Stuart Hordley was a businessman and constuctor who heard about Rachel Mason's past as a prostitute from his secretary, Tess Doyle. His company, Hordley Construction, was going under so he blackmailed Rachel into getting his company the contract to build the new training centre at Waterloo Road. He's also the main antagonist of series three.
Stuart continued to use Rachel's past to blackmail her into going for a meal with him (Episode 13) and in Episode 15 he gives Rachel the evidence that Tess has got and claims that he wants to start over with a clean slate.
In Episode 18, he is confronted by Eddie Lawson, who informs him that he knows about Stuart blackmailing Rachel. Later on, Stuart shows up at Waterloo Road after Rachel asks him to go to the school. Stuart tells Rachel that he will keep on blackmailing her for as long as possible. He and Rachel are then interrupted by Eddie who tells Stuart that he had clearly stated that Stuart should stay away from Rachel. Stuart is then shown the evidence of the illegal child labour at Hordley Constructions and Rachel says that she has got 'their interesting little blackmail chat on record'. Stuart then speaks to Eddie asking whether he trusts Rachel to run the school (Eddie says that he does) and then he talks about Rachel's past as a prostitute. Then Stuart says to Eddie, 'I bet she gives it to you for free' to which Eddie responds by punching Stuart, much to the secret delight of Rachel. Stuart then runs to his car and drives off.
In Episode 19, Stuart is seen making photocopies of the same article seen at the end of Episode 10, putting one in an envelope and addressing it to Rachel.
In Episode 20 (the final episode of the series), Hordley delivers envelopes containing the photocopies of the article to the staff at Waterloo Road via their pigeon holes; Eddie removes them and throws them away, including the one addressed to Rachel, hoping Hordley wouldn't cause any more trouble. At the end of the school spelling bee against another local comprehensive, he enters the school hall and reveals Rachel's secret past to everyone, causing Rachel to finally admit that she used to be a prostitute. He is then forcefully removed from the building by Eddie and Tom Clarkson.
He accidentally starts a fire at the school, by throwing his lit cigarette down in the area where a gas canister is open. He is then pushed down a flight of stairs in an argument with Rachel, but manages to get up and walk off while the building is being evacuated. Rachel later goes back into the school to check if anyone is still trapped, to find Stuart lying on a corridor floor. The ceiling then collapses (with Hordley taking the brunt of the collapsed ceiling) and they are both trapped under the rubble, although the viewers are left on a cliffhanger as to whether they have lived or died.
The fire caused by Hordley also resulted in learning support assistant Davina Shackleton suffering smoke inhalation, and she was last seen being driven away to hospital in an ambulance, with viewers being left with another "alive or dead" cliffhanger.
Hordley was likely killed as he was injured after falling down the stairs before the explosion and fire. Sometime during the evacuation he collapsed, considering his proximity to the fire, he would have inhaled a dangerous amount of smoke, that coupled with the trauma his body would have suffered when the ceiling collapsed. It is unlikely Stuart Hordley survived, however this has not been officially confirmed.
Additional information
- Stuart is presumed dead, because although his death was unconfirmed, he is more likely to be deceased for the reasons stated above. In Series 3 Episode 20, it is to be believed that Rachel Mason and Stuart were the only people who were yet to escape from the school fire before the end of the episode. In addition to that, in Series 4 Episode 1, following a conversation between Eddie Lawson and Rachel, it is implied that Rachel failed to save someone from the school fire, thereby suggesting that Stuart died in the school fire. Eddie told Rachel: "Rachel? That was... I mean going back in there?! Wasn't once enough? When are you going to get it into your head that you can't save everybody?". Rachel replied: "I can try."
- If Stuart did survive the fire, he was possibly arrested, either for being partly responsible for the school fire, illegal child labour or for blackmailing Rachel into getting his company the contract to build at the school (presuming Rachel gave evidence about Stuart blackmailing her).
Behind the scenes
Hordley's actor, Silas Carson, is known for being the voice of the Ood in Doctor Who and of the Uvodni Uvlavad Kudlak in a couple of episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and Viceroy Nute Gunray in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
List of appearances
Quotes
- "Well?" (first line)
- "Yes you can. And you will. You remember Tess Doyle, don't you? My secretary? She came to your school production. She saw your picture in the newspaper. 'Waterloo Road' gets new super-head. She didn't recognise the name - well, of course she wouldn't, but she's very good with faces. You know what, I think 'Rachel' really suits you. Tess didn't think that it would work, but now that I've seen you in the flesh, I'd say it was a pretty good choice."
- "Yeah, you wanna be careful throwing accusations like that around. I don't know what you're talking about, so if you wouldn't mind pissing off, you're starting to irritate me now."
- "I bet you love working for a two-bit hooker, don't you? I bet she gives it to you for free."
- Hordley: "Yeah, but they don't know you, do they? Not really. They don't know the truth, do they, Amanda? Yeah, that's her real name, see. Or at least it was when she was a prostitute."
- Eddie: "Ey!"
- Hordley: "That's right, boys and girls, your Miss Mason used to earn her living on her back!"
- "I'm fine, get off!" (final line)