In this Saturday’s Casualty nurse Robyn Miller locks lips with handsome medical courier Zach Manley. Amanda Henderson reveals there's a lot riding on Robyn's first kiss with Zach…
Robyn’s got a big romance cooking – has it been fun to play and to take her in a new direction?
“It’s been lovely. I’ve never had to do anything so romantic before! It was really nice to play, and a nice little challenge. And when they told me the actor, Aleksy Komorowski, who was playing Zach I had a little Google and didn’t think I’d even be able to speak to him – he’s a very good looking boy!”
He’s very tall isn’t he?
“Well, compared to me everybody’s tall. But he is really tall - tall, dark and handsome and that’s what every girl wants.”
Did they have to put you on a box for any of the scenes?
“No, but there were a few scenes were we’re sat down. We’re kind of on the same level if we’re sat down!”
When it comes to Zach, why is Robyn letting her imagination run away from her?
”She’s totally smitten. I think it’s just been so long since she’s had any form of romance. She’s been on dating website after dating website and nothing’s worked out. And then she had the whole deal with Lofty. She was so in love with him, but he just didn’t feel the same. She’s had a few knockbacks so I think it was just that thought: ‘Hang on, someone’s actually showing a little bit of interest in me.’ And the fact that he’s so incredibly handsome is beyond belief for her. Robyn thinks she’s met her Prince Charming!”
Tell us about the pressure of the ‘first kiss’ build-up...
“I think she builds it up in her own head to be honest. She wants it to be the most perfect kiss and swept away to magical land. The fact that she’s built it up so much in her head, when it actually happens she’s so ready for it. But whether it turns out the right way or not is a different case!”
What is it about Robyn you really like playing?
“The fact she’s so similar to me. We both Tweet a lot and we’re both career women. She loves her job. It’s been what she's wanted to do from a young age. People have told her she’s good at it so she’s gone ahead and done it. That’s quite similar to me with my career. I’ve always wanted to act since I was a little girl. So the fact I’m playing someone so similar to myself is brilliant, it’s an absolute dream.”
Has life changed for you since joining the show and moved to Cardiff to be near the Casualty set?
“I do get recognised, but it’s quite a nice level of recognition. People are always so lovely and quite often come up and say: ‘I love Robyn’ which is always lovely to hear. So that’s changed my life a bit – I’m a bit more aware of putting on a bit of make up before going to the shops in the morning! The whole move to Cardiff from London has been completely life-changing because I’ve made some best friends for life there.”
Was it a shock to the system in the beginning?
“Yes. Because I’d never really done TV before. I was such a theatre girl. The main shock was the hours. I’m so used to doing theatre – getting up at 6pm and being finished by 10pm. As soon as I found out I was filming 7am till 7pm I was thinking 'that’s a long day!'”
And there's not much rehearsal time either...
“That was one of my biggest fears when I started. I didn’t think I’d be able to learn my lines in time. Now it comes as second nature – most of the time!”
Has it been easy learning all Casualty’s medical jargon?
“The medical jargon is never easy. My sister is actually a nurse, so she’s quite helpful to ring up for pronunciation and meaning. I like to know what things mean otherwise I can’t give them any truth. All the show’s medical crew assisting us are brilliant. We’ve got loads of really top-notch medical advisers, so you can never go drastically wrong. There has to be a little bit of artistic license in there, however, because we obviously can’t do real things to real people!”
How are you with gory scenes?
“I’m terrible! I’m incredibly squeamish. As soon as I found out I’d got the job on Casualty my mum laughed and said there’s no way you’ll last five minutes on that! I’ve got loads better though. The make-up team and crew that make the prosthetics are incredibly talented. Most of the time I have to look really closely to make out what’s what.”
Amande is performing with Casualty co-star Lee Mead on his Some Enchanted Evening tour. Find out more here
@leemeadofficial @AmandaHendrson @BedworthCivic @ChrisNorton17 Join Lee, Amanda & Chris 19 July - pls RT everyone! pic.twitter.com/1cJHLyah9y
— Wendy Long (@wendylong828) June 23, 2015
