Luke Bailey will be leaving CASUALTY later this month. Joining the show in October 2004, his character Sam Bateman, the son of nurse Tess, was first introduced after getting the receptionist job in ED. Since then Sam, who has bi-polar, became an HCA with the dream of becoming a paramedic.
Luke kindly talks to holby.tv about why he’s leaving the show and his future plans…
Why have you decided to leave CASUALTY?
To be honest, I felt that after promoting my character to HCA once my contract was renewed, the producers would involve ‘Sam’ in more guest artist stories and involve him in the medical side of the programme. However a year passed and that still wasn’t the case. I felt Sam was not being nurtured and developed but more importantly I was no longer growing as an actor, so I decided it was time to move on.
Have you enjoyed your time on the show? What have been your most memorable scenes to film?
Yes, I loved most of the time I spent on CASUALTY, the only time I didn’t really enjoy it was when I wasn’t there (which grew increasingly towards the final few months). The most memorable scenes would be the Comic Relief ones because we had such a laugh, Elyes being crazy as usual. The bi-polar stuff sticks in my head as it was my first real storyline and important to do correctly.
What can you tell us about your exit storyline?
Not loads really, there is not much of a storyline to talk about. Alice get’s the wrong end of the stick about something, leading Sam to believe he is being lied to by Tess. He shoots off without a trace but is found by Abs after a week or so, come’s back to make his apologies but feels he wants to see the world.
CASUALTY was your first adult TV break – do you feel you have learnt a lot from working on the show?
Yes, CASUALTY has taught me a lot of important lessons and skills. It has been everything I wanted it to be and more. (I can now drink with the best of them)
What will you miss most about working on the show? Will you keep in touch with any of the cast?
There are plenty of people I will be staying in contact with. What will I miss about working on the show? At this point????? The money, ha!
Who makes you laugh most on Set?
Elyes, but I’m usually laughing at him not with him. Saying that Packer (Suzanne) and Beano (Ben Price) can hold there own,
You recently appeared on Just the Two of Us – how do you rate the experience?
It was a dream to sing live like that, it taught me a lot as a person and about the industry, also keeps the tax man at bay so it was worth while.
Had you have stayed in the show longer, had you thought of any other songs that you would have liked to have performed?
I never got to choose any song. It annoyed me doing stuff like Dolly, it just didn’t show me off, Natasha came across well though. The songs we were to perform in the later part of the show were better. If I had chosen the songs I would have either won it or gone out on the first night. It was a pantomime and I knew that from the start, I didn’t get too involved to be honest.
Do you enjoy watching reality TV shows yourself? What are your favourite TV programmes?
I don’t generally watch TV unless a friend’s on it. My favourite TV is… Waking the Dead, The Singing Detective and Mighty Boosh is about the funniest program on TV but I’ve seen every one of them now…
You’re in a band ‘Elevaters’ – what can you tell us about how the group was formed and the genre of music you perform?
We’re a rock band, sometimes we’re like Zepplin other times more Dire Straights haha. We met at college and it all started from there really… Our latest member, Juicy, contacted us through our myspace and turned out to be a guitar god, our very own Matt Bellamy (Muse)
Is it true, one of your songs ‘Pieces’ will be making an appearance in a CASUALTY episode?
No, but it has got us loads of attention, marketing ploy.
You’re also about to start shooting for ‘Waking the Dead’ – what can you tell us about this role?
It’s the part of a naive squaddie who is covertly working for a security firm, he’s a bad apple, very different from Sam.
What was the last…
a) CD you bought
CD Skunk Anansie
b) film you watched
300 (Awesome, bit of a bloke movie)
c) book you read?
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
Finally, do you have a message for fans of holby.tv who have supported you through your time on the show?
Keep watching CASUALTY… Thanks for your hospitality and no doubt I’ll see you about. You’re probably the best fans of any programme too!
