Casualty star Chelsea Halfpenny reveals what it was really like filming tonight’s dramatic scene where Alicia Munroe slapped co-worker Bea Kinsella...
We knew this dramatic scene was in the works after it was included in Casualty’s summer trailer. Yet nothing prepared us for the force and emotion involved when doctor Alicia Munroe viscerally hit her junior colleague Bea Kinsella (Michelle Fox) in tonight’s Casualty.
Opinions may be divided on whether Alicia lashing out at Bea, after she confronted Alicia’s rapist Eddie McAllister, was justified. But this fall from grace in the eyes of her ED co-workers seems to have propelled Alicia to report the rape that’s left her distraught, as in tonight’s final scenes Alicia is seen driving to Holby police station…
We talked to Chelsea Halfpenny, who reveals no cheeks were harmed in the filming of this dramatic sequence!
How was it filming that slap scene with Michelle?
"We had so much fun! Michelle and I get on so well and we both wanted to get it right. So we worked with brilliant stunt guy Julian Spencer, who makes you feel like Lara Croft! What was fun for me and Michelle is that because we get on so well, we really loved doing it and getting to scream at each other!"
It’s not your average day at work…
"Anything you get to do like this is so exciting. Michelle and I both loved it!"
Was it well rehearsed?
"Yes and funnily enough when I saw footage of the rehearsal it looked like a punch! During rehearsal my fist must have been clenched. Julian came over and told me to open my hand because it does look like a full-force punch, and Michelle looks like she takes it very well!"
Did you make contact with Michelle’s face during filming?
"There’s absolutely no contact. Michelle and I are just puppets, we just do exactly what we’re told. Then the camera and stunt people work together and cleverly make it look so real."
So no one was harmed during filming? That’s a relief, it looks so realistic…
"I had a bit of a sore neck but it was my own fault. I think I turned around too quickly! Michelle is obviously much more professional than me because she felt fine!"
It’s a very emotional scene, are you pleased with the outcome?
"The way the scene was written, it’s as if Alicia has just seen red. She doesn’t see anybody else in the hospital except Bea, and she feels so angry and let down. I hope it comes across."
What do you think her co-workers make of Alicia’s uncharacteristic behaviour?
"You don’t really see the reaction of anyone else right afterwards but I presume they’re all thinking ‘That poor girl, that’s so not her’. It’s really not in Alicia to do that to someone."
Casualty continues next Saturday 4 August at 9:00pm on BBC1
