Transgender actress Annie Wallace cast as new Hollyoaks headteacher Mrs St Claire

Wallace will make her first appearance in next week's episodes when Mrs St Claire clashes with current head Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield), whose health is now deteriorating following a diagnosis of motor neurone disease.

Speaking about her on-screen debut, Wallace - who is the first transgender cast member with a regular role on Hollyoaks - said:

"I'm delighted to be joining Hollyoaks as Mrs St Claire. She’s such a great character and my first couple of scenes with Jeremy really show of her feisty personality – she’s a force to be reckoned with. I hope the viewers love her as much as I do."

Fans looks set to see a very different head of Hollyoaks High School to Patrick, with Mrs St Claire's no-nonsense attitude stemming from a desire to help young people achieve the future they deserve.

In a press statement, the Channel 4 soap said of their new character: "She’s married to the job and keeps herself isolated to maintain professionalism, but is surprisingly clued up on pop culture telling off stunned students by making references they understand – 'tuck your shirt in! You are not Kanye West!'

"Driven by career, Mrs St Claire has accepted a position at Hollyoaks High to, in her own words, 'seek out the bad apples and make them into crumble'.

"Make no mistake, there’s nothing going on in class that Mrs St Claire doesn’t know about. But she’s also come to the village with an ulterior motive…."

You can read spoilers for next week's episodes here.