FOR fans of TV drama Waterloo Road — which returned to TV screens last night — she’s best known as troubled teenager Scout.

But for the winter term, Katie McGlynn has put teenage tantrums and schoolyard scuffles behind her to journey into Pantoland, playing Fairy Cupcake in Jack And The Beanstalk, which opens at Colne Muni tomorrow.

The fun of dames and magic beans is a world away from Katie’s TV character — a tomboy who’s had to fight to keep her family together, even resorting to drug running, and getting caught up in an immigration marriage scam.

“She’s a sassy, feisty and fun fairy,” said Lancashire lass Katie, from Littleborough.

“I’m a lot younger than pantomime fairies tend to be, so it’s great fun to play her in the different way that George (Critchley, boss of PMA productions) has written her.

“This is the first time I’ve been in a professional pantomime, and played a real part in a panto too; I was a fox in one and a panda in another when I was younger, so it’s really exciting, and the cast we’ve got are lovely.

“I’ve never done any singing before, so I hope that goes well, but it’s going to be fun having two baddies in the Giant and Fleshcreep.”

Katie joined the Waterloo Road cast in 2011, filming near home on the BBC1 show’s Rochdale school set. But like the character she plays, the young actress faced a tough move as the series relocated to Scotland and a new base 25-miles from Glasgow in April last year.

“We were going through the same thing as our characters,” the 19-year-old said. “My mum and dad were a bit worried about me moving away from living at home, but I settled in.”

Filming for the latest installments took place during the autumn and Scout is due to leave school in the next set of episodes. For Katie, that means a chance to broaden her acting horizons, having been plucked from school in the midst of A-level studies to join Waterloo Road.

“I’ve been so lucky with Waterloo Road. I will miss it and the friends there,” said Katie, who describes herself as an ‘aspiring actresss’ on her Twitter profile.

“But I don’t mind what I do next — maybe more TV or theatre, or maybe go to drama school. With the way things have happened for me, I’ve missed that formal training so I’ll see what happens.”

n Jack And The Beanstalk, Colne Muni, tomorrow until Sunday, January 20. Call 01282 661234 to book.