Casualty hunk Charles Venn, 51, talks becoming a grandfather in his forties

Charles Venn stars in Casualty as Jacob Masters, who has just been awarded custody of his grandsonGet daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeWith heroic rescues, explosions and fights, actor Charles Venn loves playing action man paramedic Jacob Masters because it gives him chance to flex more than just his action muscles. Switching his job from nurse to paramedic has given the character of Jacob a whole new lease of life, and Charles couldn’t be happier with all the stunts he gets to do. “All this time at the gym is for a reason!” laughs Charles, 51. “I keep telling them, bring them all my way, I’ll take them all. “I like the fact you get to roll your sleeves up first responding,” he continues. “Having to jump into an apartment that is on fire and helping someone on the brink of death, pulling them out of danger – I love all that.”

Charles Venn is best known for playing Jacob Masters on Casualty
(Image: BBC/Alistair Heap)

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In the current Casualty storyline, Storm Damage, Jacob has taken on the much more surprising role of grandfather. It started when a baby boy was left outside the Emergency Department, and the staff fought to save his life. In a shocking twist, Jacob received a message from his son, Blake, telling him that he has left his son Carter outside the hospital. Jacob has since been awarded guardianship of his grandson and is also trying to find Blake, who is missing. “Of course Jacob takes on the role of guardian, as difficult as that is to do,” explains Charles. “But it’s better than Carter being taken into care. So Jacob’s having to juggle looking after him along with his job – luckily he’s got lovely Jan [Di Botcher] to help him, otherwise there would be no way he could do that. “In the midst of that, he’s looking for Blake. As a father, the thought of my son out there and I don’t know where he is, it’s not right. Blake has a history with narcotics too, so it’s stressful.”

Jacob is awarded guardianship of his grandson Carter on Casualty
(Image: BBC STUDIOS)

But being an on-screen grandparent hasn’t been too much of an adjustment for Charles. “I am a grandad in real life,” he reveals. “My beautiful daughter has been blessed with two children. They call me ‘Pops’, my daughter tells me I’m too young to be called Grandad.” Charles has been in the BBC drama for nearly a decade, but Jacob has only been a paramedic since last year. The death of his fellow nurse, Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson), left Jacob bereft and he ended up quitting his role as clinical nurse manager to join the ambulance crew. “Jacob’s on a new journey now he’s a paramedic,” says Charles. “And working with Di, Michael [Stevenson, who plays Iain Dean] and Milo [Clarke, Teddy Gowan] is wicked. Sometimes people say we have too much fun! Michael and I are always cracking jokes and it helps because we do have long days.” Jacob has his hands full with his new grandson, but something missing from his life at the moment is romance. However there’s only one woman who Charles believes could sweep Jacob off his feet.

Charles reveals that Jacob is missing romance from his life
(Image: BBC STUDIOS)

“It’s Connie [Beauchamp, played by Amanda Mealing],” he says. “We all saw Jacob fall in love with Connie, when he became more dignified and decent, and a leader. They had a roller-coaster of a relationship and went through a lot, but to me, their love was a constant. And I know Connie is in America at the moment, but she’s been gone and come back before. She was the love of Jacob’s life.” Before joining the cast of Casualty, Charles was already a familiar face to BBC viewers having played Ray Dixon in EastEnders for more than a year. He left Albert Square broken-hearted when Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) decided not to leave with him, but happily Charles and Tameka remain good friends in real life. “I’m still in touch with Tameka,” confirms Charles. “We meet up from time to time and she’s still her crazy self. I often tell her, ‘Remember when I went in the back of a taxi? I might come back.’ She’s still holding the torch at EastEnders.”

Charles – who played Ray Dixon on EastEnders – says that he’s still in touch with his co-star Tameka Empson
(Image: BBC/Kieron McCarron)

And Charles can’t seem to get enough of television – not only is he a regular on Casualty, but he’s also creating his own content. He’s about to release his first short film called How To Navigate Being A Monster – and he has some of his Casualty co-stars helping him out too. “The wonderful Milo plays the lead journalist and Anna [Chell, Jodie Whyte], plays Zoe, a fellow journalist, Di is also in it. “I’ve always wanted to create my own piece, so I decided to produce, direct, write and star in it. In a nutshell, it’s about a journalist who bags an interview with an active serial killer. I’ve always been a horror movie fan, I love psychological thrillers and suspense. Filmmaking is something I wanted to do, but wasn’t brave enough until now.” Casualty airs Saturday nights at 8:25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnCasualtyEastEndersDramaKim Fox

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