Poor old Josh hasn't had an easy time of it at Holby. But what's the toughest aspect of Casualty for you?

It'll sound really boring, but probably the biggest snag with Casualty – brilliant job though it is – is the massive commute for me personally. The programme is shot in Bristol, which is basically what Holby itself is modelled on, but my family live in the Pennines so I have to go back and forth every weekend.

It means I don't spend as much time with my family as I'd like, and I'm reluctant to move everyone down to Bristol as I rather love the Pennines. I guess I'm a country man at heart, and love the way you can get away from it all in the peace and serenity of the place. Yes, I told you it would sound boring (!!)

How did you get into acting?

Well I used to be a schoolteacher, otherwise known as a "proper, steady job". The trouble is, I always wanted to be an actor and the urge never left me, despite the reliability of a regular pay cheque. So eventually I thought, "it's time to make a go of this and see what happens."

My mum was appalled, as parents will be when you tell them you're chucking in a decent career to become a struggling actor. I ended up training at a Liverpool theatre, did odd jobs to get by, and eventually found work on shows like Blake's 7 and Coronation Street.

Did any one person inspire Josh?

Actually Josh was originally modelled on a real chap by the name of Clive Addrell. He's a paramedic who has helped check the accuracy of the Casualty scripts for the paramedic scenes, and his resilience, his determination to help people through thick and thin, in often terrifying situations, fed into the Josh character.

Incidentally, speaking of real life inspirations, the character of Charlie was also based on a real charge nurse named Peter, who advised on the writing of the first series. Apparently he was worried we'd actually overdone it on the realism, and that people would be petrified of the NHS after watching the show. I wonder what he makes of it now, all these years later.

Have you personally had to do a lot of research to play Josh?

Well, the whole cast are carefully scrutinised and advised by doctors and nurses who check everything for realism – from how we handle syringes to how we walk along corridors. But on top of this, I personally spend a good deal of time with real paramedics, often going on call-outs with them and gazing in awe at the tremendous things they can do under pressure. I certainly could never do anything like this for real.

And funnily enough, my presence actually helps sometimes as some patients are so fascinated to see someone from Casualty turn up that it takes their mind off their painful predicament.

Is it true you had your own very nasty Casualty moment in real life?

Oh I can never forget it. It was back when I was 17, and I was involved in a car smash at the Lake District which resulted in my having 30 stitches to my face.

It was mostly around my eyes and I almost lost my sight in fact. It was 2am when they rushed me to hospital but despite the awful hour I had an amazing doctor whose expertise ensured I don't now have a face that looks like Picasso drew it.