In Casualty’s Supply and Demand – Episode 3 paramedic Iain Dean is shaken to the core after receiving a phone call confirming him as next of kin for an unknown person. Later, when talking to his wife Faith Cadogan (Kirsty Mitchell) it becomes clear that his mum, Kim Harrison, is receiving end-of-life care at Willow Hill Hospice, but he is uncertain whether he wants to see her or not.
With his little sister Gemma (previously played by Shameless star Rebecca Ryan) now living in Thailand, it looks like Iain is feeling fresh responsibility towards his abusive, alcoholic mother Kim (previously played by Emmerdale star Siân Reeves).
Speaking to What to Watch earlier this month, Michael Stevenson, who plays the conflicted medic, has revealed that this news, “affects Iain going forward.” Full interview available here
But what lies ahead for the medic?
Here, Michael tells us more in this follow-up interview about the emotionally complex storyline…
What effect has this phone call on Iain, Michael?
“His instant reaction is to dive even further into the HART team and take the risks that come with it…”
His impulse to put his life on the line for others – is that tied to his mother, who has spent a lifetime risking her own life in a very different way?
“Absolutely, and that all gets touched on later in the series. We explore why Iain is how he is – which is brilliant for me as an actor and for the character as a whole. The fact is he grew up having to look after his mum and his dad – but more so his mum as his dad was estranged – and his whole life has been about helping people, trying to fix people, and sometimes really failing in that.”
How would you describe Kim, who was originally introduced during Casualty episode Binge Britain back in February 2017?
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“She was horrible and not only did Iain have the horribleness of his mum but the aftermath of what she did to him in later episodes sparked off his depression and suicide storyline. There was a moment all those years ago, where all he wanted was for her to tell him she loved him and give him a hug. She didn’t and threw it back in his face, telling him that he was an attention seeker and had always been an attention seeker, sparking off a catalyst of horrible times for him. That ‘if it wasn’t for her’ moment gets revisited, whether you see it physically or as he’s dealing with it mentally.”
Fans have often voiced they would be thrilled if Iain became a father. Is that something you’d like to see for him?
“With Iain, I think babies are something that are completely off his radar. Marrying Faith who has kids is more than he ever imagined. Again, it’s another thing to consider with him, because his upbringing and the way his parents treated him definitely affected him to the point of never wanting kids. But then we know what he’s like as a person and in there, there’s a whole bundle of fun and fatherly figure instincts that could potentially bring a different side to him that we’re not expecting!”
We’ll take it! We’ve seen you work with babies quite a lot over your time on the show. How do you find those scenes where you’re filming with a little one?
“Every baby is completely different but everyone has to be really quiet on set, because the baby takes centre stage and everything else is put on hold to make sure they’re happy. I love filming those scenes, we’ve filmed with some great kids and they’re always fun scenes to shoot because they’re just real and they’re cute. It’s probably the most natural you’ll ever see an actor. There’s no acting really involved because, even though you’ve certain lines to say, first and foremost, you’re just looking at this little thing that’s relying on you to keep it safe and warm and those reactions are always natural.”
Finally, the drug crisis element of Supply and Demand is a real eye-opener, what are your thoughts on it?
“What’s lovely about it is we don’t comment or judge on any of it. It affects all walks of life, from the streets all the way up to affluent areas, expensive houses and weddings. The same substance is affecting all walks of life, and, sometimes the people it’s affecting on the streets started out in the big, expensive house. It’s a mirror to society, the ups, downs and pitfalls, and how we try to deal with that as a society. For Iain personally Supply and Demand takes him away from the paramedic team who are very fractured in this boxset. A lot more is going to happen!”
