It’s been rumored for months now that original Degrassi: The Next Generation cast member Cassie Steele’s little sister, Alex Steele, would be returning to the series with the second half of Season 11. EW.com today confirmed that this will indeed be happening — but also shared the news that she will be playing a new character named Tori, rather than the character of Angie Jeremiah, which she played on a recurring basis throughout the show’s first five years.
Angie was, of course, the daughter of original series character Joey (Pat Mastroianni), and she was also the younger half-sister of Craig Manning (Jake Epstein).
Unfortunately, Degrassi’s producers decided not to go with this original-series tie and instead went with something completely new. “We created the character Tori and put out an open casting call. Out of all the actresses that auditioned, Alex Steele was the best. We debated not casting her because she had previously played Angela Jeremiah, but decided to go with the best actress for the part,” executive producer Linda Schuyler has said.
The new character, Tori, is described this way by the network:
“Tori’s parents have indulged her every whim with a stream of dance lessons, kid modeling jobs, and beauty pageants. Having never heard ‘no’ … Tori enters grade nine believing she’s the best at everything.”
Look for Tori in the second half of Season 11, which will premiere later this year. The current telenovela-format summer series, Degrassi: Now or Never, still has a few weeks left for those of you who want to see more of Sav, Holly J., Anya, and the soon-to-graduate seniors.
