Brace yourselves Casualty fans, the iconic medical drama is about to do what it does best — ramp up the drama!
For months now, there’s been speculation about advanced clinical practitioner Faith Cadogan’s love life, and whether she’ll end up with ex-fling Dylan Keogh or charismatic paramedic Iain Dean. But romance takes a backseat for the foreseeable, as the widowed mother-of-three finds herself in the centre of a shocking new storyline involving the teenagers of Holby.
The exact details are tightly under wraps, but the story gets underway this week in Casualty (BBC One, 8.50pm, Saturday, May 28 2022 - See our TV Guide for listings) when Faith discovers her daughter, Natalia, is keeping secrets.
What To Watch booked an exclusive appointment with Kirsty, who plays popular nurse Faith, to find out more about the mother of all storylines…
Casualty exclusive. This week Faith discovers her eldest daughter, Natalia, is keeping secrets. What can you tell us, Kirsty?
Kirsty Mitchell: "We start to see that Faith doesn’t really know what’s going on with her daughter. Natalia has been skateboarding and turns up at the ED with her injured friend, Georgie. Faith didn’t even know she was into skateboarding! And there are more surprises coming up…"
We’ll say! Georgie inadvertently blurts out that Natalia has an older boyfriend called Tristan. How does Faith react?
KM: "It’s a shock, especially as Faith and Natalia have been so close. Faith’s starting to see a more grown up Natalia and she has to accept that — but she doesn’t initially!
"She wants to meet Tristan and have him and his parents over for dinner! This storyline is going to open up some nice things, and some surprising things, in the future…"
Unknown to Faith, troubled Georgie gives Natalia some worrying advice. Will this be explored further?
KM: "Definitely. While treating Georgie, Faith notices she has bruising, but assumes she’s been falling off her skateboard when actually there’s deeper stuff going on.
"Georgie gives Natalia some terrible advice. Apparently this storyline is something that’s happening with teenagers, so it’s great that Casualty is making people aware of it. Hopefully parents and teenagers out there can acknowledge it and have a conversation about it."
Before this, it looked like Faith was ready for romance - either with clinical lead Dylan Keogh and paramedic Iain Dean! Is that completely off the table?
KM: [Pretend wicked laugh] "Muwahaha!
"I did a story meeting today and we were talking about how when you’re kind-of on track, the world throws things at you. There is no calm — it’s a drama!
"There’s a lot going on with her children… But that’s definitely still dangling in the air - there has to be some romance going on somewhere!
"What I will say for now is, there are going to be a lot of ups and downs between Iain (Michael Stevenson) and Faith as friends. With Dylan (William Beck), we’ll see. There are some really interesting things in the pipeline that I’m excited to play!"
Do you enjoy working with the younger members of the cast?
KM: "They’re fabulous. I’m very lucky that we have great younger actors. [Newly cast] Zoe Brough, who plays Natalia, and I have a really nice bond, which is great, because there’s quite a lot of heavy stuff coming up for her.
"It’s the same with little Tom [Mulheron], who plays Faith’s son Luka. I have these moments of bubbles in my throat when I see him now, because he’s not so little any more! They’re a joy to have on set because they’re so keen, open, and like to improvise."
And finally, you're keeping mum about what’s coming up in the future. But can we persuade you to tease a little something?
KM: "I don’t want to give too much away but… There are shocking storylines coming up, where everybody’s lives cross, both professionally and personally.
"There’s massive stress at work for everyone, and some of the characters have to take that home.
"Faith doesn’t always hold it together, as you will see…"
This episode of Casualty airs on Saturday, May 28 2022 at 8.50pm on BBC One. The episode is available on iPlayer after transmission.
