Western Daily Press from Bristol, Avon, England • 13

WESTERN DAILY PRESS SATURDAY SEPTEMBER Weekend SECTION TWO LEISURE TV GUIDE ON PAGES 16-17 Ash could become a casualty Dramatic events like the rail crash pictured left challenge the acting talents of Patrick Robinson (above) and Derek Thompson But rumours persist that Casualty may be turned into a twice weekly soap I Ywith with FRASER MASSEY One long-running story features him subjected to a racist attack The story revolves around the setting up in Holby the fictional town in which the series is set of a right wing bookshop Eacist and anti-racist pressure groups clash and end up in hospital Ash is ipon by right wing thugs as he leaves work He strikes out in response and finds himself charged with assault was disappointed when I saw that says Patrick just seems so obvious that because Ash is black there should be stories for him involving racism think there are much more interesting things they could be doing with the The family live in Stratford-on-Avon though Patrick also leases a flat in Bristol while filming Casualty live on thin he says money from Casualty is good and that is a factor worth considering whether when you have young mouths to feed I know got responsibilities so I be too self interested in my career Not that Patrick is short of work offers He has just finished playing Heathcliff in a theatre run of Wuthering Heights And when filming ends on this series of Casualty he is off to America to play Banquo on a theatre tour of Macbeth Meanwhile not been entirely happy with developments of story lines for Ash in the new series of Casualty rumour refuses to die are already toning it down for this said Patrick have made it a little more domestic The accidents so huge this time around are less of the train crashes and plane crashes They are making it more internal I think they are trying to make it more accessible to youngsters and maybe that is a move towards those rumours of them wanting to put it out in half-hour His decision to quit if it comes to that will not be one that Patrick takes lightly He and his wife Janis a former social jvorker have two small children Charlotte three and Jordan aged just 11 months CASUALTY star Patrick Robinson has warned that he will consider leaving the hit show if they turn it into a soap opera The Bristol based hospital series returns to the screen in a time (September 17) still in its original form of weekly 50 minute episodes But rumours persist that the BBC want to put it out twice a week in half hourly slots definitely have reservations about said Patrick who after four years playing Charge Nurse Martin Ashford known to every one as Ash is one of the most popular stars He is already one of just five familiar faces returning to the screen this time around from the last series Should he quit it could well hit the viewing figures of Casualty which with an audience of up to 17 million a week is one of the few drama hits of recent years But he is adamantly opposed to any plan to make the show a soap think it works as it he insists they turn it instead into half-hour episodes they will have to dilute it The stories be as But how realistic are his fears that this will happen? The BBC has always refused to confirm that their intention is to make Casualty a twice-weekly soap But the Why television presenter Anneka Rice may be facing her final challenge Page 14.