Iain Dean
Iain Dean is a fictional character from the British medical drama Casualty, played by Michael Stevenson. He was first introduced in a Red Button episode, which explores Sam Nicholls's fictional backstory as a medic in the army, alongside Iain with whom she is having an affair. The character then made his first appearance in the main show in the twenty-sixth series episode "Appropriate Force", broadcast on 28 April 2012. Iain gives evidence during a General Medical Council hearing, after Sam is accused of assaulting a patient. He returned in August 2013 this time as a trainee paramedic, who works alongside Jeff Collier and Dixie Dixon. He is also reunited with Sam, who is now in a relationship with Tom Kent. Stevenson confirmed that Sam was Iain's reason for coming back to Holby, and that he had hoped to start up their romance again. In November 2013, the character was the focus of another Red Button special, which helped to mark Remembrance Day and explore Iain's time in the army and relationship with Sam. It later emerges that Iain has posttraumatic stress disorder from being one of two survivors of a suicide attack in Afghanistan. Stevenson was pleased to have the chance to look further into his character's backstory. Following an incident in which Iain is held hostage and Big Mac is injured, he leaves Holby in the episode broadcast on 22 March 2014.
Stevenson returned as a regular cast member in October 2014, following the departure of Bardock, whose character was killed off. Iain becomes Dixie's new partner as he joins the paramedic crew. Iain establishes a romantic relationship with nurse Rita Freeman, which producer Erika Hossington said would be different from the other romances on the show. She also said it would eventually become much darker and the storyline sees Rita lying to Iain about her former husband stalking her, which results in their break-up. In early 2017, two members of Iain's family were introduced, leading to further exploration of his past. His younger sister Gemma "Gem" Dean arrived first, followed by their mother Kim Harrison. Stevenson described the relationship between Iain and Kim as "frosty", while a critic noted that the siblings' relationship was "complicated". In the midst of Gem's introduction, Iain forms a romantic relationship with Lily Chao. After an initial bad start, the pair make their relationship official, just as Sam returns to the hospital. Lily's jealously over Iain and Sam's friendship leads to their break-up and Lily leaves for a research post. Stevenson thought Lily and Iain were one of the strongest pairings on the show.
In August 2018, the character is involved in a series of events that change his life forever. The story arc begins with Iain choosing to leave the scene of a call-out to treat Alicia Munroe. On the way to the hospital, he is forced to swerve the ambulance carrying himself, Alicia and Ruby Spark, leading to a large pile-up. A fuel tanker subsequently crashes and explodes injuring Sam, who later dies despite Iain's attempts to save her. Stevenson said the repercussions would go on for a long time, as Iain spirals into depression and eventually attempts to take his life. Stevenson commended the producers for allowing Iain's story to span 47 episodes of Casualty. In a special episode airing in April 2019, viewers follow Iain's return to work at the ambulance control centre. Stevenson thought it was important to show that it was not easy to move on from depression, and that it was just the beginning of his character's journey. In May, it was announced that Stevenson was to leave Casualty. He revealed that his departure was not planned, but happened "organically" as part of Iain's mental health storyline. Hazlegrove reprised her role as Dixie, who offers Iain a job with the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, and he departed on 21 September 2019.
The character returns during the thirty-fifth series on 10 April 2021. Stevenson's return was announced in December 2020, but it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stevenson said he wanted Iain to return with a better state of mind and asked producers to bring back Iain's "loveable" persona. Upon Iain's return, he immediately sets out to help his boss Jan Jenning, who is being forced to smuggle drugs into a prison for her son. Stevenson said Iain would stand by Jan. He also believed that Iain needed to get back on the paramedic team. Towards the end of 2021, producers cast Stevenson's wife Lauren Crace as Iain's HEMS partner and new love interest, Chrissie Danes.
Development
Characterisation
The character's biography on the official Casualty website noted that Iain's "mental scars" from his time in the army had not fully healed, and his behaviour was often affected by the "bad memories". It stated that Iain has a temper, "a strong sense of justice", and a "caring" side. The profile also said that Iain enjoys "a bit of banter and a pint in the pub." Holly Wade of the Radio Times described the character as "a little over-confident" and had to be "kept in line" by the hospital staff. Stevenson liked that his character had flaws and was not perfect. He commented "for all his fun traits, there's a darker, moodier side." Stevenson said Iain could be relied on to put a smile on someone's face with even the smallest comment or gesture. An Inside Soap writer observed that Iain was "clam and collected on the job".Stevenson found that getting out of the studio and filming on location was the best part of playing a paramedic. He enjoyed getting to "do all the fun stuff" like rescues and car crashes. He also said that the stunts were great to film.
Introduction and early storylines
Michael Stevenson was initially hired to play Corporal Iain Dean for one storyline. He was introduced as a former love interest of Sam Nicholls. He first appears in the April 2012 Red Button episode "Under Fire", which explores Sam's time in Afghanistan. The episode is set in Camp Bastion and explores Sam's time working on a Medical Emergency Response helicopter, alongside Iain, with whom she is having an affair. The episode was filmed at an army barracks in Cardiff. Iain makes his first appearance in Casualty during the twenty sixth series. He is called to give evidence during Sam's General Medical Council hearing for assaulting a patient. He explains that Sam has been greatly affected by the events in Afghanistan.The character returned in late August 2013 as a trainee paramedic. Iain is assigned to work with Jeff Collier and Dixie Dixon. Dixie thinks Iain will be trouble, while Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy observed that he was "extremely confident and may need to be kept in line." The crew are called out to a bus crash, where Iain rescues a woman shortly before the bus explodes. Later on, he is reprimanded by Jeff for not listening to instructions and putting a patient in danger. In the emergency department Sam is "shocked" to see Iain is now working at Holby. She questions whether he is there for her, as he appears to be jealous of her partner, Tom Kent.
Iain's working relationship with Jeff suffers when he disobeys direct orders again. The story begins with Iain and Jeff being called out to treat a stab victim, after which the ambulance becomes stuck on an embankment. Knowing the vehicle could tip over, Iain grabs Jeff and pulls him over to one side to help stabilise it, which leaves Jeff "furious", as he has put their patient's life at risk. Dixie asks Jeff to go easy on Iain, since he did save their lives, but Jeff believes he is a "liability".
In November 2013, the character was the focus of another Red Button special. Titled "Scars and Nightmares", the episode was broadcast to mark Remembrance Day and explored Iain's time in the army and his feelings for Sam. The plot sees Iain agree to visit former soldier and colleague Kenny Archer in hospital. Iain asks Sam to come with him and they are both surprised to find that Kenny is actually in a rehabilitation centre, as he is suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Kenny believes Sam and Iain are a couple, and tells her about some letters Iain wrote to her, which she did not receive. The show's executive producer Oliver Kent explained that the team wanted to return to Sam and Iain's history, as it had briefly been touched on, but not explored any further until that point.
Tom becomes jealous of Sam and Iain's friendship, especially after learning that they took a trip to Birmingham to visit a former army colleague. He confronts Sam about keeping the trip from him, and she explains that his jealous reaction is the reason why. After Tom asks Sam to think about whether she really wants to marry him, she and Iain go out drinking together and end up kissing. Stevenson later confirmed that Sam was the reason Iain came to Holby, saying "He was hoping to rekindle the relationship they'd had in Afghanistan. He thought she would be someone he could get close to, and could understand what he'd been through. But he discovered she had a boyfriend, Tom, who she ended up marrying."
PTSD and hostage situation
After Sam and Tom marry and leave Holby, Iain is left "festering in his own problems" and it emerges that he has posttraumatic stress disorder. Stevenson was pleased to be exploring his character's backstory further, saying: "I've been so lucky to come straight into the love story with Sam and then for this other storyline to develop. I always knew of the history of the character and that Iain has a secret from Afghanistan when I joined Casualty. But my character was never intended to be as involved as he's become." Iain and Big Mac are called to treat Beth Archer, the wife of Iain's former army colleague, Kenny. Beth has been burnt following an argument with Kenny, who she says has been greatly affected by his time in the army, putting a strain on their marriage. Beth asks Iain not to tell Kenny they have been talking, as he is paranoid. However, Kenny already suspects that she and Iain are having an affair.In a two-part episode, Iain and Kenny's history in Afghanistan is revealed. Stevenson explained that the men were the only survivors of a suicide attack. As Iain struggles to talk about what happened, because he thinks it is his fault, Kenny struggles to understand why they were the only ones to survive. Stevenson said the bomber was an Afghan boy that Iain had been training up, so he feels that he should have seen the attack coming. Kenny is "really cut up" and continues to think Beth and Iain are having an affair, because Iain cannot tell him that he is responsible for killing their friends. The storyline concludes with Kenny holding Iain and Big Mac hostage. Kenny comes to the ambulance station to confront Iain, but Big Mac refuses to tell him where Iain is. They get into a fight and Big Mac falls and hits his head. When Iain returns to the station, Kenny blocks the door and tries to force him into admitting that he is having an affair by refusing to let Big Mac go. Kenny is later arrested, while Big Mac recovers in the hospital.
Following the incident, Ian struggles to get back to normal, as he carries "a lot of guilt" about Afghanistan and Big Mac's injury. Stevenson said Iain initially feels that he "isn't strong enough" to open up to Big Mac, and does not really have anyone else to confide in. When his guilt starts affecting his work, Dixie suggests he does talk with Big Mac, who also served in the army and knows what is going on with Iain. Iain departed in the series 28 episode "The Lies We Tell", broadcast on 22 March 2014.