Casualty- 1989

Robson Green is one of many actors to have starred in Casualty, the long-running BBC medical drama set in the Accident and Emergency department of the fictional Holby City Hospital. The series began in 1986 and the hospital is never short of action, having had to contend with three threats of closure, a fire and a bomb - and that's just the hospital itself! We have also followed the lives and traumas of the staff and despite personal crisis, they never fail to meet the responsibility that their job brings. Rape, divorce, abortion and even seeing their own family wheeled into casualty has not deterred this dedicated team. Putting on a brave face and saving lives seems to come naturally.

Robson played Jimmy Powell, the hospital porter, from 1989 to 1991 (series 4 - 6) and his character was always ready to crack a joke. After an incident with a friend's daughter he started taking first aid classes and thought about becoming a nurse - before giving up on the whole idea. He left his job at the hospital to become a factory driver delivering suits!

"I've never spent a lot of time researching characters because it's never been necessary, but for Jimmy I needed some understanding of what a porter's job involves, the daily routine as well as the technical side. Jimmy started life as a very sketchy outline, but Peter Norris (Producer) wanted to develop the part and if I wanted to last beyond twelve episodes it was in my best interests to help.

With this in mind, I spent some time in a hospital watching porters. What I quickly discovered was that they spend a lot of time waiting around (for patients who need moving etc.), and what they do while they wait is chat. If you want to know anything in a hospital the porter will always have the low-down.Jimmy's character began to take shape and we settled on the idea of a young guy with little formal education but who had a conscience and an opinion."