Casualty star William Beck has spoken about the emotional weight and dramatic possibilities of his character’s latest storyline, admitting that when he first learned about the twist, he questioned whether he was ready to play a father on screen. Beck, who portrays clinical lead Dr Dylan Keogh, believes the plot has “so much potential” and will push his character into deeply personal territory.

Beck has been a central presence in the BBC medical drama for almost 14 years, and Dylan Keogh has been through no shortage of personal battles, from obsessive-compulsive disorder to struggles with alcoholism. Now, the character faces one of the most life-altering revelations yet: discovering that Holby’s new trainee doctor, Matty Linklater, is his biological son.

The truth comes to light after Dylan secretly takes a DNA test, a decision that opens the door to a storyline rooted in regret, missed opportunities, and the shock of confronting a past he thought was long behind him. For Beck, the moment he was told about the plot twist sparked an immediate and very human reaction.

He admitted that his first thought was that he’d seen similar stories turn into “grandfather storylines” and that, on a personal level, he wasn’t ready to contemplate that stage of life. That hesitation, he explained, actually helped him connect more deeply with Dylan’s emotional state. Rather than feeling settled or reassured by the discovery, Dylan is thrown into a conflict between how young and unreal he still feels and the sheer strangeness of suddenly learning he has an adult son.

Beck believes that tension is at the heart of the storyline. Dylan isn’t simply processing the fact that he’s a father; he’s also being forced to confront his own mortality and the life he might have lived differently. There’s a sense of loss tied to the years he never had with Matty, and a painful awareness that he missed the chance to “do better” when it mattered most.

From Dylan’s perspective, Beck describes the revelation as a “massive faceplant” — the kind of moment where there’s no easy solution, only the need to get back up and move forward, even when the ground feels unsteady. It’s not a story about instant reconciliation or neat emotional closure, but about learning how to live with a truth that changes everything.

The storyline will also see Dylan revisiting what Beck describes as his “chaotic” past, as he tries to make sense of what being a father means at this stage of his life. Newcomer Aron Julius, who plays Matty, has already made an impression, and Beck has praised both the character and the direction of the plot, saying it offers rich opportunities for complex, layered storytelling.

Beyond the personal drama, the timing of this arc is significant for the show itself. Casualty, which has been running since 1986, is approaching its 40th anniversary in September. Beck has hinted that viewers can expect something special to mark the milestone, describing it as a “beautiful example” of the series stepping outside its usual boundaries.

With Dylan’s past catching up to him and his future suddenly looking very different, this storyline promises to be one of the most emotionally resonant chapters the character has faced — and one that could redefine his place in Holby for years to come.