a showdown with the police.
She made her appearance in the sixth episode of the latest series, after being introduced as the grandmother of Liam Scholes’ character Noel.
Denise isn’t the only Coronation Street star currently on the BBC airwaves.
Waterloo Road is said to be gearing up to tackle an important issue in a new storyline played by fellow former Corrie star Savannah Kunyo.
The young actress, who played Eliza Woodrow, will star as Hope Drake, a school student who has a severe dairy allergy and experiences anaphylaxis at school.
Her collapse in the corridors leaves classmates and teachers reeling – and the drama intensifies when it emerges that Hope is the granddaughter of headmistress Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson).
The scenes will echo a string of real-life tragedies that have highlighted how deadly food allergies can be.
While on Corrie, Denise’s character and Ken Barlow, played by William Roache, shared son Daniel Osbourne in the series.
Denise is connected to show favourite Noel McManus, played by Liam Scholes
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She appeared on the cobbles between 1992 and 1997 before her character was rested until 2007
She appeared on the cobbles between 1992 and 1997 before her character was rested until 2007, when she reappeared for a guest stint, with a second in 2017.
Elsewhere, Denise played Joanie Dingle in Emmerdale until 2017, when her character dropped dead from a heart attack in shock exit scenes.
The actress was part of major storylines, including bringing Kyle back to the village to get to know his biological relatives.
The grandmother then went on to have an affair with Cain’s dad, Zak Dingle, and was the reason behind Zak’s divorce from Lisa.
Last month, it was confirmed Waterloo Road would continue for more series despite a slew of cancellations at the BBC with the broadcaster announcing two more series of the beloved soap had been commissioned, running into 2026 and beyond.
The show’s executive producer, Cameron Roach, said: ‘When the BBC commissioned the reboot of we had hoped it might run for a few seasons.
‘To be commissioned for further series, bringing the total episodes since relaunch to seventy hours, is a huge achievement and a reflection of the incredible creative teams in front of and behind the camera.
‘As well as continuing to celebrate emerging talent, the show is fast gaining a reputation for working with the best comedy talent, as Jon Richardson joins the cast this season.
‘As a team we’re incredibly proud that a very British show can be such an enduring success for the BBC and continue to bring in new generations of viewers.’
Series 16 of Waterloo Road is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
