If you’ve not seen today's Casualty and don’t want to read any spoilers, please click away now. Otherwise, brace, brace, brace yourselves!
Casualty episode Brace, Brace, Brace got off to a roaring start when it aired today - Saturday, February 22, 2025, BBC iPlayer - with the emergency services being thrown into the deep end after a plane crashed outside Holby airport.
During the episode, there were a number of major moments:
* Paramedic Jacob Master’s (Charles Venn) son Blake Gardner (David Ajayi) left psychiatric care.
* A hungover Jodie Whyte (Anna Chell) was sent packing from the ED by Siobhan. It was also revealed that the young nurse is under investigation for her inappropriate relationship with widower Aaron Bayliss (Jack Wilkinson).
* Faith Cadogan (Kirsty Mitchell) found her house completely destroyed by Astrid Watson (Gina Isaac) after she kicked her out for raiding Holby’s medical supplies. Yet before Astrid departed Faith’s home, she left the medic a spiteful parting gift - a box of diazepam with a post-it note reading, “Love, Astrid”.
* Dylan Keogh (William Beck) and Sophia Peters (Kellie Shirley) officially broke up after she revealed she’d accepted a job at St James’ Hospital and he was too hurt to hear her out.
* The biggest story of them all, however, was the death of firefighter Rich Walker - and the circumstances prior to his death. As viewers know only too well Rich (Michael Keogh) had recently rekindled his romance with consultant Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless), completely unknown to his wife of 25 years, Siobhan McKenzie (Melanie Hill).
Casualty exclusive - interview with Melanie Hill
In Brace, Brace, Brace Rich started the episode by insisting that he and Siobhan tell their grown-up children they were splitting up, which they agreed to do later that night. But for poor Rich, who was injured in the line of duty, later never came.
What made this episode particularly brutal was that, shortly before he passed away, Siobhan was tenderly looking after Rich with love in her eyes, only for him to ask her to pass on a message to Stevie that he loves her. Rich was then raced to resus where Siobhan looked on while Dylan and the team battled to save his life…
Here, Melanie Hill, who plays grieving Siobhan McKenzie tells us what’s next…
It’s quite the episode Melanie!
“It’s a bit doom and gloom as far as Siobhan’s concerned, sorry!”
What is Siobhan’s take on her marriage as the episode opens?
“Siobhan’s a workaholic, her kids have grown up and moved out, and she really hadn’t been paying much attention to her private life because she believed everything was fine. But she feels it’s been to the detriment of her own marriage, that she’s been neglecting Rich, and that’s why he's been playing away and fallen for her younger colleague, Stevie. The thing is, Siobhan is still madly in love with Rich…”
She must be in total shock when he passes away then?
“She’s heartbroken when Rich dies. Yet there’s a terrible side for Stevie in all of this too. You see everyone rally around Siobhan - all her young nurses and everyone who’s grown to love her - to support her in her loss. But, nobody knows about Stevie, so she has to grieve in silence, with no support. Stevie can’t tell anyone even though her heart is also broken.”
Are you able to tease what lies ahead for Siobhan in the aftermath of Rich’s death?
“The story doesn’t dwell on the funeral or anything like that. Basically events all take place at work. Siobhan takes some time out and when she returns she thinks working is going to help her, but in an upcoming episode there's a massive football riot and she unravels.”
What happens?
“Siobhan loses the plot because the rival teams’ supporters are trying to kill each other in the hospital reception area. She tells them that the staff are trying to save people’s lives, that her husband has just died, and that they’re behaving like complete idiots. That’s a breaking point for her. I haven't seen it myself yet, but I think it’s going to be good because the script was really good.”
Will we see scenes with Siobhan and Rich’s children?
Yes, Ben (Dominic Sharkey) comes back into the story after Richard dies and Siobhan’s meltdown at work. He turns up when she’s having words with Stevie.”
Yikes! At this point, do you think Siobhan would like to see the back of Stevie?
“At the present time, I think, yes. It's very hard for her to work with Stevie, but obviously they're professionals, and the work comes first.”
Can you tease how they might negotiate these choppy waters?
“They are just going to have to work it out. If they’ve got somebody in front of them who is dying or needs them, they can’t refuse to speak to each other, so they’ve got to get on with it and do their jobs. Stevie, like Siobhan, is a workaholic, and I think that kind-of throws them together. They also have a mutual respect throughout for what's going on in their emotional lives. Their lives may be falling apart, yet they’ve got to save others.”
We caught a glimpse of Siobhan running out of patience with Jodie in Brace, Brace, Brace. Will that escalate in the near future?
“Oh yes! They will have a few clashes. Jodie's also unraveling and Siobhan has to take her to task because of her behaviour. Anna Chell, who plays Jodie, is terrific. I always think when I look at her that she looks like Vicky McClure and could play her younger sister. They’d be brilliant together!”
We imagine after the resus scenes in tonight’s episode, Siobhan will have more sympathy for Dylan as the story with Jodie escalates. What can you tell us?
“Dylan came back in this episode, because the ED was in trouble. He was the one who tried to save Rich, but sadly his attempts failed and this may add to the pressure he’s under. Then there’s the strand with Faith’s ex addict mate trying to tempt her back to drugs. That Astrid is just bad news. I’m such a fan of the show you’ll hear me telling Astrid through the telly to leave Faith alone! There are some really good episodes coming up!”
Finally, what would be your dream storyline for Siobhan?
“Who knows!? The world is her oyster now. She’s single, and you never know who will come into the ED, but it would be nice to see how that would play.”
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