Lucy Gaskell, who plays nurse Kirsty, is leaving Casualty after taking centre-stage in a very powerful storyline about domestic abuse. Fortunately, Kirsty is given an uplifting ending, where she realises — with the help of a patient — that she can take control of her life. Lucy tells TV Choice more about these developments, and also reveals her own personal reasons for saying goodbye to the medical drama…

Are you leaving Casualty because you’re pregnant?
I was planning on leaving the show anyway, but at the same time as having the discussion with the producers I discovered I was pregnant, which was fantastic timing.

How do you feel about becoming a mother?
I’m due soon, so I must admit I’m looking forward to holding the baby on the outside, rather than the inside.

Do you know what you’re expecting?
No, it’s a surprise.

What’s causing Kirsty to go?
Since Warren’s death, she’s been trying to be upbeat, but without realizing it, she hasn’t dealt with it properly. She suffered at his hands for 15 years. She thinks that now he’s dead, the abuse has gone away, but the truth is very different for someone who’s suffered such a large amount of abuse. It doesn’t disappear overnight.

She had a big argument with Adam recently, so do they end on good terms?
They do. Kirsty’s a very forgiving person. She tells him he needs to sort his act out, basically. He listens to her and they do part on good terms. And they knew they never had a chance together. But in another life they could have been together, and they would have been a great couple.

In your research, you consulted with the charity Women’s Aid. Has Kirsty’s situation been debated on their online forum?
I believe so. I don’t know if it will help anyone. The most important thing is that it just raises awareness. I’ve had letters from women who have escaped abusive relationships and I’ve also had letters from people who are still in them. They’re the most frustrating ones because I can’t really reply to them, because I could put them in danger by replying. The abuser would probably read the post, and that makes me very sad.

Do you think the story made such an impact because it wasn’t stereotypical?
Yes, we were keen not to do another domestic abuse storyline where the woman is very meek and frightened of her own shadow. Domestic abuse happens to one in four women at some points in their lives. It happens to the most strong and feisty women. It would surprise you that behind closed doors they’re actually being emotionally and physically abused.

How else does it differentiate from other similar plots?
We were also keen not to just show the violence. We were keen to tackle it as responsibly as we could and show the steady build up, the subtle emotional abuse that’s sometimes harder to identify, and also show the aftereffects of abuse. We wanted to show Kirsty still hasn’t dealt with what’s happened to her. In that way, I’ve been thrilled with the way the producers and researchers have handled it.

But she is given a happy ending, isn’t she?
Absolutely. That’s something the producers and I were very keen to do — leave on a positive note. You see someone who has been controlled in this way suddenly take full control of her life. She met Warren when she was young — she was 17 — so this is the first time Kirsty has said, ‘I don’t have to do this every day, I can do whatever I want to do.’ It’s the most liberating day of Kirsty’s life. So she picks up her daughter Nita, and they drive off to a happy new start.

David Collins