Tom Clarkson was a Waterloo Road legend and his death came as a shock to many viewers.
Tom was a father figure to many Waterloo Road students and he became one of the most beloved characters on the show.
But what do we know about Tom and how did the English teacher die?
Waterloo Road: Who is Tom Clarkson?
Tom appeared in the very first episode of Waterloo Road as an English teacher.
He became head of pastoral care at one point and Head of English before becoming Deputy Head for a short period of time.
Tom is the biological father of Josh Stevenson, but became a father figure to many of the pupils.
He especially became an important role in Chlo and Mika’s lives.
Without even thinking twice, the teacher took them into his care after their mum was murdered and he continued to look out for them until they both moved out.
Tom Clarkson’s relationship
Tom’s love life is something of a crazy spider web.
He went to university with his colleagues Lorna Dickey and Izzie Redpath and the three of them were best friends, but Tom was engaged to Lorna.
However, when he confessed to Izzie that he was in love with her, she felt awful!
Tom and Lorna got married but he was still in love with Izzie.
Lorna then fell pregnant but after Tom told her he never wanted to marry her so she had an abortion.
Tom could then finally begin dating Izzie and he moved in with her and her two daughters Mika and Chloe.
Izzie fell pregnant with Tom’s baby but had a miscarriage after an altercation with Lorna.
Lorna forgave Tom and Izzie, but she took her own life after being diagnosed with MS, leaving them both heartbroken.
But it was the wake-up call that the pair both needed to realise that they loved each other and Tom proposed to Izzie.
In season 2, things took a heartbreaking turn as Izzie was murdered by ex-pupil Jed.
Jed stabbed the drama teacher after she caught him in a fight with headmaster Jack Rimmer.
She then sadly died in Jack’s arms in the school car park.
After Izzie’s death, Tom continued to live with Mika and Chlo.
He looked out for the two sisters until they both eventually moved out and on with their own lives.
Tom also had romances with Davina Shackleton, Rose Kelly, Francesca Montoya and Eleanor Chaudry.
How many children did Tom have?
In series five, Tom discovered new pupil Josh Stevenson was his son from a relationship he had with his ex-girlfriend Georgia.
Soon Josh moved in with Tom. At this point Tom’s stepdaughters Chlo and Mika had moved out of Izzie’s house.
Although Tom and Rose Kelly didn’t stay together, he became a father-figure to her children Marley, Sambuca, Denzil and Prince.
Rose had another son Earl, but he went to prison after murdering his ex-girlfriend Maxine.
Sambuca was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour in season seven and died just a short time later. Despite not being with Rose anymore, he was there to support Rose, Sam and the rest of the family through her illness and death.
At the end of series seven, Tom was going to move to Scotland along with the school and Denzil was going to move with them.
However when they bus stopped at the border between England and Scotland, a drunk driver lost control of his lorry and crashed into the rest stop, killing Denzil.
Tom was devasted by Denzil’s death and in series eight he had to let another one of his children go, as Josh decided to gain his own independence.
Josh left to work in Manchester as he claimed that he wanted to strike out on his own and make his dad proud.
Waterloo Road: How did Tom Clarkson die?
One pupil who caused havoc at Waterloo Road throughout season four was Kyle Stack, played by Britain’s Got Talent 2008 winner George Samson.
Kyle had been involved in gangs, drugs and knife crime.
At the end of series seven he was arrested after shooting Josh in the arm with a crossbow.
Kyle was aiming to shoot Josh’s best friend Finn Sharkey after a huge gang rivalry, but Josh jumped in the way.
Josh was shot in the arm but luckily was not killed. The police arrested Kyle and took him away.
However Kyle appeared at the school in Scotland at the end of series 8 after his release from prison.
He snuck into the school but was spotted by pupil Rhiannon Salt, who knew him from their schooldays in Rochdale.
Kyle appeared to have changed and was now taking an interest in his studies.
But it became clear that Kyle was struggling after leaving prison and went onto the roof of the school to end his own life.
Tom Clarkson fell to his death
Tom followed Kyle up onto the roof and tried to convince him to come down. He confessed to Tom that he had been abused at the youth offenders.
Kyle moved to step off the roof but Tom lost his footing and fell off the roof.
As Tom led on the ground he told his colleague Simon Lowsley that it wasn’t Kyle’s fault before he died.
A memorial was held for Tom, however none of his old friends or family such as Donte, Chlo and Mika appeared.
Not even his own son Josh.
But it seems like Chlo and Donte named their son Tommy after Tom in the new series.
Read more: What happened to the old set? What do we know about the new set?
Waterloo Road airs tonight (January 10) from 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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