Caleb "Cal" Knight is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by actor Richard Winsor. He first appeared in the series twenty-eight episode "Brothers at Arms", broadcast on 18 January 2014. Winsor had previously auditioned for a role in Casualty's spin-off show Holby City. Producers were impressed and recalled him to read for the part of Cal. Winsor's casting was announced alongside George Rainsford who was hired to play Cal's brother Ethan Hardy. The pair had to pass a screen test together as producers were looking for a strong sibling chemistry. Cal's role in the show is a Specialist registrar in emergency medicine. He was originally introduced as a locum. The medic is played as a lothario and womaniser type character. He can manipulate those around him with charm to better his career. Writers gave Cal a backstory detailing the difficult relationship with his father and brother. Despite having the same parents Cal and Ethan had different upbringings, which sets up a sibling rivalry. Their relationship has been important in the development of both characters. Executive producer Oliver Kent has called the character consistent because when faced with trauma, Cal gets drunk, sleeps with women and makes a fool of himself.
The character has been subject to stories including a relationship with Taylor Ashbie (Sarah Jayne Dunn). She is later exposed as a con artist and steals Ethan's inheritance money. In 2015, the show explored a story focusing on Cal and Ethan's family history. The storyline was pitched by Casualty's co-creator Paul Unwin. It features Cal becoming a father to Matilda and making an effort to change his life. He learns that she is not his biological daughter and gives her up. He then discovers that he was adopted and locates his biological mother Emilie Groome (Carol Royle). She has Huntington's disease and fears he has inherited the disease. He then has to cope with Emilie's eventual death. Winsor made his final appearance as Cal, following his on-screen death, in the series thirty-one episode "Reap the Whirlwind − Part Two", broadcast on 29 April 2017. He reprised the role for a guest stint in 2021. The character was well received by television drama critics, and Winsor received a nomination for a Best Drama Star award for his portrayal of Cal.
Casting On 4 September 2013 it was announced that Richard Winsor had been cast in the role of Cal. George Rainsford was cast to play Cal's brother Ethan Hardy and it was revealed that both characters would arrive to fill job vacancies at Holby City hospital. Casting directors oversaw an extremely thorough and careful audition process when searching for actors. They envisioned a duo who could convey a testing but loving relationship and made it their objective to find it. Winsor had previously auditioned for a role in Casualty's spin-off show Holby City in 2012. He undertook screen tests for the role but was unsuccessful. Producers were impressed with his performance and notified him that they wanted to work with him again. Casualty production invited Winsor to audition and read for both Cal and Ethan. Winsor was introduced to Rainsford and they carried out a screen test audition. This was to check their suitability for the sibling relationship Casualty needed. They acted out scenes in medical costume and make-up. Rainsford has spoken of an instant on-screen chemistry the pair struck-up.
The BBC described Cal as a "pure adrenaline junkie" in comparison to the "studious witty whizz kid" Ethan. Writers used the arrival of the characters to have a "big impact" on the dynamic within the emergency department featured in the show. Casualty's executive producer Oliver Kent stated that "the arrival of Ethan and Caleb will instantly change the dynamic of the ED. Whilst very different characters, one thing they will have in common is an ability to charm, so expect sparks to fly." The character made his first on-screen appearance in the series twenty-eight episode "Brothers at Arms", which was broadcast on 18 January 2014.
Development
Characterisation and introduction
Caleb, commonly referred to by his nickname "Cal", is characterised as a confident and self-assured man with who is played as irresistible to women. A writer from BBC Online described "a sense of a darker, emotionally damaged soul underneath" which women are attracted to. They added "Cal exudes confidence to get what he wants, but, occasionally, his bravado slips and he has to dig a little deeper to find out who he really is." Work wise Cal is an instinctive doctor practising within a busy emergency department. He is unafraid to break rules to gain an advantage. With a liking of the party lifestyle he initially failed medical school and had to resit his exams. This made him behind in career progress to his brother Ethan.
Winsor described the medic as "a bit of lothario" who likes women. He is a "brilliant doctor" who is "living the dream". Cal is "instinctive" in his approach to medicine. He has much success with women as soon as he arrives. He also shares "sexual flirtations" with other characters. Cal thrives in an adrenaline-fuelled situation and writers tend to include him on treatment teams following big accidents. He is able to take control of the hospital chaos caused by major medical incidents. Winsor said that his character also likes to control his surroundings. "He knows what he wants and he goes for it, and that sometimes means manipulating the situations around him." He has natural charm and he uses it to his own advantage. But Winsor stressed that Cal does not have malicious intent when he takes advantage to progress in his career. In one early scene the character is shown with his top off. Winsor that the scene conveyed an introduction to Cal, a glimpse of his persona. He added "it's like they're saying: here we go, here's a hot new doctor. And he's got to get into the shower, obviously! It's just a given." While interviewed for the Retford Times Winsor discussed Cal's reputation as a womaniser. He believed that nobody is one-dimensional and he made an effort to play Cal as much more than an archetypal lothario. He added that the character "has insecurities about his family and his job. He makes bad decisions but they always seem to come out of care and love."
Writers gave Cal a dramatic introduction involving a location stunt away from the hospital set. Cal saves a woman's life when she is involved in a car accident. The limousine is trapped hanging over the edge of a bridge. He enters the vehicle and performs a medical procedure before rescuing his patient. The stunt was the first scenes Winsor filmed with the show. He recalled the experience as "fantastic", climbing into the limousine and acting out a medical procedure he tried to learn fifteen minutes before the cameras began recording. The interior shots were filmed in a studio with the limousine suspended fifteen feet in the air. There was rocking and tilting movement effects added to add to the realism. Winsor told David Brown of Radio Times that "I had no choice but to be convincing." When they filmed the scenes members of the public became concerned that there had been a major car crash on the bridge, unaware it was a filming session.
Sibling rivalry Cal's relationship with his brother has been a focal point of Casualty storylines. Ethan has often felt like he lives in Cal's shadow despite being in the same profession. He has provided Ethan with a "lifetime of frustration" and has to continually be there for Cal to solve his problems. Winsor told Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy that "sparks fly between them as they're always trying to get one over on each other!" The two brothers are completely different personality wise and in their professional approach. The actor told Brown that Cal and Ethan are both "brilliant" at their jobs but for different reasons. Ethan is played as a doctor who abides by the rules. Cal is more "instinctive" to approach cases his own way. The actor believes that this is a considerable factor that causes arguments between them.
But the pair have a backstory in which their relationship is equally as difficult. Winsor stated "well, they're certainly not on the same page. There's a lot of animosity between them from years back." They had different upbringings despite sharing the same parents. Cal had to achieve by himself because he had fallen out with his father. He has been described as a "very high-powered lothario ED doctor" much like Cal. He had traits of idiocy which caused him and Cal to argue. He wanted to leave home to escape his father and left at a young age. From there Cal had to fund his own education by working jobs. But Ethan remained at home and was exposed to the "silver spoon" upbringing more so than Cal. Winsor believes this is the cause of the resent his character feels towards Ethan. But blames Cal, adding "there's a slight ego with Cal as he's done it all himself." Other problems for the pair occur due to their involvement with others characters. Cal's love interests cause feuding between the two. But if need be the siblingS will defend each other should they be placed in a certain scenarios. He concluded that "most of the time, though, we wind each other up the wrong way." The two characters appear through a period of stories in which they are estranged. Ethan disowns Cal when he steals his inheritance money. Producers eventually decided to unite the characters to accommodate new stories.
Relationship with Taylor Ashbie
Producers created a romance storyline for Cal alongside guest character Taylor Ashbie (Sarah Jayne Dunn). The two actors had previously worked alongside each other on the soap opera Hollyoaks. She is a patient who arrives at the hospital because she has breathing difficulties. Taylor herself is a medic and knows that she needs treatment. Soon after her arrival she gains Cal's attention and he begins involving himself in her treatment despite it being Zoe Hanna's (Sunetra Sarker) case. But Cal ends up humiliated when "feisty" Taylor criticises Cal's unprofessional behaviour. Dunn told a reporter from Inside Soap that the hospital is an inappropriate place to try and start romances. Taylor just wants to be treated and discharged in the minimal amount of time. Dunn added that it was the last thing her character wanted while she was unwell. But Taylor later changes her mind and arranges to keep in contact with Cal.
Taylor turns out to be a con woman after money. She claims to need funds for a charitable act. She manages to convince Cal to supply her with the money. But he takes Ethan's fifteen-thousand pound inheritance and agrees to loan it to her. She shocks Cal by stealing the money and leaving the area. Taylor's deception leaves Cal heart-broken. Executive producer Oliver Kent later announced that Dunn would reprise her role as Taylor again and appear in late 2015.
Fatherhood and adoption discovery Casualty producer Erika Hossington announced a new story for Cal and Ethan which focuses on their family history and played out in the final quarter of 2015. She told Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy that "we've been planning this for a year - it's a very in-depth story and it will strike at the heart of their sibling relationship." Casualty's co-creator Paul Unwin pitched the storyline and the production team "loved" the idea. The plot formed Casualty's "big Christmas storyline".