Sam Nicholls

Sam Nicholls

Sam Nicholls is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by Charlotte Salt. She first appeared in the twenty-sixth series episode "Mea Culpa", broadcast on 15 October 2011. Sam is a former major in the Royal Army Medical Corps, who joined the Holby City Hospital Emergency Department on a nine-month secondment, later becoming a Specialty registrar in emergency medicine. Salt was contracted for a year and she spoke with army medics to help her prepare for the role. Sam is portrayed as being a fearless, headstrong, competitive "action girl". Salt said Sam is also haunted by her time in Afghanistan. A few months after her arrival, it emerges that Sam is married to fellow ED doctor Dylan Keogh (William Beck). The estranged couple struggle to stay professional, especially when Sam files for divorce. A storyline arc focusing on whether Sam used excessive force on a patient began in early 2012. A formal complaint is made against Sam, resulting in a General Medical Council hearing. The character's backstory is also explored further in a special Red Button episode set in Afghanistan. Sam was later given a love interest in Tom Kent (Oliver Coleman). The couple's relationship is tested by her friendship with Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson), but they later marry and make their last appearances in twenty-eighth series episode "Away in a Manger", which aired on 14 December 2013. On 25 April 2017, it was announced that Salt had reprised her role as Sam. Salt said she was "thrilled" to return and was excited about telling Sam's story once again. Sam returned on 23 September 2017, as a paramedic. During her second stint, Sam has a brief relationship with nurse Jacob Masters (Charles Venn). When Salt wanted to leave the show once more, producers decided to kill her character off, and Sam's final scenes aired in episode 1094, broadcast on 18 August 2018. Sam was well received by critics and viewers.

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