Casualty exclusive: William Beck reveals surprise reason he almost didn't join show

Casualty star William Beck has shared an unknown fact that makes him the perfect fit for his role as doctor Dylan Keogh.

Throughout his thirteen years in Holby ED, the senior medic has always been on-hand with his brilliant diagnoses, off-beat friendships and perfectly timed one-liners.

Recently, Dylan has been embroiled in a bitter feud with clinical lead Patrick Onley (Jamie Glover) as he tries to save the future of Holby ED from a major scandal under his leadership.

Dylan and Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) have joined forces to try and prove that Patrick is a danger to patients, but the sleazy boss won't go down without a fight and has some tricks to try and discredit them.

In an exclusive chat with What To Watch, William revealed that he considered going down a very different career path — and it coincidently makes him an ideal fit for his character!

He said: “If you can believe it, I trained as a doctor briefly — and before that I was expecting to become a professional sportsman. This is quite leftfield but I played golf competitively and was offered a scholarship to a college in North Carolina. I had a moment of clarity that made me reconsider and, because my dad was a doctor, I applied to medical school. But I rapidly realised the dedication and hard work of the people around me and felt I was taking up a place. I met someone who said I ought to be an actor, I was besotted with that idea, applied to drama school, and here we are!”

William is now the show's longest-serving cast member after Derek Thompson left his role as nurse Charlie Fairhead earlier this year.

He added: “Sometimes I think ‘Wow, I’m still playing him after this amount of time,’ which was never something that was envisaged.

“The truth is that the bit between ‘action’ and ‘cut’ has never been the same. The fascinating thing about Dylan is he just gets more and more complex. It's a strange thing, but I genuinely don't know who Dylan is yet, and so that’s why I'm invested and still here. I’m extremely lucky!”

Casualty airs on Saturdays on BBC One — check out our guide to every episode for all the latest news and spoilers.