Waterloo Road spoilers follow.
In its series finale tonight (February 14), Waterloo Road aired a shocking arrest that could change the course of one student's life forever.
As the episode began, staff and students alike were looking forward to the end of term and Danny Lewis received some good news: He'd passed his exams.
When Vinnie McCullen's hired thugs turned up at Kai's party last week to retrieve stolen money from his stepson Danny, the troubled teen chased them off with a knife, but he feared the repercussions of his actions.
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As Danny and the other students of Waterloo Road prepared for the end-of-year show, Vinnie appeared in the audience causing Danny to skip out on his performance.
After attacking Danny in the halls, Vinnie demanded that Danny repay him the money he stole, then dangled him over the stairwell.
A panicked Danny stabbed Vinnie and ran away when teacher Valerie 'Val' Chambers stumbled on the scene, discovering that Vinnie was alive but in critical condition.
Headteacher Kim Campbell then found Danny hiding, and he tearfully told her: "You have done all that you could to change where I was going, but you can't change where I come from, and that is always going to follow me."
Danny was then arrested for stabbing Vinnie.
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Upon learning of the arrest, students began to chant 'free Danny'. When threatened with detention, they all stood on their chairs and put their phone torches in silent protest.
Unable to quash the students' protest, Mr King smashed his daughter's phone, forcing headteacher Kim Campbell to step in to break up the crowds with an impassioned speech.
"I share your anger. I am angry that the scales are weighted so much against so many of us," she told the crowd.
As the episode drew to a close, Danny trembled in prison and Kim questioned her role as headteacher. "I don't think I can do it anymore," she said.
Val, who had taken Danny's knife from the crime scene and hidden it, popped the knife into her bag, paving the way for an exciting next series of the soap.
Waterloo Road's current series is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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