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Sonya Donnegan is everything her older sister Lorraine isn't - bubbly but dim, friendly but feckless, an idle - but not malicious - gossip. Her duties as secretary at Waterloo Road can test Sonya to her limits at times, but in spite of it all, she finds the job suits her personality down to the ground. Her warmth and likeability (as well as perma-stocked 'sweetie drawer') mean that Sonya is a much loved member of staff.

She is portrayed by Victoria Bush. She gets on well with the students, like Rhiannon and Dynasty.

In Series 8 Episode 15, Sonya is tasked with making brownies for the robot-designing contest's upcoming trophy presentation, but this is sabotaged when Barry Barry convinces Rhiannon to lace the brownies with marijuana while Sonya's back is turned. Sonya eats some of the brownies and gets high, and makes a fool of herself in front of rugby star Austin Healey, who had come to present the robot contest trophy.

In Series 8 Episode 16, she immediately fancies former pupil Bolton Smilie upon meeting him, and slips him a note asking him on a date. Though as Bolton was later arrested by military police for absconding from army duty in Afghanistan, it is unlikely this date ever happened.

In Series 8 Episode 24, Sonya stuns everyone with a new look courtesy of fake tanning injections. In an attempt to emulate her businesswoman sister, Sonya peddles cosmetic products at school, but this ends in disaster when she demonstrates a tan injection on Rhiannon and Rhiannon suffers an allergic reaction. Also in this episode, Sonya visits her dementia-suffering mother Maureen in a care home, but is upset after Maureen calls her 'Lorraine' and doesn't know who 'Sonya' is.

Sonya fell in love with Ndale in the third part of Series 8 (Whilst Ndale was engaged to Audrey McFall). Both Audrey and Sonya became broken-hearted by Ndale upon discovering he was working at Waterloo Road to supply for his family back in Malawi.

In Series 9 Episode 7, Sonya leads a sponsored clean of the school by pupils, which ends poorly after Sue Spark slips on a wet floor and injures herself.

In Series 10 Episode 6, Sonya endeavours to enter a short story competition, but her trashy romance does not impress her colleagues, so Christine suggests she write about something from experience. Sonya ends up writing about an alcoholic teacher called 'Cresta Meldrew', a painfully blatant parody of Christine, who finds out after Sonya accidentally photocopies her pages and sends it round the school. Christine is initially furious but soon forgives.

In Series 10 Episode 13, Sonya worries she might have cancer after discovering a lump, but, to her relief, is told after tests that the lump is benign. However, Guy Braxton misunderstands Sonya, and soon after, the whole school finds out she 'has cancer'. She is flooded with support from Christine Mulgrew, Audrey McFall and Maggie Budgen. She later invites Guy to stay at her home.

In Series 10 Episode 18, she is led to believe by Rhiannon Salt that Guy has a crush on her after Sonya lets Guy lodge at her flat, however Sonya later discovers that Guy is gay after catching him letting a man out of the flat one morning.

In Series 10 Episode 19, Rob Hutchinson arrives and hears about Sonya's 'illness'. She is persuaded by Rob to use her illness to help save the school from the threatened merger with Havelock High. During a press conference, she breaks down and reveals to the interviewers and the whole school that she doesn't have cancer. Rob threatens Sonya and accuses her of making him look a fool, leaving her in tears.

In Series 10 Episode 20, Sonya is worried about people's reactions to her cancer lie, and she initially senses a little hostility from some pupils, but the staff quickly forgive her after she gives an emotional speech engineered by Rob. After the celebrations at the saving of the school, Sonya is not seen again.

Trivia

  • Sonya is the longest serving school secretary, or 'PA' as she calls it, being in the role for 62 episodes, from Series 8 Episode 9 to the end of the original run of the show. Janeece Bryant served as the school secretary for 59 episodes.

Quotes

  • "Wow. This is alright!" (first line)

  • Sonya: "No way. These babies are better than oysters. Aphrodisiacs? I'm gonna give him something to remember me by!"
  • Maggie: "What, like food poisoning?"

  • Lorraine: "Who designed this? It's brilliant!"
  • Sonya: "I think the clue's in the name. 'Chalk and Cheese'?"

  • Sonya: "This place is a bit of a maze, but you'll soon get the hang of it. This is the IT area, with all the computers and stuff. I'm imagining you don't have many of those over there. Computers. Oh, except for them ones Blue Peter sent you."
  • Ndale: "I'm from Malawi, not the Stone Age."

  • "Yeah...he is quite fit...she can keep him. He ain't my bag." (about Audrey and Ndale)

  • "No way! Lorraine's never gonna let me stay after this. I practically held the door open so that bloke could rob us!"

  • "So...that wasn't Nikki Boston I saw leaving just then, no?"

  • "Smelly. I spent a year at a fish packing factory before secretarial college. Rank!"

  • "Don't flatter yourself. I'm sick and tired of always being second best to everyone! To my sister, to Audrey!"

  • Lorraine: "You must really hate me."
  • Sonya: "No. I love you, babe. Only, I've just worked it out. I don't wanna be ya!"

  • Ndale: "I told you, what happened between us is over. It's finished. I'm with Audrey now."
  • Sonya: "But she's an old woman! Why would you choose her over me?!"

  • "Marry me instead then!"

  • "I can't stand by and watch you marry her."

  • "I'd love to help, but me hands are tied, I can't enrol pupils. And for future reference, I don't do baptisms and I can't give out knighthoods either."

  • "CLEAR OFF! GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

  • "The harder you rub, the more streak-free the shine. Oh! Mr Windsor's asked me to help out. I was in charge of cleaning at the fish factory I worked at."

  • "All under control, Christine. I've been round with my Alpine Fresh and got rid of that eggy pong, and you can eat your dinner off them floors."

  • "Nicola Adams? Ain't that the ginger one from Girls Aloud?"

  • Sonya: "Apparently there's no way that bloke can be Frankie McGregor."
  • Sue: "Well, why not?"
  • Sonya: "Because Frankie McGregor is seriously ill in a hospice."

  • Sonya: "Um, have you uh, have you got a minute?"
  • Nikki: "I'm in a class, is it important?"
  • Sonya: "Uh...yeah. Like, times about a hundred."

  • "That Gabriella is a breath of fresh air. She reminds me a lot of myself actually."

  • "I so would." (about Hector)

  • Carol: "First class? It's alright for some. D'you know what, I think he's one of the most annoying men I've ever met in me life."
  • Sonya: "Yeah. And the fact he's minted makes him even more annoying, dunnit?"

  • Sonya: "Um, s'cuse me, Mr Fitzgerald? You've got a visitor."
  • Vaughan: "Yes, I am quite busy, Sonya."
  • Sonya: "Um...it's your wife."

  • Christine: "I don't think she's aiming at writing a-a bestseller - well, at least I hope not, for her sake."
  • Sonya: "That you being supercilious then, Christine?"

  • "Um, hiya, uh...can I have a word please, everyone? I worked under Christine Mulgrew when she was headteacher here at Waterloo Road. And it's the best experience I've ever had. She was an absolutely brilliant boss. And I can't even begin to think how much I must've hurt her with my stupid magazine story."

  • "Oh yeah? You know something, don't ya? Oh come on, Maggie, share the wealth. What is it? Is it drugs?"

  • Sonya: "Bit of a domestic. Again."
  • Christine: "Let's hope the tannoy isn't on this time."

  • "Why d'you always have to be so negative?" (to George)

  • "You know those tests I went for? Well...they was for cancer. I've gotta go this afternoon and get the results."

  • "Oh, I'm never eating chocolate biscuits ever again! Yeah, alright, maybe not, but what am I gonna do about this?!"

  • Sonya: "Here, you um...you don't think Guy's gay, do ya?"
  • George: "Um, well, having heard some of his record collection when he was staying with me, I would say that's probably a racing certainty."

  • "Bet you've had a right laugh, ain't you? Silly old Sonya didn't realise, did she? Got it completely wrong! Now I've made a terrible mistake. Well I've had enough. I've had enough of you, and I've had enough of all this cancer stuff, and that's all your fault as well!"

  • "Um, that's not it. It's uh, it's that Sambuca, well, well she was for real. See, the thing is...sometimes, you get misunderstood. And you honestly don't know why, and before you know where you are, everything's got out of hand. I've grown so much since I got to Waterloo Road. And if there's one thing the school's taught me, it's to always tell the truth. And the truth is...I'm not ill. I ain't really got cancer. I had the all-clear ages ago, and I just didn't tell anyone. And I'm really sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I'm so sorry."

  • Sonya: "See? They hate me."
  • Guy: "No, they don't. Just...easy on the whole bright-and-breezy thing, you know? Take it down a notch or...ten."

  • "Yeah. And, it worked a treat, thank goodness. So, me and him, we're completely fine now." (final line)
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