Casualty star William Beck questioned if he was ready for his latest storyline

Casualty star William Beck has said he thinks his latest storyline on the show has “so much potential”, but revealed that when he first found out about it he questioned if he was ready to play a father.

Beck stars in the BBC medical drama as the show’s clinical lead, Dr Dylan Keogh, and has been a main character on and off on the drama for almost 14 years.

Last month, viewers saw Dr Keogh discover that Holby City Hospital’s new trainee doctor, Matty Linlaker (Aron Julius) is his biological son after receiving the results of a secret DNA test.

Speaking about the moment he found out what was in store for his character, Beck said: “When they told me, my first thought was ‘I’ve seen that end up in a grandfather storyline’.

“As a human being, I’m not ready to contemplate that. I’m not ready to play that.”

He said that feeling that way helped him to understand how his character may be feeling, and said: “In that situation, where something like that happens in one’s life, what you’re not then doing is going ‘well, that’ll be me settled down now for the rest of time’.

“What you presumably think is, ‘I can’t believe how unreal and young I feel’, and it’s in juxtaposition with the bizarreness of the event itself.”

Beck added: “I hope my choices, or the performance, communicate some of that complexity.”

He also said the storyline will force his character to face his own mortality, adding: “I think Dylan doesn’t know how to process this, and of course, he misses out on the opportunity to have done better.

“I think even if you don’t have kids, there’s a part of you going, ‘I would have done better if I’d had the chance’.”

Beck added: “From a Dylan point of view, it’s like a massive faceplant. And what do you do? You just have to get up and go where that happens.”

He said: “It’s such a nice thing to be able to play such a huge part of the storyline.”

The storyline will see Dr Keogh visit his “chaotic” past, as he comes to terms with being a father to his long-lost son, played by newcomer Julius.

Beck said: “I think Matt’s character is absolutely fantastic. (The storyline) has got so much potential in it.”

The drama, which has been running since 1986, is approaching its 40th anniversary in September.

Speaking about the upcoming celebrations, Beck said viewers can expect a “beautiful example” of the show “coming out of where it normally sits”.

During his time on the medical drama, Beck’s character has battled with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and struggled with alcoholism.

Casualty is available to watch on BBC One or BBC iPlayer on February 14 from 9.45pm.