Casualty introduces another new doctor in this week's episode as Caleb 'Cal' Knight makes his debut in the show.


Charming Caleb is the brother of fellow newcomer Ethan Hardy (George Rainsford), who had his first day in the ED last week.

Digital Spy recently chatted to actor and dancer Richard Winsor, who plays Caleb, to get the gossip on his arrival in the Saturday night drama.

How have you found your time at Casualty so far?
"It's a fantastic job and I'm loving it. I've got some great storylines and it's different and interesting to be playing a doctor, as I'm getting an insight into that world. It just feels like a really great and high quality show to be working on."

How did the role come about?
"I auditioned first of all for Holby City towards the end of 2012. That went on for a couple of months and I had screen tests in January 2013. I narrowly missed out on that role to another guy, but they said they'd still love to work with me some time.

"Then they contacted me mid-summer, when I'd just got back from doing a show in Tokyo. They said they really wanted me to come and read for this role, as they had two brothers coming into Casualty and thought that I'd be right for one of the parts. I read for both brothers, came back and then eventually screen-tested with George Rainsford, who was up for the role of Ethan.

"Fortunately we were what they were looking for and it was fantastic news when we heard that we had the parts. I'd never worked with the BBC before and it's great to be part of a British institution. I used to watch Casualty on Saturday nights with my family, so it's all quite surreal!"

What can the fans expect from Cal?
"He's a bit of a ladies' man for sure! He's also a very instinctive and natural doctor who likes to be in an adrenaline-fuelled situation, as that's where he thrives. You'll see that he often gets sent out to deal with big accidents and things like that. He really takes hold of a situation in those circumstances.

"Cal likes to be in control of his surroundings. He knows what he wants and he goes for it, and that sometimes means manipulating the situations around him. Because he's so charming and easy with people, that means that people like to do things for him! It's not a malicious thing, but he uses his charms to his advantage.

"There's also a great storyline between the feuding brothers. Sparks fly between them as they're always trying to get one over on each other!"

The two brothers are very different, aren't they?
"Yes, their personalities are very different, and I think that often happens with brothers. Ethan is very much a bookworm and technical as a doctor, while Cal is a lot more instinctive.

"Our backstory is that Ethan is a little bit younger than Cal and they had a slightly different upbringing. They had the same parents, but Cal had to forge things for himself. He fell out with his father, who was a very high-powered lothario ED doctor and was a little bit like Cal, but slightly more of an idiot!

"Cal resented that and wanted to stay as far away from it as possible, so he left home early. He then had to fund his own education by working on the side, so he resents the fact that his brother had a silver spoon in his mouth. There's a slight ego with Cal as he's done it all himself."

Cal is also being billed as an arrogant character, so could he rub people up the wrong way?
"Certain people, yeah! It'll be people that he either doesn't mind rubbing up the wrong way or people that almost read him and see through him a little bit. Cal would resent those people, because he doesn't want to be seen as a fake or a fraud. There's a slight chip on his shoulder as he feels that he's worked really hard and deserves his success, so he's wary of people who see through him.

"He has that defence mechanism of arrogance and manipulating the situation around him. In general, though, people do tend to be won over by his charms!"

Does Cal have a dramatic introduction to the show?
"Yeah, he's involved in two or three big storylines already. In his first episode there's a big accident that he gets sent out to, because he has this experience of being out in the field. It's an accident where a limousine is hanging off a bridge and Cal has to jump in the back to save someone's life. He has 15 minutes to do this really technical medical procedure, so that was my first episode!

"There's also a bit of a love interest in his first episode involving a beautiful girl who visits the hospital."

Many of our readers will recognise you for playing Father Francis in Hollyoaks. Do you look back fondly on that time?
"I absolutely do, yes. I was only in the show for four months but it was a really cool role and I had a good storyline with quite a few of the main characters in it. It was a great learning experience of the speed of TV and how quickly it moves!"

What have your career highlights been so far?
"I was in StreetDance 3D, which was a shock hit back in 2010 and it was great to travel to premieres for that, in Leicester Square and other countries. It was number one in eight or nine countries around Europe and released across the world, so that was a massive highlight.

"It was great to have a collaboration with Matthew Bourne over a certain few years - doing shows like Dorian Gray and working in great places like Moscow, Italy and Japan, as well as a big run in London. We also filmed Swan Lake in 3D for cinema release, and that went to New York and LA, so that was a massive highlight as well.

"I've also enjoyed having the opportunity to move from theatre and the dance world into film and TV. The overall highlight for me is being able to bridge those different mediums."