Lisa Faulkner has cooked up an escape from the kitchen… with a role in BBC drama Waterloo Road.
Lisa, 50, has been serving up a food show with her celebrity chef husband John Torode since quitting EastEnders as Fi Browning five years ago.
But she has now landed a part on the hit drama, set in a tough comprehensive school, after making a return to acting in BBC thriller The Girl Beyond last year.
The former soap star – who also had roles in Casualty, Holby City and Spooks – will join the cast of Waterloo Road when it returns next year after a nine-year absence, the Sunday People can reveal.
Lisa will star alongside fellow soap legends Angela Griffin and Adam Thomas in the show, where she will play Hannah King, the wife of new joint deputy head, Lindon King (Vincent Jerome).
A source said: “It’s great to see Lisa back. Waterloo Road fans will think she’s a great addition.”
Lisa, who has 16-year-old daughter Billie with her ex Chris Coghill, met MasterChef presenter John, 57, while taking part in a celebrity version of the show in 2010 – which she won.
They married three years ago and have since been presenting ITV cooking show, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen.
She began acting at 19 and landed a regular role in Channel 4 soap Brookside when she was 25, before moving on to Holby City.
Fans will be thrilled to see both Lisa – and Waterloo Road – return to our screens.
The drama, set in Rochdale, Lancs, first aired in 2006 and ran for 10 seasons.
Angela Griffin, 46, will return as Kim Campbell, who has been promoted from head of pastoral care to head teacher.
Adam Thomas, 34, and Katie Griffiths, 33, will also be back in their roles as Donte and Chlo Charles, while former Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh, 46, will play canteen worker Nicky Walters.
The BBC’s Charlotte Moore said the new series has been reimagined for
“the modern day”.
Of her return to acting, Lisa said recently: “There are slightly better roles for women over 50, but not in abundance. It’s sad because women over 50 are probably the biggest watchers of TV.
“We don’t seem to be represented as well as we should be.”
But she said: “I love the fact that I can still act, and I hope I’ll be acting and cooking into my 80s.”
Lisa, who has also teamed up with online supermarket Ocado to create a week’s worth of family dinners for £25, added: “It’s been really lovely to be acting again, juggling it all with my cooking.”
The actress has also signed up to appear in ITV four-parter Archie, about Bristol-born Archibald Leach – who found movie fame as Cary Grant.
