Lionel Tsibi

Evil-doer
Full Name	Lionel Tsibi
Alias	Mr. Tsibi
Origin	Waterloo Road
Occupation	N/A
Powers / Skills	Lying Manipulation
Goals	Have an exorcism performed on his niece Lula due to his belief that she is possessed (failed)
Crimes	Abuse Assault Harassment Intimidation
Type of Villain	Delusional Abuser

Lionel Tsibi is a minor antagonist of the school-based drama Waterloo Road, appearing as the secondary antagonist of Series 8 Episode 2, titled Spirit Child.

He is portrayed by Cornell S John, who is also known for his role as Sam James in EastEnders.

Biography

Lionel is introduced right at the start of the episode. He calls for his niece Lula to come out of her ill mother’s bedroom so the latter can rest. However, as soon as she comes to him, he grabs her and tells her ominously that he knows what she is, as does the pastor whom he’s planning on taking her to see later that day. Lula breaks free of his grip before heading off to school, with Lionel menacingly watching her through the window as she goes.

Later that same day, Lula, with nothing on her mind bar Lionel’s plan to take her to see the pastor, attends former student Denzil Kelly’s memorial service. She then loses her temper with her friend Imogen Stewart, who had merely been checking to see if Lula was okay, before screaming in Imogen’s face face for no reason, disrupting the whole service as she did this. On top of this, Lula tells Tariq Siddiqui, who was left wheelchair bound after the lorry crash that killed Denzil, that the accident was God’s will, which causes Tariq to breakdown.

Tom Clarkson, who was at Denzil’s service and is one of Lula’s teachers, is walking with deputy head Sian Diamond, when he asks her if she knows anything about Lula. Sian tells him that she’s supposedly a model student, having recently moved to Waterloo Road from another school. This makes Tom, who was already shocked by Lula’s performance at the service, even more flabbergasted, as he then suggests to Sian that they call her parents to come in.

Upon being called, it’s Lionel who shows up at the school due Lula’s mother being too ill to come in. He speaks with Tom, who asks Lionel what Lula is like at home, to which he responds by telling Tom that not only is Lula’s behaviour even worse at home, but it’s in fact so bad that it’s Lula’s bad behaviour that is what’s made her mother ill. Lionel asks Tom if he can speak to Lula, Tom grants this and as Lionel finds Lula waiting outside Tom’s classroom, he pulls her to the side and tells her that he’s taking her to see the pastor earlier than he’d initially planned and that she needs to prepare herself.

Trivia

• Spirit Child is the only episode of Waterloo Road that Lionel appears in.