George Rainsford
“Ethan is like a rabbit in headlights!”
The new series of
Casualty explodes on to our screens this week – quite literally – as Holby is rocked by a massive terrorist attack!
Doctor Ethan is out on a training course at the time, and is one of the first on the scene, unaware of just how serious an incident he’s walking into. And before long, he ends up fighting for his life himself…
“They don’t know exactly what’s happened, so Ethan has no idea what to expect,” reveals George Rainsford, who plays the medic. “But when he arrives, it’s total devastation
– a truck has driven through a market, which has killed and injured lots of people. Ethan has to think quickly, and help as many people as he can.”
With many victims in a bad way, Ethan’s having to deal with the casualties swiftly. However, when he gets to two patients who have particularly bad injuries, he finds himself faced with a huge decision.
“There’s a father and daughter who’ve been crushed by the coffee cart they run together,” explains George. “Ethan has to choose which of them to get out first. In the end he picks the dad, because his predicament is far worse. He bonds quite quickly with the daughter, and manages to calm her down. It’s a very stressful situation.”
As Ethan and his colleagues work hard to extract the dad, the injured man insists they get his daughter out first, because he’s scared there will be a secondary attack. And sure enough, while they’re loading him on to an ambulance, the emergency services are given the warning to get out – as an explosive device has been found at the site…
Ethan’s in total shock – and he’s trying to assess the situation”
“Ethan hadn’t considered that was a possibility – he’s like a rabbit in headlights,” George tells us. “He doesn’t know exactly what drama is unfolding. Even when they’re told they all need to leave, he thinks it’s just a precaution – he wants to stay with his patient. In the split second that he hesitates, though, he puts himself and one of his colleagues in danger – and then it all kicks off.”
As a massive explosion rips through the market, a car smashes into the wall above Ethan, trapping both him and his workmate, Big Al, under a pile of rubble. However, will they make it out of the terrifying incident alive?
“Ethan’s in total shock, and he’s trying to assess the situation,” shares George. “As time goes on, he becomes more scared and panicked, because it appears nobody is coming to help him. Then suddenly the light pours in and he sees Jan – but it’s soon clear that something awful has happened…”
So will Ethan make it out of the rubble in one piece? Or could he end up becoming a victim of this awful atrocity?