Express Premium Banner Peaky Blinders and Emmerdale star joins Casualty and sparks fly with Stevie Nash EXCLUSIVE: Things are set to heat up in Holby ED with the arrival of firefighter Rich Walker.

Casualty newcomer Michael Keogh is thrown in at the deep end from his very first episode in the long running BBC medical drama when his firefighter character Rich Walker is sent to a serious incident in the middle of a storm and flash flood. Viewers will first meet him in tonight’s episode (June 15) when he works the scene with Steve Nash (played by Elinor Lawless) who is there in her capacity as a Critical Care Doctor.

As he helps her through the difficult call out it is clear sparks are flying between the pair. While the scenes are sure to delight viewers as fan favourite Stevie appears to be getting a romantic interest they were “challenging” to shoot due to the extremes of weather being portrayed.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk Michael explained: “We have a few rain effects so it was very, very cold. So we were fighting through the cold and the wet was a challenge.”

However he had nothing but praise for his co-star enthusing: “I mean, Elinor, she’s an incredible actress and it is a real privilege to work with her. She gave so much and she made it very easy to work with.”

Michael is a familiar face to television viewers having appeared in shows such as Peaky Blinders, where he played an Asylum Nurse, and inhabiting several small roles in Emmerdale between 2003 and 2008. He also made a previous appearance in Casualty back in 2016 as a character called Rob Davies.

Michael Keogh has joined Casualty as Rich Walker (Image: BBC)

Asked if he was nervous about fan reaction to this role given the popularity of Stevie’s character he says he was more excited than anything else.

“You know, I remember watching it [Casualty] when Brenda Fricker was in it when I was younger. I was just in awe of her as an actor.

“So I was really, really looking forward to the challenge. I looked at Ellie’s previous work and it was phenomenal. So it was just more excited, as opposed to being nervous,” he confessed.

While Stevie does learn something at the call out that could be a deal breaker it appears she is not put off.

Stevie (Elinor Lawless) catches the eye of firefighter Rich (Michael Keogh) and during the flash floods sparks fly. But will a shocking connection burn them both?

Sparks are set to fly between Rich Walker and Stevie Nash (Image: BBC)

The latest trailer for the new story arc entitled Storm Damage shows them kissing so clearly romance blossoms. However, there is also a scene where Stevie is in tears. Whether or not this is over Rich remains to be seen.

While Michael can’t reveal how things pan out for the pair he admits he is excited to see what the fans think about it.

“I’m quite interested to see the reaction because as an actor you never really know, you can never really guage it until it’s aired.

“So yeah, I’m actually really looking forward to seeing how the fans react,” he admitted.