CASUALTY | BBC1 SATURDAY
AS JACOB STRUGGLES WITH GRANDADHOOD, CHARLES VENN IS LOVING HIS CHARACTER’S LATEST DRAMA…
Casualty star Charles Venn makes no bones about the strain his character is under at the moment, as Jacob works gruelling shifts as a paramedic, while raising his baby grandson, Carter. “He’s got bags under his eyes as big as Sainsbury’s!” the actor, himself a dad of four and grandad of two, laughs. But there are few jokes for Jacob this week, as the creche he relies on express their concerns about Carter, who was abandoned by Jacob’s son Blake outside the emergency ward.
As Charles joins us for a chat about Jacob’s situation, he tells us he hopes that the doting grandaddy can find the work/life balance he needs…
Hi, Charles! Jacob’s grandad duties were foisted upon him rather suddenly – how did you feel when you found out?
I was surprised, I must admit. I have the pleasure of being a grandad twice now, but when they mentioned the storyline to me, it threw me! I wanted to know what was happening with Blake and when they explained I thought, ‘Oh, great, great story’. So I was ready for the challenge ahead.
And what about Jacob – how is he feeling about his new role?
There’s been an immediate bond from the first day he laid eyes on Carter – it’s instant love. It’s that feeling I felt when I had my first child. Everything changed overnight; the sudden realisation this isn’t about me anymore. He thinks, ‘This is my baby grandson, and he’s defenceless. He needs to be protected and I’m going to do everything in my power’. It even makes me emotional now, as a father. It was a shock when Blake came into his life, and this is even more unusual, to have your son abandon your grandson.
Does this feel like a second chance for Jacob, as he wasn’t around when Blake grew up?
That’s exactly what it is; he’s thinking he gets a second stab at this. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t there for Blake, he 100 per cent would have been there. So this is like a second go – he’s thinking, ‘I’m just gonna have to make this work and I ain’t letting him down’.
But how does that balance with his work – being a paramedic is a gruelling job?
I can assure you there will be many sleepless nights and much disgruntlement from Jacob, as he’s just knackered. The poor baby is very much unsettled because babies need stability. A baby needs consistency, like seeing a particular face that they can attach to all the time. He’s seeing his grandpa but he’
