Casualty Love for Lily?
WILL LILY AND IAIN FINALLY GET TOGETHER? CASUALTY’S CRYSTAL YU GIVES US ALL THE GOSS…
Recently, Inside Soap was lucky enough to be invited on to the set of Casualty for a snoop behind the scenes of their upcoming ‘one-shot’ episode, with the entire thing filmed in a continuous take on one camera. We were there during the rehearsal period, as the actual episode was filmed the following week – so when we catch up with star Crystal Yu (Lily) for a chat, we’re keen to know how it went…
“It was such an amazing experience,” gushes the actress, as she chats to us over the phone from her dressing room in Cardiff. “I’m not sure how much I can tell you about the actual episode, but gosh, my heart was really pounding! My character doesn’t come in until about halfway through, so I was just thinking, ‘I mustn’t mess this up, or we’ll have to restart the whole thing!’.
There is interesting stuff coming up – Lily might even smile!
“I was so glad to be involved in something so different and magical, but it took everything out of me,” continues Crystal. “I spent the majority of the weekend sleeping!”
Fans will have to wait till July to see the episode, but there’s plenty of drama to come for Lily before then. Last week, viewers witnessed the doctor knocked down by drunk-driver Gem – so how serious are her injuries?
“Lily is unconscious and has suffered a few broken ribs,” explains Crystal. “She’s bleeding, and when she’s brought into the hospital, there are fears that she could have internal injuries, and maybe brain damage. So yeah, it’s pretty serious.”
While Crystal doesn’t want to divulge too much about the impact these injuries could have on
Lily’s future, she reckons that her alter ego won’t hold her young pal Gem responsible for what’s happened to her.
“Lily does genuinely care about Gem,” insists the actress. “She sees the potential in her, and she knows that – despite her history – Gem really wants to do well. If anything Lily blames herself, because she knows she wasn’t there for Gem when she needed her.
“I think it’s lovely to see how much
Lily has grown in terms of caring about another person,” adds Crystal. “She doesn’t always connect with people easily, so this has been a massive journey of self-discovery for her.”
But it’s not just Lily’s relationship with Gem that we’re keen to hear more about – for months we’ve been rooting for her to get together with hunky colleague Iain. So could romance finally be on the cards following Lily’s life-and-death experience?
“I really enjoy working with Michael [Stevenson, who plays Iain] – he’s such a generous actor, and we do have a giggle!” Crystal tells us. “And there are some interesting stories coming up that viewers might enjoy – let’s just say that there’s a scene where Lily doesn’t wear as much as she usually does! When I first read the script, even I blushed a bit – I was like, ‘Woah, is this really Lily?’. You might even catch her smiling!”
It’s clear that Crystal is relishing the chance to explore Lily’s softer side, as she’s a far cry from her ultra-serious alter ego – in fact, she happily admits that she’s a real giggler on set. But there was one recent moment at work that left her feeling a bit miffed… “I really wanted to do the stunt where Lily was hit by the car, but I wasn’t allowed to,” she confesses. “I injured my hip last year, and the bosses didn’t want me to aggravate anything. It was sweet that they were being so protective, but I stood at the side watching every moment. Luckily, the stunt lady made me look great!”