Zoe Lucker – famous for her role as Tanya Turner in Footballers Wives - has joined the cast of Waterloo Road.

Lucker, who appeared in all five series of Footballers Wives - and even made a cross-over as her long-nailed viper-tongued character into Bad Girls, willplay Carol Barry, the head of a criminal family from Liverpool, set to cause mayhem in upcoming storylines.

Carol Barry is the lone parent of three troublesome children (played by Carl Au, Abby Mavers and Brogan Ellis), as her husband is in prison. The Barry family are set to become enrolled in Waterloo Road as part of Michael’s recruitment program for the school – but will Michael be able to turn them into model students?

“I’m delighted to join the cast of Waterloo Road and work with Shed and the BBC again,” said Zoe, “It’s a show I’ve always enjoyed and I’m thrilled to be part of the outrageous Barry family.

“Carol and her kids are going to ruffle plenty of feathers in Waterloo Road – you can’t trust them as far as you can throw them! They’re a family of great characters – you just wouldn’t want the Barrys in your neighbourhood!”

Waterloo Road will be Lucker’s latest major project after her stint in EastEnders as Vanessa Gold.

Head of Drama for Shed Productions and Executive Producer of Waterloo Road commented: “Zöe is a terrific addition to our ensemble cast. It is incredibly exciting to be working with her again after working together on Footballers’ Wives. This time her character’s not about the glamour but keeping the family together.”

BBC Scotland’s executive producer Gaynor Holmes added: “We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Zöe as she arrives in Scotland. It’s very exciting to see Waterloo Road continue to attract such star casting as the show goes from strength to strength,” said Gaynor Holmes, BBC Scotland’s executive producer.

As well as working with Shed on Bad Girls and Waterloo Road, Zoe also played a lead role in the ill-fatedBombshell.