Casualty’s William Beck says Dylan ‘needs to develop skin’ as he’s questioned by police

star William Beck has admitted his character Dylan Keogh needs to “develop a skin” as his world crumbles around him in the aftermath of his mentee Jodie Whyte’s actions in the long running medical drama.

After she made a careless throwaway comment to a grieving father Aaron Bayliss (played by Jack Wilkinson) he now believes Dylan killed his pregnant wife, Thea, and has reported him for it.

Speaking exclusively to William reflected on Dylan’s current situation, which has seen him arrested for medical manslaughter. In the latest episode (February 8) he is subjected to an intense interrogation by detective Simon Bell (Philip Hill-Pearson).

“He knows he’s done nothing wrong, so this is the last thing he expects. I think he’s begun to realise that the way he’s been trying to do it (live his life and do his job) hasn’t been working. He’s been trying to control events, and I think he would realise there’s not very much point trying to do that.

“He needs to be made stronger by (what’s happened). He needs to develop a skin,” he said.

In typical Dylan fashion he refuses to toe the line and simply answer the questions and demands to be charged or released which leads to the police holding him for 24 hours.

To add to his agony his girlfriend Sophia Peters’ is waiting for him to discuss her pregnancy. His reaction to the news was less than enthusiastic and due to his arrest he is a no show leaving her feeling abandoned leading to devastating consequences.

Speaking about the prospect of fatherhood for Dylan he said: “I think he probably would have viewed the prospect of being a dad as of being out of reach and there’s kind of a melancholy about it for him.

“On top of that, he’s obviously got a hugely troubled relationship with his own dad. Dylan, being Dylan, he would have wanted to have remedied that or or something (before having a child).

“So I think in his response to being told (she was pregnant was) a triptych of reactions. There’s the one that says, ‘Really?’ There’s one that says – very practically – ‘Is it mine?’ And then there’s one that’s kind of, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing’.

“Of course, Sophia responds to what she thinks she sees, and I think that’s so true to life. People who have to deal with news like that or an event like that before they’re expecting it. It’s so easy for that communication to break down,” he said.

While his character is going through turmoil William admits he is enjoying playing the emotional storyline. It’s always kind of fun to find those bits (in the character).

“It’s difficult, because they’re difficult to express, but there’s always a bit (in the script) somewhere where he just does something and I’m not expecting it,” he said.