Preston Walters was a popular Year 12 student at Waterloo Road High School, the son of Nicky Walters and the brother of Tonya. He was captain of the school's basketball team.
Personality[]
Preston is shown to have some anger issues and paranoia due to his difficult home life and mental health issues. He's a boy struggling with a lot meaning sometimes he snaps and yells at others, specifically his ex-girlfriend Samia Choudhry and his mother Nicky Walters. Despite this, Preston can be kind and is often seen showing his softer side to Kai Sharif several times before they begin dating. His mood change can be pinpointed to the moment where his family is evicted from their home. Now he has to balance school, basketball and the stress of being without a house, and now that he doesn't have that safety net, he is forced to bring his eating disorder into school where the stress weighs down on him. Moments where he seems extra angry and emotional come in times when he hasn't been able to binge and purge. An example of this is when he snaps at Kai in the locker room after he was unable to purge because Danny had come into the bathroom.
In Series 12, Preston seems happier. Now in a relationship with Kai he isn't as angry and is seen to regulate his emotions better, even when he snaps at Kai he apologises in the moment instead of waiting like he did with Samia. He's seen enjoying himself more often, joking around with his boyfriend despite his worsening mental health.
When Preston returns in Series 13 following his cardiac arrest, he hates that everyone now knows about his bulimia and makes plans to leave Waterloo Road to attend sports college, but he ultimately stays at Waterloo Road.
In Series 14 Preston picks up guitar lessons from Noel McManus so he can perform at his grandmother Barbara's funeral. They perform together at the school's Battle of the Bands.
Mental health[]
Preston struggles with an eating disorder (bulimia) and anxiety throughout the course of Series 11 and 12. Being evicted means that he has nowhere to go after school, so Preston begins to binge and purge in the school bathroom. Preston used to be able to come home from a stressful day, go into the bathroom, put on loud music and do what he needed to do without the fear of being caught. But now without that he is forced to relieve his stress in the school bathrooms. During Series 11 Episode 3, Preston suffers a panic attack where it seems his stress has become unbearable. With the help from Lindon King, he is able to calm down but is urged to seek help, which he does not. His bulimia continues to get worse throughout the series as we see him teary-eyed in the bathroom several times and he's seen binging and purging after high-stress situations. It interferes with his relationship with Samia as he becomes so caught up in his paranoia over someone finding out. However his bulimia reaches a new low when it prevents him from meeting up with Kai like he had promised. At the end of the series, we see him put up a note on the tree he and Donte made wishing he was someone else, indicating that his mental health has hit an all-time low.
During Series 12, his eating disorder only gets worse. In Series 12 Episode 3, after ignoring Kai's two phone calls whilst he is binging, Preston attempts to leave the bathroom, but his bag is pulled by Kai and cereal bars fall out. He angrily storms away leaving Kai confused. Later however, he breaks down in front of Kai telling him that he wouldn't want to be with him if he really knew him. Kai assures him that isn't true, and through his tears, Preston opens up about his problems with his eating. Kai listens in silence and hugs him tightly before they continue their conversation where Preston reveals his bulimia began after his mum walked out on his dad, to which Kai says "That was ages ago" implying he has been struggling for a long time. Preston admits that his bulimia has nothing to do with his body image and is instead a way to feel good as he eats until he does and he makes himself sick. When asked by Kai if his mum knows, Preston pleads with Kai to not say anything. We never see Kai's answer, but he keeps Preston's secret for as long as possible.
In Episode 4, we watch as Kai offers alternatives to lunch for Preston, he believes small and often should be the way to go as he is less likely to want to purge that way. Preston is shown to be paranoid about people finding out, as it seems Kai knowing is freaking him out a little, as now his coping strategy isn't private. After a conversation with his mum about his relationship with Kai and his sexuality, we see Preston attempt to prevent a binge and purge, to which he is unsuccessful. Following this, he returns to class with Kai where he gets agitated that he assumes he just throws up when he's alone. He promises Kai that he has it under control. This is not the truth as the extent of his bulimia is met in Episode 6.
Whilst in class, Preston mentions to Kai that he has a bunch of cereal bars in his bag that he is going to use to carb up with before the race, Kai worries that this isn't a good idea as stress is a major trigger for him and eating a lot of food may also trigger a purge. Preston admits that Kai is right and that it's "only a little jog", however before they begin the race, after sharing a kiss, Kai mentions the warmth of Preston's breath and asks him what he's eaten, to which Preston replies that he's only eaten some cereal bars. Kai follows this with an accusation of "And what after that?", to which Preston does not reply, implying he may have purged before the race. When he is near the end of the race, we see that he is covered in sweat, his ears begin to ring and he collapses suffering a cardiac arrest due to the strain purging has put on his heart. After CPR from Kai and a defibrillator, Preston comes back round and survives. In Episode 7, he is shown to be clearly agitated and reluctant to begin treatment, and has begun to close off from everyone. When visited by Kai he is cold but his demeanour changes when visited again by Kai and his mum, when he agrees to treatment, saying he doesn't want to die. Unbeknownst to Preston, Myles Massey has begun to make fun of his bulimia and he reveals it to the entire school, shaming him across the radio station.
When Preston returns in Series 13 following his cardiac arrest, he hates that everyone now knows about his bulimia, and he is upset when he finds out that Kai has been made acting captain of the basketball team in his absence, and makes plans to leave Waterloo Road to attend sports college, but he ultimately stays at Waterloo Road. As part of Waterloo Road's mentoring scheme, Preston is partnered up with new pupil Mog Richardson, and they get off to a very bad start, with Mog mocking Preston for carrying a basketball around and Preston mocking Mog for only having online friends. Preston and Mog eventually become friends however, after hanging out in Mog's virtual world on their computers.
Preston's mental health improves towards the end of Series 13, though he has a rocky day when he finds out about Tonya and Schuey Weever's thievery and tries to threaten Schuey to leave Tonya alone, and Schuey threatens to drop Tonya in it with the police if he doesn't get the £400 for the items he and Tonya stole, which had been found and confiscated. Preston later sneaks into headteacher Kim Campbell's office, where she catches him red-handed attempting to steal the stuff back. To protect Tonya, he lies that he stole it all, but the truth eventually comes out.
In Series 14, Preston's mental health seems to be back to normal, though he does get tested. When he catches Schuey and Boz Osbourne messing with his bike, he threatens them, and then punches Boz in the face when they mocks his bulimia and cardiac arrest. Dwayne Jackson witnesses this, and later tells the police about it after Boz's death, leading to Preston being detained as a suspect in his murder, but he is soon released.
Relationships[]
Samia Choudhry[]
The relationship between Samia and Preston is a rocky one at best and a toxic one at worst. In Series 11 Episode 1, they seem okay and are referred to as the school's "it couple", constantly kissing or touching in some way and rarely seen without each other. However by Episode 3 it seems things aren't as perfect as they seem. Samia worries about where Preston was in the morning as he didn't meet up with her, and the second time he fails to see her that day he snaps at her exclaiming that some people have actual problems to deal with before storming off. By the end of the episode they make up after Samia discovers he was evicted, though their relationship suffers more when Preston believes Samia and his mother are banding together to sus out his mental health problems despite the two of them just being worried for him. Later Samia breaks up with Preston after she finds out that he started the boys' 'Hot or Not' group chat rating the girls' looks, but it was a misunderstanding as it was originally meant to be a basketball group chat but soon descended into rating looks when more and more people were added.
Later, in Series 12, the two of them are on friendly terms. Samia is supportive of Preston and Kai's relationship, she smiles and says "Good for you" when they first hold hands. She also tells Kai that it explains a lot about Preston, which implies she knew something was going on with him. During Series 12 Episode 6, she wishes him good luck before the race, and jokes that when he beats the record Kai will be sure to say it was all down to him.
In Series 14 Episode 8, Samia returns for Preston's 'surprise' 18th birthday party, organised by Noel, which there was never actually any success in keeping a surprise from Preston.
Kai Sharif[]

Preston and Kai, Series 12, episode 1
Kai and Preston are shown to be friends from Series 11 Episode 1. They joke around together a couple of times, however in Episode 3 Preston snaps at Kai after being sprayed by his deodorant. Lindon King intervenes, and later they make up because Preston was clouding up Kai's space with his "really depressing aura". Here Preston apologises for laying into Kai, saying that there's no excuse. Kai accepts his apology by acknowledging that it's clear Preston is going through a lot. During this conversation, Kai offers Preston advice on how to get his mum and Samia to back off of him, and he pats Kai on the shoulder. This moment shows how different their relationship with each other is; Kai understands Preston in a way nobody else does and Preston willingly and truthfully apologises to Kai, which is something he doesn't do with anyone else.
Their friendship returns to normal and their next significant interaction occurs right after Samia and Preston's breakup. Preston tells Kai the truth about the group chat and how it wasn't supposed to end up the way it did. Preston then asks if they can get out of the school, and they leave together. Later at the party, Preston and Kai share a kiss after Kai takes Preston to get some fresh air. Kai offers him chips but he declines saying he'll probably throw them up later. Kai brings up the chat again and says "You don't have to put up that front", to which Preston replies that it's what all the lads do. Kai admits he thinks that Preston acts up to fit in and that it's not the real him, he needs to be himself and drop the act he's got going on. Preston then says "You see me, don't you?" and the two of them kiss. After Kai pulls away, Preston seems to panic, he apologises and asks if he didn't like it, to which Kai replies telling him that he (Preston) is drunk. In the next episode, Preston assures Kai that it wasn't a mistake and he says how he would like them to meet up after school, and eventually Kai agrees which brings a joy out in Preston, he's seen visibly happy for the first time in a while after Kai leaves, and even throws away his binge food to possibly try to recover as he goes to tell his mum about his bulimia, but he fails and ultimately relapses from his short-lived attempt at recovery. This binge causes him to miss his meet up with Kai.
In Series 12, Preston and Kai become a couple after some miscommunication about guilt Kai was having over Danny. We learn Preston reached out to Kai several times but was ignored because of this guilt. Kai writes Preston a letter which he finds after he's sent off the pitch in the first second of the football game. Kai follows him and the two of them make up, again we see them both happy, but their kiss is interrupted by other students.
Their relationship remains on the downlow until Donte figures it out when the two boys are painting a drama set together. Donte mentions how happy Kai seems to make Preston. After this interaction, Kai offers his hand to Preston, softly singing "If you're happy and you know it hold my hand", and the two of them walk down the hall together earning support from the students around them, including Samia who says "Good for you". Kai wants to go out for dinner to celebrate their relationship, however Preston mentions he doesn't have any money, which inspires Kai to find him a job, but unfortunately this upsets Preston as he feels like it's charity work for Kai.
When in the bathroom binging, Kai calls him and he's caught, though Kai mistakes the food as meaning Preston's family is struggling severely with money instead of bulimia. After Kai tries to help what he thought was a money problem, Preston confides in Kai about his bulimia. After fleeing in humiliation from the poetry reading where Kai announced a food bank, Preston is seen visibly upset in the changing room. Kai comes in upset and says that he was just trying to help, and they share a tearful moment as they agree the happiest they've been was holding hands in the hallway. Preston then worries that if Kai knew the truth then he wouldn't want to be with him anymore. Kai assures him this isn't true and Preston emotionally admits his eating disorder.
From here, their relationship continues as normal but with a bit more care as Kai attempts to help Preston with his eating disorder, though Preston still hides the extent of which it is affecting him. They share a couple more tender and sweet moments including their first kiss of the series, before Kai has to save Preston's life after his cardiac arrest. Before Preston collapses the last thing he thinks about is Kai. In Series 12 Episode 7, Kai visits Preston in the hospital where he is recovering, where he tells him that he loves him for the first time but is met with a cold shoulder as Preston is hurt that Kai told his mum his secret. After returning to school, Kai and Nicky travel to the hospital together, where they bump into Preston, who was allegedly leaving to find Nicky. He reveals he is agreeing to treatment, and the three of them share a meaningful hug. When the three of them return to the school after the fire that killed Danny, Preston is the one now offering comfort as he's seen holding Kai in an empty corridor as he cries about Danny.
Kai seems to be the only person Preston can truly open up to. Preston seems most at ease when they're together and, as said by Donte and Nicky, when he's with Kai Preston is happy. Their relationship is one of the strongest in the show, they can have disagreements but always make up in the end and they have a care for one another that the other couples don't have. They're happiest when around each other.
In Series 13, Preston finds out that Kai has been looking at attending art college in Berlin, Germany. Kai decides not to go as he wants to stay in the UK with Preston, but when Preston finds out, he tells Kai that he doesn't want him to resent him, and that he needs a boyfriend, not a counsellor, and they seemingly break up, and Kai accepts an offer of a place at the Berlin academy.
In Series 14 Episode 8, Kai also returns for Preston's surprise 18th birthday, and the two get back together and move to London together to attend university.
Quotes[]
- "Kai, man, what you doing?!" (first line)
- Samia: "Don't just walk away from-"
- Preston: "God's sake, Sam, can you just not?! Just for today! I'm sorry you had to spend 20 minutes without me, but some of us have got actual problems to deal with. Alright?"
- "It's not just her though, is it? There's me and our Tonya. We're gonna end up on the streets!"
- "Right, yeah, I'll admit, I've not been 100%. But I'm sleeping on a sofa, Sami, what do you expect?! You're the one that's acting crazy and insecure!"
- Noel: "I'm all about issues."
- Preston: "Yeah, cos you've got 'em!"
- Preston: "You're so desperate for her."
- Danny: "She's not a piece of meat, Preston!"
- Preston: "She might as well be, the way you drool all over her!"
- "Good. Yeah, as good as it can be. You heard I uh, finally got the fun sponge off my back. Result or what?"
- "It wasn't a mistake." (about kissing Kai)
- "I'm not. Well, I didn't wanna look like the sad one, did I? But, now you've sent me a 300-page letter, well..."
- "And I thought Samia was controlling. Just get outta my face!"
- "It still doesn't answer the question about my mum. Well, you're always buzzing around her. What happened? She knocked you back, so you moved in on Miss Spratt?"
- "I think I've got...problems...problems with my eating."
- Nicky: "So, so you're...you're bi, then?"
- Preston: "I'm not anything, Mum. I'm just me. No labels. I'm with Kai. That's it."
- Preston: "I always knew you were an idiot, Myles. Didn't know you were a homophobic one."
- Myles: "Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm just a homophobic idiot that's gonna win, that's all. Good luck."
- Preston: "Why did you tell them about the bulimia?"
- Kai: "You had a cardiac arrest."
- Preston: "Yeah. Yeah, and now they think my head's messed up. They want us in therapy."
- "Right, this is, uh, Mog. Her actual name's Mollie, but she prefers being called Mog, cos, well I dunno, maybe she likes cats or something. Right, she plays virtual games in a virtual world with her virtual friends, cos she han't actually got any real ones. And she was home-schooled, but now, unlucky for us...we have to put up with her."
- "I just don't belong here any more. I wanna start somewhere new where people don't think I'm gonna drop dead every time I'm out of breath! Everyone's asking how I am every five minutes, I hate it!"
- Preston: "Yeah. Stay away from my sister."
- Schuey: "When she gives me what she owes me."
- Preston: "She doesn't owe you anything, right? And if you go near her again - if you go near her again, I'll call the police."
- Preston: "You don't know the first thing about me!"
- Kim: "What are you talking about?"
- Preston: "You didn't even know I had bulimia until I collapsed! Right? You think you know everyone in this school! Yeah, you only care about the kids that cause you problems!"
- "You got a lot in common, to be fair. Both got saggy bits, for a start."
- Preston: "Berlin?"
- Kai: "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you, but you've just had so much going on at home, and I didn't wanna stress you out."
- Preston: "In case I relapse, yeah? You coulda just told me, Kai."
- Preston: "Uh, I-I mean, maybe it's for the best? Maybe it's not really working? I just think all this has made me realise something that I already knew, that...I need a boyfriend, Kai. Not somebody that's-that's worrying about me all the time, not a counsellor, or a nurse, or..."
- Kai: "That's what I am to you?"
- Preston: "No, it's more about what I am to you."
- Kai: "Preston..."
- Preston: "Don't make me spell it out!"
- Kelly Jo: "Aw, Nan looks gorg here. She always put in an effort, didn't she?"
- Preston: "Yeah, sometimes she managed to put on her dressing gown and slippers."
- "Nah, Boz is a rat. Just like his mate."
- Millie: "I don't know if I wanna go somewhere completely different for uni, or like, stay close to home."
- Caz: "Go. Get gone, that's what I say. Cos, I mean, you oly end up looking at the same faces if you stay round here."
- Preston: "Uh, some people like looking at this face, actually."
- "All I'm saying is you seem to really like her. And...I mean, she's-she's a gob on legs, but she's your gob on legs."
- "Ready! Three, two, one!" (final line)