Casualty EXCLUSIVE: Michael Stevenson on Iain and Natalia’s kiss ‘rollercoaster!’

“This episode is one of the biggest rollercoasters he’s ever been on. From the very first scene it’s the shift from hell from Iain. Honestly, the episode opens with one of the most brutal and gripping patient stories I’ve ever filmed in Casualty. Then, just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, Natalia goes and throws another curveball at him, completely finishing his day off!”

“Even through the rocky times for Iain and Faith, Iain’s tried to preserve his relationship with her kids and he can see that (A-level student) Natalia is at that age where life is throwing new challenges at her. She lost her dad, Lev (in 2021, who was played by Uriel Emil) and, from the kindness of his heart, he wants to help her. As far as he's concerned, she's Faith’s daughter and he's there as a father figure. There are some brilliant episodes coming up between them... Put it this way, it definitely doesn’t stop here!”

“100% yes! I think Iain's matured a lot over the years and he would like nothing more than for it to work with Faith. The problem is Iain's very much a simple soul and the complications that come with Faith and a ready-made family are very apparent. But, in his defence, he's not running away from it!”

“I know, 12 years ago (in April) I came in as Sam Nicholls’ (played by Charlotte Salt) part-time lover from the army to give evidence at her fitness-to-work trial for a couple of scenes. Then they got me back as a semi-regular character and then a regular. Now that Derek Thompson, who plays Charlie Fairhead, has finished filming (his exit storyline will be aired later this year) myself and Will Beck (Dr Dylan Keogh) are left as the longstanding cast members. You could say I’m part of the furniture — one of those bits of furniture that goes through up-cycles!”

“I’ve seen many changes, but this has never been done before in its 38 years and I think it’s really brave and exciting that the BBC allows us the opportunity to reinvent how we deliver the show. This new format, along with the break it took (last year, from 16 September until 30 December), has hopefully fed people’s desire to have it back on screen. During that time we were off air, that was the most I’ve ever been approached by people, asking when we were back on!”

“I’m on a set location halfway through getting my costume on, and it’s absolutely freezing! To add insult to injury we got all these rain machines that have just been turned on, so not only is it freezing, but we’re getting pelted with cold water as well! I seem to be on location a lot at the moment and it’s the best, because every episode is like a new job and you never know where you're going to be from one day to the next. There are new environments - and new weather! - to deal with, but that’s exactly what keeps it alive for me.” 

“The paramedic department is pretty stacked to the minute, but who knows going forward. I always think that the team benefits from having somebody in training as it's always lovely to see what they’re faced with on a day-to-day basis from a fresh pair of eyes. I think the paramedic team is amazing at the moment and whether I’m working with Di Botcher (Jan Jenning), Charles Venn (Jacob Masters), or Milo Clarke (Teddy Gowan), I laugh from the minute I turn up until I leave. I’m very lucky!”

“Melanie Hill (The Coronation Street star will be on screen later this month as new clinical nurse manager Siobhan McKenzie) is a great woman and absolutely gorgeous person, so I really hope they write some stuff for me and her, because we really get on.”

[Laughing] “Be careful what you wish for!”

“Thank you! The One Note Man is a heartfelt comedy about a musician who lives a routined existence until one day something happens that changes the course of his life, starring Jason Watkins (McDonald & Dodds), Louisa Clein (Emmerdale), Crystal Yu, who used to play Iain’s girlfriend Lily Chao in Casualty, and narrated by Ian McKellen. It was a lot of hard work with many surprises along the way, so it feels like an achievement to be shortlisted for both of these awards.”