It’s hard to believe it was only last year that Casualty viewers were introduced to no-nonsense clinical nurse manager Siobhan McKenzie, as she’s already become a much-loved member and vital part of the Holby team.
Life hasn’t been kind to her of late, what with her husband Rich’s affair with Stevie, followed by his shocking death. But despite her personal turmoil, she throws herself into work – including during the current drugs crisis which is putting the hospital and its staff under serious strain.
Off-screen, soap legend Melanie Hill – who previously starred as Cathy Matthews in Corrie for seven years – adores playing this high-stakes drama. While we have to wait a bit longer for the next episode of Casualty, Inside Soap caught up with lovely Melanie to chat all things ED…
BBC
Hi, Melanie! How are you enjoying your time on Casualty?
Every day I look forward to getting a new script, and I’m in a great position. Usually, I’m a jobbing actor and I’ll get a script for three months, and then I’m looking for a new job. So this is just great – we get script after script, it’s fab. And I do feel proud of it, because when you’re in a drama series, it’ll have an arc or dramatic narrative over six episodes – but on Casualty, we do that week after week.
Do you remember your very first day on the hospital set?
I was absolutely terrified. I remember it was the same when I joined Corrie and went into the Rovers, it’s something that’s so vivid in your mind. Even at my age, I still feel it, and I’ve been working for 40 years. But I think that’s lucky if you do, because you’re not just blasé about it, it’s still exciting.
It sounds like your days on set filming are busy…
That was a bit of a shock. Originally, I had this whole idea that my character would wear Doc Martens, because I wear them in real life. And then after about five days, my feet… I just couldn’t do it!
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How does Siobhan feel about no longer being acting clinical lead?
That was only ever temporary. It gave Siobhan that responsibility without any of the kudos really, because she was doing it for no more money. And apparently that happens, where the nurses have to step up and do four times the work. It was a great opportunity, because she was liaising with management then going back to her troops. So it was nice while it lasted, but I think it’s good that Flynn’s come in – he’s lovely to work with.
