| Marty Kirkby | |
|---|---|
| Casualty character | |
 Shaheen Jafargholi as Marty Kirkby | |
| First appearance | Episode 1106 17 November 2018 |
| Last appearance | "The Straw" 18 March 2023 |
| Portrayed by | Shaheen Jafargholi |
| Spinoff(s) | Holby City (2019, 2020) |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Staff nurse (prev. Student nurse) |
| Family |
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| Significant other |
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Marty Kirkby is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, portrayed by actor Shaheen Jafargholi. He first appears in the thirteenth episode of the thirty-fourth series, first broadcast on 17 November 2018. Jafargholi's casting was announced on 1 August 2018 and he was invited to read for the role shortly after finishing filming on EastEnders. Marty is characterised as a young and fashionable student nurse with a "razor sharp wit". He is a confident nurse who has a blunt bedside manner and excellent clinical skills.
Marty is introduced alongside fellow student nurse Jade Lovall (Gabriella Leon) and writers paired them as a double act tackling their final university placement in the emergency department (ED). Their "frenemies" relationship was used as light relief from the show's serious stories. Marty's stories include him lying to his boyfriend about being a single father and coming out to his parents. A negative response from his father sent Marty on a lonely "path of self-destruction", where he starts partying and having casual sex with strangers. Writers used the story to challenge his friendship with Jade, which Jafargholi disliked. His casual sex leads to him being the subject of racism and learning he may have contracted HIV.
The character was given a family link to Kian Madani (Ramin Karimloo), a character on the show's spin-off series Holby City. Producers chose to explore their relationship and Marty appears in an episode of the show's twenty-second series. The character departed the serial in the thirty-seventh series episode "The Straw", first broadcast on 18 March 2023. Television critics and viewers alike spoke positively about the character, with Helen Daly from the Radio Times calling him her "favourite nurse". Marty's friendship with Jade received a more mixed response; Sue Haasler of the Metro thought they made "an excellent double act" but disliked them being placed at odds. His partying story garnered an emotive response from critics, but a same-sex kiss featuring the character received 111 complaints.