Casualty is dream come true for Chickerell's Imogen Gray (From Dorset Echo)

Casualty is dream come true for Chickerell's Imogen Gray

9:53am Wednesday 3rd February 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

A TRIP to Casualty might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but for a Chickerell schoolgirl it was a dream come true when she was cast in the BBC programme.

Budding actress Imogen Gray, 10, who has worked with local theatre arts school Stagecoach Dorch-ester since the age of six, auditioned for the part in October. Five days of filming on the set in Bristol followed and the episode will be shown on Saturday.

For Imogen, her TV debut couldn’t have been more enjoyable. “It’s my first speaking role on TV and there was a lot to learn,” she said.

“I play a girl called Sally who’s been disfigured by a rottweiler, so the make-up took a while to get right each day.

“It was pretty gruesome to look at and it was hard to adjust to not being able to use all my facial muscles.”

Saturday’s storyline deals with the fall-out from her savaging, which took place a year ago, including her parents’ guilt and the issues affecting her father who snaps one day and attacks the owner of the dog with a meat cleaver.

Both men end up in the casualty unit, as do Imogen and her mother and when they finally all meet up, the plot reaches boiling point.

Imogen’s mother, Lis said: “We are absolutely thrilled for Imogen that she has had this chance – a lot of huge stars have appeared on Casualty, so she is in good company.

“It is a difficult role for her to play, but when they were casting they were looking for someone who could handle the heightened emotions of the episode and be able to cope with how she looked in stage make-up.”

Dorchester Stagecoach principal Sam Fraser said: “Imogen is a very able performer and has a real passion for what she does. She is already very driven, knows what her ambition is and is working hard to achieve that.

“She has already been up for auditions for television and film and has been seen by some of the most important children’s casting agents who have said they like her work. So it is nice for her to now have this break-through opportunity.”

In spite of the long days of filming, the hours in make-up and the effort of learning lines, Imogen is clear about her future.

“I’d love to be a professional actor,” she said. “Working with the Casualty cast, who were so friendly, was great fun. Being on set is the best feeling and it has made me determined to succeed!”

* Casualty is on BBC1 on Saturday at 8.50pm.