Casualty’s Brenda Fricker played nurse Megan Roach in the BBC show and has been very open about her health struggles.
Megan Roach was brought to life by Dublin actress Brenda Fricker (Image: BBC)
Hit BBC stalwart Casualty has returned, holding its position as the world’s longest-running primetime medical drama.
The programme launched in 1986, featuring an original ensemble of 10 principal characters, including consultant Ewart Plimmer (portrayed by Bernard Gallagher) and senior house officer Baz Samuels (Julia Watson).
Among the main cast was state-enrolled nurse Megan Roach, brought to life by Dublin actress Brenda Fricker across 65 episodes. She departed the programme in 1990, explaining that her character had “lost” her “wonderful sense of humour”.
Fricker made a final return as Megan in August 2010, when the character took a fatal combination of drugs to end her life following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The 81 year old performer has been remarkably forthcoming about her private life, and in 2021 appeared on the Tommy Tiernan Show, where she discussed her lifelong struggle with severe depression and multiple hospital admissions.
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She revealed she had largely stepped away from acting for roughly a decade, explaining she wanted “a rest”.
When questioned about the state of the “inside of her head”, she disclosed: “I went to the doctor and he said I’m going to put you on stronger antidepressants, because I am a bit of a recluse.”
In 2024, she appeared in experimental documentary filmmaker Tadhg O’Sullivan’s debut fiction drama The Swallow. In a solo performance, she portrayed an unnamed elderly woman reflecting on her past.
In February 2026, it was revealed the actress was to receive the Freedom of the City of Dublin, with her name set to be inscribed on the Roll of Honorary Freedom of Dublin.
According to the Irish Independent, the accolade acknowledges “a lifetime of artistic contribution and the pride Fricker has brought to the capital and to Ireland”.
Dublin Lord Mayor Ray McAdam said: “Brenda’s Academy Award winning performance in ‘My Left Foot’ was a landmark moment for Irish acting and Irish cinema.
“But what makes her career so special is the body of work that followed, marked by honesty, depth and a rare ability to bring warmth and toughness in the same breath.
“Her performances have helped tell Irish stories and have become part of family life across generations.”
The Oscar-winning actress has spoken candidly about her health in recent times, and in 2025 she delivered a heartbreaking update, telling The Guardian: “I’m having a dreadful death.”
The Home Alone 2 star continued: “I’ve never known tiredness ever in my life. Weary. Will I ever get up again? I’m just dying, every day in pain.”
In a separate interview for Irish radio station RTE1, she told host Brendan O’Connor: “I can’t remember not wanting to die.” Her memoir, She Died Young: A Life in Fragments, chronicles some distressing episodes from her life, including self-harm and battling depression.
Casualty airs on Saturdays on BBC One at 8.45pm
