Coronation Street’s Denise Black, who is fondly remembered for her role as hairdresser Denise Osbourne, has joined the cast of Waterloo Road. The 67 year old actress first graced the cobbles from 1992 to 1997, where she played Ken Barlow’s (William Roache) love interest, resulting in the birth of their son Daniel Osbourne.

However, their relationship ended dramatically when it was revealed that Denise had been having an affair with Brian Dunkley (Benny Young), leading to her disappearance from the soap for a decade. In 2007, Denise briefly returned to introduce Ken to Daniel after his adoptive daughter Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) was imprisoned for the murder of Charlie Stubbs.

Despite making a pass at Ken, he chose to return to Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), and Denise disappeared from the screen for nearly another decade.

In 2016, Daniel, now portrayed by Rob Mallard, made a comeback after his father suffered a stroke and has remained a regular character since then.

Denise also returned alongside him and was last seen offering her condolences to Ken over Deirdre’s death.

After her various roles on the cobbles, she moved to another ITV show, Emmerdale, where she portrayed Joanie Dingle, the adoptive gran of Amy Wyatt’s on-screen son Kyle from 2013 until 2017.

Her character had a fling with Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell), which later led to marriage, but it all ended in heartbreak when Joanie passed away from a heart attack in January 2017, reports the Mirror.

However, Denise has now traded soap for drama and joined the cast of BBC’s flagship school drama, which made a comeback in 2023 after nearly ten years off air. In the sixth episode of the current series, Denise portrays the grandmother of Liam Scholes’ character Noel McManus.

In dramatic scenes, Denise’s new character, Mo McManus, finds herself in a police confrontation.

Waterloo Road first hit our screens on the BBC in 2007, and kick-started the TV careers of Hollyoaks actress Chelsee Healey, former Strictly Come Dancing star Adam Thomas, and Katie McGlynn amongst many others. Celebs like Louis Tomlinson, Jodie Comer and Jack O’Connell also started their careers as students of the troubled Manchester comprehensive school before achieving worldwide success.

Throughout its initial nine series, the show tackled challenging topics including teen pregnancy, murder and substance abuse whilst showcasing a brilliant ensemble cast of television favourites, including former EastEnders star Jill Halfpenny as drama teacher Izzie Redpath, Loose Women regular Denise Welch as bungling French teacher Steph Haydock and Silent Witness actress Amanda Burton as headmistress Karen Fisher.

The series made a comeback in 2023 following successful streaming figures for the original run, though executives have recently confessed that the revival has exceeded every expectation.

Executive producer Cameron Roach revealed: “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.”