Kirsty Clements

Kirsty Clements is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by Lucy Gaskell. She first appeared in the twenty-fourth series episode "Russian Endings", broadcast on 15 May 2010. Kirsty is a staff nurse in Holby City Hospital's emergency department (ED). Gaskell was invited to audition by show producers and was successful. She shadowed ED nurses at a local hospital as preparation for the role. Kirsty is characterised as a strong, independent and feisty nurse, who does the best for her patients. She develops close friendships with her colleagues, notably Adam Trueman (Tristan Gemmill), although Kirsty's brash personality also makes her clash with others. The character's backstory and home life was explored, with her husband, Warren Clements (Stephen Lord), and daughter, Nita Clements (Holly Earl), introduced. Kirsty is central to an issue-led domestic violence storyline, in which Warren abuses Kirsty. Gaskell wanted to raise awareness for the issue and portray several aspects of the storyline. She researched the story by speaking to domestic abuse victims. The story climaxes when Warren dies after a confrontation between him, Kirsty and Nita. Gaskell quit her role after a year of filming with the show and Kirsty departs in the twenty-fifth series episode "When You're Smiling", broadcast on 30 July 2011. Casting On 18 March 2010, it was announced that actress Lucy Gaskell had joined the show's cast as "fiery and vivacious mental health nurse" Kirsty Clements. Gaskell described the experience as "a great big whirlwind" and said the cast and crew were welcoming towards her. Series producer, Oliver Kent, expressed his delight at Gaskell's casting, commenting that she will be good for creating the character of Kirsty. Gaskell previously guest starred in Casualty sister show, Holby City, for one episode as a heavily pregnant woman. She recalled that she was required to do "a lot of pushing, screaming and throwing up". Belinda Campbell, the show's executive producer, requested that Gaskell audition for the role, which she did. At the audition, Gaskell was informed about the character's storylines and how producers wanted to handle the story, which encouraged to pursue the role. The following day, she was offered the job; Gaskell preferred the short wait between auditioning and being offered the role as she found it "the worst part of being an actress".