The Walk-In continues with episode 2 tonight, and TV fans will no doubt recognise Nicola Stephenson who joins the cast as Jack Renshaw’s mum.
Of course, those following the drama will know that Jack is a hateful member of fascist group National Action.
But it’s not actress Nicola’s first brush with a controversial role…
Brookside fans will know her for THAT famous lesbian kiss in 1994.
Here’s everything you need to know about Nicola Stephenson from The Walk-In…
Who plays Jack Renshaw’s mum in The Walk-In?
Actress Nicola Stephenson joins the cast of The Walk-In on ITV1.
She plays the mum of National Action member Jack Renshaw, played by Dean Charles Chapman.
In episode 2, ITV shares that: “National Action insider Robbie Mullen reaches out to Matthew Collins and Hope Not Hate to try and prevent the murder of another MP.
“But in doing so, he puts himself in danger.”
We first met Jack Renshaw in the first episode of The Walk-In and he’s a pretty hardline member of National Action.
In episode 2, he suggests a heinous plan.
Who did Nicola Stephenson play in Brookside?
One of Nicola Stephenson‘s best-known roles was Margaret Clemence in Brookside.
She starred in the soap from 1990 until 1993, but her role had a HUGE impact.
Margaret had a number of memorable moments on the soap, including an affair with a Catholic priest!
But her most memorable moment on Brookside was her kiss with Beth Jordache, played by Anna Friel.
It was the first lesbian kiss to be broadcast before the 9pm watershed, and caused quite the controversy at the time!
Nicola told The Liverpool Echo: “I still have middle-aged women say to me that the storyline helped them come to terms with their own sexuality or helped them come out to members of their family.”
The kiss became so infamous, it was televised in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics – in several countries where same-sex relationships are still firmly banned.
For many viewers from those countries, the kiss was the first same-sex kiss they had ever seen.
What else has Nicola Stephenson been in?
Nicola Stephenson began acting in 1988, when she starred as Priscilla Millbanks in Coronation Street.
She then starred in the second series of the popular BBC drama Children’s Ward as Amanda.
Nicola joined Casualty in 1998 as Nurse Julie Fitzjohn, before later leading the spin-off show Holby City in its first series.
She then starred in BBC’s BAFTA-winning series Clocking Out.
Nicola later joined the cast of Northern Lights, and later City Lights as Jackie.
In 2012, she played Louise Mancetta in Homefront, a mini-series which followed the lives of four army wives.
Another significant role was as Allie Westbroke in Waterloo Road.
She joined the show in the final series as a new art teacher who had an affair with Head Teacher Vaughan Fitzgerald.
You might also recognise her from Emmerdale
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