Updated 20 March 2023:
Casualty fans were left horrified when the closing scenes of Falling Down saw nurse Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson) trapped in her crashed car with no help on the way. Horror turned to grief when The Straw aired the following week, and Robyn's tragic fate was revealed.
After ten years at Holby Hospital the adored ED nurse sadly died, marking the end of an era. WTW talked to the actor last year about her ten year anniversary and, in retrospect, it speaks volumes…
Here’s the interview Amanda gave us at the time…
Amanda Henderson — Exclusive Casualty Interview October 2022
When a little birdie told us that it’s ten years since Amanda Henderson joined the cast of Casualty as Robyn Miller, we knew we had to catch up with her — especially as the ED nurse is in the midst of a life-or-death surrogacy storyline.
Amanda began filming on Casualty in August 2012 and first appeared on screen in January 2013. Back then Robyn was a scared, unsure student nurse. Now she’s a seasoned, confident and compassionate staff nurse, and an integral part of Holby ED.
This Saturday the medical drama picks up immediately after last week’s cliffhanger when Robyn, who is acting as a surrogate for friends Marty Kirkby (Shaheen Jafargholi) and Adi Kapadia (Raj Bajaj), collapsed in the hospital car park...
Here, in an exclusive interview, Amanda took a break from filming to tell us about her 10-year milestone and tease what lies ahead for Casualty favourite Robyn…
Thanks for joining us Amanda. How is filming going today?
"It's been frantic to be honest. I've been doing a lot of filming and it is nice to be busy but it’s just a bit trying!"
Congrats on your Casualty anniversary! Did you celebrate?
Amanda Henderson: “I made sure that everybody on set knew and I celebrated it more than my birthday! What a ten years it’s been; it’s flown by.
“If you'd asked me when I landed the job if I was going to do it for a decade, I don’t think I’d have said yes. I’m nowhere near Derek [Thompson, who plays Charlie Fairhead] yet. He’s done 36 years… That’s the same age as me!”
What does it mean to you?
AH: “Casualty has completely changed my life. I went to a drama school in Bury in Manchester, where I’m from, when I was a kid. It was the only thing I’ve ever been any good at, so it made sense for me to carry on. Landing a regular role on Saturday night primetime TV for ten years — I can’t complain! Even after ten years Casualty still surprises me every day. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
Your family must be so proud of you!
"I hope they are. I know my mum and dad watch Casualty religiously and absolutely love it. It's usually one of the first things mum tells people when she meets them, so I think she's very proud!"
Do you recall how you felt when you started?
AH: “Yes! I remember those days so clearly. My first day filming was with Suzanne Packer [senior nurse Tess Bateman]. We walked up and looked through the window at the busy ED. I could hear Sunetra [Sarker, who played clinical lead Zoe Hanna] do all this medical-speak, and I remember thinking ‘I’m never going to be able to do this. I’m going to be sacked on my first day.’
“Now I love watching new people’s faces when it happens to them. Every single person has that moment, whether it’s a paramedic with a handover, a doctor giving out orders, or a nurse in resus. I tell them ‘I promise, you’ll be fine. In about four weeks you’ll know everything.’”
How different is Robyn now, compared to then?
AH: “She’s changed so much. Don’t get me wrong, she still has her silly moments, but there are less of them. She has grown up. The thing that changed her more than anything, was becoming a single mum to Charlotte [named after Charlie].
"She was a quite maternal person anyway; she was always looking after Jamie [Collier] Danny Anthony's character, trying to sort out things for her brother, Max Walker (Jamie Davis) and for Lofty (Lee Mead) — she definitely had baby practice with Lofty; he needed a lot of looking after, bless him!
“Robyn’s the kind of nurse you can relate to. She’s hard-working, and has never done anything nasty or horrible. It’s not in her. She’s a loveable character — I absolutely adore her. I think everyone can learn a little from Robyn.”
This week on-off boyfriend Paul Pegg (Paul Popplewell) races her to the ED. What can you tell us?
AH: “Robyn’s collapse is related to the medication she’s taking for the surrogacy. She is terrified for her life.
“To prepare for this storyline I researched into surrogacy and read quite a few articles. It’s been a case of finding out things, like what taking hormones and injections can do to a person’s body. Some people will react differently to others. It gets very dangerous for Robyn…”
Adi uncharacteristically pressurises her while she’s deathly ill…
AH: “Yes, and it’s a shock. Robyn was quite happy at the thought of her, Marty and Adi being a little three-parent family. The thing with Adi is, his main focus is having a baby.”
Do these events bring her and Paul closer?
AH: “For Paul almost losing Robyn is enough for him to say exactly how he feels. Robyn sees a more serious side to him. He’s also amazing with Charlotte. Deep down Robyn knows she wants to be with him, but he’s made so many mistakes she doesn’t know whether she can forgive him…”
How does Paul compare to Glen?
"Well, that's the other thing her head. I don't think anybody could ever compare to Glen. In her mind, she had the most perfect man who could do no wrong. And she lost him. She's almost a believer that you get one love in your life, and that’s it... but that changes in this episode."
What can you tell us about the comedy fight that kicks off between Paul and Adi in the ED?
AH: “It’s one of the funniest things I've ever seen! There were plenty of scripts and we did have a stunt coordinator — as much as you can call any of this a stunt! — but the more they filmed, the more they kept coming up with new things to say and do. It got funnier and funnier. The next day neither of them could walk. They were both really aching because they’d worked so hard on it.
“In a continuing drama, you have to have some lighter moments with the darker ones.”
Was it nice to play a patient for a change?
AH: “It's so weird to be on the other side of it all, especially when it's people I've worked with a long time treating me! I've managed it a couple of times so far in 10 years, but this is quite a biggie! The benefit is you get to lie down all day, and some of the beds are really comfy! Normally you're on your feet all day [filming] and thinking that the guest stars are lucky to be in bed."
What would be your dream storyline for Robyn?
AH: “I’ve been plugging some storylines for ages, that they don’t take me up on… I want to see Robyn doing amateur dramatics. I think she’d be a wonderful, tap dancing, chorus girl! Shaheen and I put forward a story where Robyn and Marty go on holiday somewhere hot. And I’ve been asking for a musical episode for ten years. So far, no luck on those!”
How would you describe her relationship with Charlie Fairhead?
"I think Robyn and Charlie will always have a father/daughter relationship. Robyn doesn't have a relationship with her parents so I think for her, to have this kind father figure in her life makes a huge difference."
Would you like to explore more of her family background?
"There was a conversation about this when Jamie Davis joined as Max, but as far as we're aware, Robyn doesn't particularly speak to any of her family. Her mum remarried when she was younger, so Robyn went to live with her gran. Robyn then grew up with her and that's the reason she became a nurse, because she nursed her gran when she was dying.
"I'd love Rula Lenska to return to Casualty. I got on with her like a house on fire when she guest starred [in 2016]. I kept saying that I'd love for her to come back in and play Robyn's mum. That would make me so happy. Rula said she'd probably be Robyn's gran!"
Do you relish getting a cliffhanger script?
"Yes! When I'm reading it I'm always wondering what's going to happen next. When I got this script I did panic a little bit!"
Finally, can you tease what lies ahead? The ED is becoming an increasingly dangerous place… How worried should we be for Robyn?
AH: “It’s a bit like saying don’t go to Midsomer, because chances are you'll get murdered!
“What I’ll say is, there’s a constant shortage of staff, and they’re pushing for more security. A lot can revolve around that.
"I think Robyn's struggling. She's trying to raise a child, going through this [surrogacy] for her friends, and on top of that she's doing every shift she possibly can..."
