Casualty star Kirsty Mitchell surprised by outcome of Faith and Iain’s wedding

The two characters are finally tying the knot (Picture: ITV)

Faith Cadogan’s journey in Casualty began in 2019, when she arrived at Holby ED as a new ACP.

At the time, she was married to Lev Malinovsky, a paramedic at the hospital. Together, they looked after their three children, and did their best to juggle parenthood and working NHS jobs.

Faith’s life changed forever when Lev was killed by an oncoming train. She became a single mum and had to process her grief, all while trying to come to terms with the fact her partner was secretly gay.

The character ventured down a path that ultimately saw her try and discover who she is without the role of mum or wife. Faith became embroiled in a drug addiction storyline and even lied to her friends and family about having ovarian cancer.

She certainly made a lot of choices she later came to regret, and then decided she would change her life for the better and sake of her kids.

Iain and Faith have both been through a great deal (Picture: ITV)

Faith is now in a relationship with beloved paramedic Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson). In tonight’s episode, the two characters will get married.

Because this is a soap, I couldn’t help prepare myself for the inevitable catastrophe when I sat down to watch Faith and Iain tie the knot.

It seems to be soap or continuing drama tradition for some sort of dramatic event to take place on the happiest day of two people’s lives, so for a relatively laid back ceremony to take place, I was surprised – and so was star Kirsty Mitchell when she first read the script.

Here, the star tells me how she felt learning what would happen during Faith and Iain’s wedding, Stevie’s (Elinor Lawless) cancer journey, and why she still loves working on the show, 6 years on from her debut.

What was your reaction when you read the script for the wedding episode? There is barely any drama!

It’s quite surprising, for a soap wedding (Picture: ITV)

I thought there was going to be as well! When I read the script I thought it was lovely. It sort of made sense to me. I was so relieved that there wasn’t going to be a tragedy around this couple. I think the audience has waited for them to get to this point, they’ve had so many ups and downs and I think people want them to be happy.

It’s nice to have a core family and a big love within the show. I was relieved that there wasn’t some tragedy and I wouldn’t need loads of dresses! I’m very relieved it’s played out like that, because it’s what they deserve. The episode is still packed with drama, there’s a lot of journeys in there that feel completed, but also new ones begin. I think it’s a lovely episode and I was definitely relieved I wasn’t going to be standing on stage covered in blood!

How is she feeling in the run up to the big day?

When she first saw the ring she was frightened, but Iain found a way to relax her. He manages, even in a clumsy Iain style, to find the right words at the right space and Faith knows how difficult that is for him. As a result, I think that puts her at ease. I think it’s probably not as big a deal to her as it is to him, because he’s never been married, so I think it helps him feel more secure. I don’t think she’s nervous about their relationship, I think it feels natural and normal to her.

As fast as it might have been from the proposal to the wedding, I just think it feels like a normal, natural thing to do. They’ve been together for a long time, Faith isn’t the kind of person who wants to run around, she’s a woman who wants to have a family and who’s committed. 

How is Faith following Stevie’s cancer diagnosis?

Faith pretended to have ovarian cancer (Picture: ITV)

I mean, it’s awful, isn’t it? Because that’s the one that she lied about. Faith’s main thing is that Stevie feels as though she’s part of the family. She wants to make sure that she feels included and didn’t feel alone while she was going through one of the worst times of her life. She wanted her to feel supported but in true Stevie style, she’s good at pretending she’s fine.

We did have a scene where Faith sits down and tells Stevie that she deserves to be shouted at like that, she’s going to be the punchbag for her. We have some lovely scenes coming up in the wedding episode and we’ll see whether Stevie makes it there!

I think Faith knows at this point, that she’s just going to take it from Stevie. She has so much guilt about all the lies she told and the cancer she lied about. I think she knows Stevie better than anyone else and now her friend can’t ever have a baby, it’s quite heartbreaking. It’s her best friend, it’s heartbreaking for them both.

If she’s in a bad space, Faith knows that she’s just got to let her come back in her own time. In Faith’s head, if her best friend wants to scream and shout at her, she’ll let it happen. 

There’s always so much going on in Stevie and Faith’s relationship.

There is always some undercurrent. I think that’s great within a relationship, and I think it’s important to show there’s always a way back. I think it’s having a strong female friendship on screen that, no matter how they behave or what they go through, they can check each other. They will take their limits with each other but I think within relationships, companion relationships, some people turn up with 20%, so the other person has to take the 80. 

You just go, I’ve got this 30 today, have you got the energy for the 70? That’s how relationships work, and I think they do that all the time. They compensate constantly, and they don’t throw it in each other’s face, and that’s what a safe relationship feels like.

We don’t go well, I did this and you did that, they don’t do that to each other, they just have an understanding. They know where the other person is at, and what they can take today, and the other person knows what they can carry for them. They each have an understanding of what frustration and upset can do and how people can push things to extremes.

How much do you enjoy exploring the different sides of Faith?

Kirsty has played Faith since 2019 (Picture: ITV)

It’s such a joy to get a character from the beginning and tell their story. Obviously, people who end up writing about it respond to things from past episodes in different ways. To be handed a person, and then develop it yourself, is just amazing. Faith definitely isn’t as naive as what she was anymore, Lev shaded her from a lot of things. When everything came out about his sexuality, her whole life crumbled. It just shifted her whole world and it’s taken her a bit of time to rearrange who she is, find out what she likes and what she doesn’t like.

She’s worked out that she’s not somebody who wants to go out meeting guys. She’s a real homebody. She’s tried so much and I think she’s come out of it way more resilient. She just feels very fortunate to be in the position that she is, she’s got so much in her life after everything that’s happened. I think, because of her loyalty, she’s always going to feel like she’s repaying a debt. I think it’s going to take her a long time with the kids, and Iain, and Stevie to realise that she can’t keep feeling so guilty.

I think that’ll be a transition for maybe later on but for her, at the moment, she feels like she’s still paying her debt.

How does it feel to be part of a show that is constantly evolving?

I think it’s great. Whatever we can do to reach out to more people and get more viewers is brilliant. This boxset situation that was brought in a few years ago is great because people then feel they can start at the beginning of one. If somebody doesn’t watch the show, it’s somewhere to begin and they don’t feel alienated by what’s going on, they can make a start somewhere. 

All shows change, and we have to adapt. I think we do it in life as well. Our lives constantly adapt with the times, so our work has to as well. A show on television has to explain what’s happening in the real world. I just love it. It’s so fabulous to feel so involved. Everything feels so open and honest and very inviting. You go upstairs and you talk to people and you feel part of a team, you know that you’re valued. 

I’m there pretty much everyday, and I come home and I’ve got my wee family. I don’t have to pack cases and go everywhere, I’m just having the most exquisite time of my life.