Interview: Christine Tremarco talks Casualty

Christine Tremarco joins BBC One's Casualty this week. Image: BBC
A familiar face returns to Casualty this week as former Waterloo Road actress Christine Tremarco joins the cast after a guest appearance last year.

Viewers last saw Tremarco’s character Linda helping Jessica start a new life in America.

Returning to the ED, she finds herself promoted to Nurse Manager but she soon finds that being in charge doesn’t come naturally…

“I was delighted when I was asked to come back and join Casualty,” says Christine. “I really enjoyed my two episodes last year and it’s so exciting joining a long-running show. Everyone has given me such a warm welcome – it’s such a great team of people.

“And Linda is so much fun to play,” she adds. “She is very outgoing and fun and tends to speak her mind which sometimes gets her into trouble. She likes to go out and still thinks she’s 16 in lots of ways. She certainly thinks nothing of going into work still with a sore head from the night before.

That said, she does have a huge heart and would do anything for anyone. She has a very caring side to her but she has the attitude that she’s young, free and single so she might as well go out and enjoy herself.”

Christine joins the world’s longest-running prime-time medical drama at a busy time. The show is about to celebrate its 25th birthday and move to Cardiff at the same time.

“It feels so exciting to be joining the show at the time of its 25th anniversary and to be surrounded by such a great cast and crew,” says Christine. “I’m really looking forward to the move to Cardiff although Bristol is a lovely city and I will miss it.”

Irrepressible Linda may be a party girl but she’s also a great nurse. Did Christine have to undergo any special training for the role?

“I spent time with a real nurse who was incredibly helpful and I also spent time in a hospital. And we also have medical advisors on the show who are amazing and always on hand to help with anything medical that’s tricky. I’m quite a squeamish person and I don’t like blood so I really have admiration for real nurses.”

So what scrapes can viewers expect to see Linda getting into in the future?

“Quite early on Linda gets a promotion in the ED which, at first, she thinks she can handle but she is soon completely out of her depth,” explains Christine. “And later on she becomes involved with two young female heroin addicts, which is going to be quite a dramatic storyline.

“She’s just a great character to play and coming into work and putting Linda’s uniform on then working with such a dedicated team of actors is an absolute joy.”

Casualty, BBC One, Saturday 4 June

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