Kirsty Mitchell has hinted that there could be a huge change for her Casualty character, Faith. In recent weeks, the Advanced Clinical Practitioner has found her marriage to HART paramedic, Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson), on the line after she believed his colleague, Jacob Masters (Charles Venn), had been stealing morphine from the ambulances.

‌Viewers have seen Faith challenge Jacob after patients were brought into Wyvern’s emergency department in severe pain, despite Jacob explaining he had been administering IV morphine while travelling to the hospital. But most recently, it emerged that the hospital pharmacist, Sunny Callahan (Jamie Marie Leary), had been responsible for the mix-up.‌

Sunny had been swapping the labels on morphine and saline units before handing them out in order to keep her and her son, Jake, safe from an organised crime gang. Concerned by the sheer number of patients complaining, Faith, despite her husband’s wishes, complained to Jacob’s line manager, Jan, about the situation, leaving him under investigation.

Actress Kirsty Mitchell has hinted at a huge change for her character, Faith(Image: Shelley Chuicharoen)

“It is quite intense,” Kirsty told the Mirror of the current box set, Supply and Demand. Speaking at the National Television Awards on Wednesday, she added: “For us, as friends, it’s like ‘Oh, I don’t want to fall out, I don’t want to do scenes where we fall out.’ But we make sure that they’re as honest as we can make them, and everybody seems to get angry or upset about it, which is great because we’re obviously doing it right.“As much as we think, as people, we would never do that, as a character, you play on that, and as long as you do it the way you’re supposed to, it provokes a reaction, and that’s what we want.” Previously, viewers saw Faith attempt to change her career, from an ACP and head to medical school to pursue her wishes to be a doctor in the emergency department.

 

In recent weeks, Faith has been at loggerheads with her husband, Iain, after she reported Jacob Masters(Image: BBC STUDIOS)

However, in true Faith style, her family and life got in the way of her ambitions – but there could this still be an option for the character? “Things always get in the way of Faith’s future,” Kirsty said, adding: “I think that is something she might do in the future. She might bring up that she always puts her family in front of her.

“So if anything gets in the way, it’s normally her family.” Kirsty went on to reference Faith’s struggles with an addiction to diazepam, which was exposed by her close friend, Doctor Stevie Nash, who also saw Faith on reduced duties at work. Despite her family often getting in the way of her ambitions, she added: “Or therapy, or drugs…”

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Reflecting on taking on such a huge storyline, Kirsty said it’s “always a big responsibility.” She went on to say: “I’ve got so many beautiful, wonderful fans, vulnerable fans as well – you have to make sure that you treat it with kid gloves. You make sure that you play it honestly, everything that you learn about it and the experiences that other people have put in.

Her character, Faith, could be pursuing her ambition to become a doctor in the near future(Image: BBC STUDIOS)

“All you can do is play it honestly. There’s a lot of stuff I wouldn’t do as a person, but you’ve got to put your own morals aside and play the character.” For Kirsty, though, being part of the show has a much bigger meaning than just being her job.

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Growing up, Kirsty admits she watched the programme as a young girl with her nanna, who “loved it”. She said: “It is amazing to walk into a show that she would’ve been so proud of me to be on. I know every show says it, but we are such a family, we do love it. It was the one show that I said to my agent, ‘I would like to be on a show and I like Casualty’, and two days later, Faith came up – can you believe it?”

She said she instantly took the show as it was the “only” programme she had really wanted a job on. “I love medicine, and I love watching medical shows,” Kirsty added.