Casualty star Olivia D'Lima has opened up about the changes that were made to her character Fenisha Khatri's storyline, so that she'd be a better fit for the role.
Introduced in March 2020, Fenisha was a paramedic who worked for the Holby Ambulance Service, prior to her tragic onscreen death in July 2021. In the explosive series finale, she and Lev Malinovsky died following a train track accident, which left Fenisha's partner Ethan devastated.
While appearing on Making My Way podcast, which is hosted by former Casualty star Adele James, D'Lima recalled how she'd originally auditioned for a guest stint on the BBC medical drama, before being contacted about trying out for Fenisha instead.
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"They'd been like, 'Oh, we loved her, just not for this, but we'll keep her in mind,' And you know, you hear that a lot," she explained. "But then I get this breakdown and my agent was like, 'Oh yeah, they kept you in mind, and they want to see you for a regular', and she was in her 30s, which is not me, and has tattoos and loads of piercings and all this. I was like, 'Errr'.
"My agent said, 'Remember, they've met you. They've said not to worry about that stuff.' So I went in thinking that I wasn't going to get it," D'Lima remembered.
"I think there are two ways of being relaxed in the room; you're either like, 'I can do this with my eyes closed, because this is meant for me' or 'Well, I'm not going to get this anyway.' I learnt a big lesson about going in and not putting any pressure on yourself."
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"I was like, 'I'll just go in and do my version and either they buy it or they don't. And obviously, they bought it! It's best to stay true to yourself because if there is a role that comes up in the future that you're perfect for, they will bear you in mind."
Elsewhere in the interview, D'Lima also talked about her struggles with Fenisha's exit, and how "weird" those weeks after filming her final scenes were for her.
"When people don't know you've left, your personal life feels different, you're just going on with your business," she said. "Then when I came off-air, it was straight onto the NTAs, it extended it, so it didn't feel like a sudden adjustment. That kept me going until September, but after that period, it was so quiet. Not working, not auditioning, it was bizarre. It forced me to learn how to be fine with preparing."
Casualty airs on Saturdays on BBC One.
