Lauren Natasha Andrews (originally Fletcher) is a former pupil of Waterloo Road. She had a bit of an attitude on her, but underneath she was a kind girl, always there for her friends and ready to stick up for herself. She is very fashion conscious and works in a salon at weekends. She has been in a physical fights with Michaela White, Aiden Keen, and a few with Amy Porter and Siobhan Mailey.
Series 4[]
Autumn Term[]
Lauren is first introduced as a friend of Sambuca Kelly. When Sambuca is fostered by Matt Wilding she brings some of his personal items to school. When Lauren finds out she wastes no time spreading the gossip and making fun of Matt.
Spring Term[]
Lauren and Sambuca are star struck when glamour model Sarah-Leanne turns up at Waterloo Road for careers day and leave the PE class to try and follow her.
When Michaela White organises an art exhibition of Karla's work Lauren is not happy with her portrait and complains she looks fat. She demands her money back from Michaela but she refuses. Lauren gets her older brother to have a word with Michaela hoping he will get it back for her but Michaela's wits and charm win him over. An angry Lauren then starts a fight with Michaela much to the other pupils enjoyment.
When Sambuca and Lauren are eager to get a choir started they are annoyed when no one wants to join. They begin threatening people into joining but when Matt finds out he lets them leave. Instead together the three find people who actually want to be in the choir and start practicing.
When the new supply teacher promises a film crew for Waterloo Road's choir, Lauren, Sambuca and Aleesha are all very excited. Lauren even gets up at 6:00am to start getting ready. They are all extremely disappointed however when the supply teacher is found to be a compulsive liar and there is no film crew coming to Waterloo Road.
Series 5[]
Autumn Term[]
John Fosters, the local private school, merges with Waterloo Road after closing down. None of the kids are happy about it. The "posh" John Fosters kids either want to be violent or want to be peaceful, but the "scuzzy" Waterloo Roaders are having none of it. A large fight takes place in the playground which Lauren is a part of as a Waterloo Roader.
Lauren was also best friends with Sambuca Kelly and Cassie Turner. When Cassie, a normally quiet student, accused three girls of hitting her Sambuca and Lauren were hurt about her not coming to them first rather than the teachers but they believe she had been hit, however it turned out Cassie had paranoia Schizophrenia.
Spring Term[]
Ruby Fry takes the Year 10 class out to a local farm, run by student Craig Moran's older brother, Mark. It doesn't go well when Lauren and Sambuca, horrified to learn that the piglets are two months away from slaughter, let them loose and later steal one, taking it back to Waterloo Road in a duffel bag. They are found out in the same episode.
Josh Stevenson and Lauren's flirting picks up the pace, messing around with each other in Science until they are told off for flirting. However when everyone finds out about Lauren's large birthmark on her back, it comes up to an abrupt end and when Lauren confronts Josh in front of his mates, he calls her a freak. She runs off upset and steals hydrogen peroxide from the Science lab and tries to use it to burn the birthmark off. It doesn't work, and when Sambuca Kelly and Tom Clarkson find her she is screaming in pain. Tom ushers into the showers and tells her to get it all out while Sambuca rushes for help. Later on when Tom finds out about Josh's behaviour towards Lauren he cancels his party - as it is his birthday - and grounds him for two weeks. Lauren later comes round and they make up.
Lauren sneaks out of her job as a hairdresser on work experience day and joins Sambuca in her sport shop job, later helping her to try and impress her crush, Bolton Smilie.
Series 6[]
Autumn Term[]
When Josh is reluctant to respond to Lauren's advance of coming over to hers, Lauren doesn't notice. But when Josh tries to kiss Finn and reveals he's gay, it spreads round the school like wildfire and a humiliated Lauren turns to Josh for a proper explanation. He tells her it didn't happen and later gets physical with Lauren in the canteen but when they both sneak off to a closet he is reluctant to carry on making out and she walks out frustrated.
Lauren wants to try drugs with Amy Porter but Sambuca buys them off her with money borrowed from Cesca Montoya, a Spanish teacher who was earlier doing a Drugs Awareness Class. When Sambuca faces exclusion after an angry outburst, Amy plants drugs in her jacket and tells the head teacher that Sambuca has drugs on her, Sambuca faces exclusion but Lauren owns up in the nick of time and saves Sambuca.
Trivia[]
- Lauren's original last name was Fletcher
- Lauren is one of the original members of the school choir
- In Series 4, Lauren's hair was straight, but from Series 5 onwards, her hair was curly.
- Having been in the show from Series 4 to Series 7, she is one of the longest serving female students in Waterloo Road.
- Lauren and Amy hated each other in Series 5, but became friends in Series 6.
- Darcy Isa and Jack McMullen (Finn Sharkey) also acted alongside each other in Grange Hill.
Quotes[]
- "Is your mum a junkie?" (first line)
- "Do you think some stupid burger will make up for not being on telly?" (to Matt in S4E16)
- "It's just because I look different, that's why you're all scared of me. You can only see what's wrong with me and not what's right. Don't you think I'd change it if I could? I mean, don't you think I know, I know that I'm hard to look at. I don't even like looking at myself. If I could I'd break every mirror, break it into a thousand pieces."
- Lauren: "I just wanted it to go away. But I've made it worse though, haven't I?"
- Tom: "You'll be fine, it's just a little bit red, that's all."
- Lauren: "No, I just - I don't want anyone to know. I don't want Josh to know. He thinks I'm a freak already."
- Amy: "We'll never get our French GCSE exam with her teaching us."
- Lauren: "You're never gonna get it cos you're gonna be dead!"
- Sambuca: "Don't you wanna know tho Lauren, where you go?"
- Lauren: "I want you here, now! You're my best friend and you always will be, no matter where we are!"
- "Where is he anyway?" (final line)