| Ethan Hardy | |
|---|---|
| Casualty character | |
 George Rainsford as Ethan Hardy | |
| First appearance | "Bad Timing" 11 January 2014 |
| Last appearance | "Fight or Flight" 4 February 2023 |
| Portrayed by | George Rainsford |
| spinoff(s) | On Call (2015) Holby City (2016, 2018, 2021) |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation |
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| Family |
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| Significant other |
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| Children | Bodhi Khatri (son) |
Ethan Hardy is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by actor George Rainsford. He first appeared in the series twenty-eight episode "Bad Timing", broadcast on 11 January 2014. Rainsford's casting was announced alongside Richard Winsor who had been hired to play Ethan's brother Caleb Knight. The pair were described by the show's executive producer Oliver Kent as completely different characters who would change the dynamic on Casualty. Ethan is a Specialist registrar in emergency medicine and is an excellent medic who had worked hard to achieve his position in the profession. He is characterised as a shy, socially awkward person with a serious and attentive attitude. Throughout his inclusion in the show Ethan has shared an on-screen friendship with like minded Lily Chao (Crystal Yu). He has had romantic stories alongside the character Honey Wright (Chelsee Healey). Writers developed Ethan's relationship with his brother Cal into a sibling rivalry. This has provided both characters with dramatic stories.
The character has played a centric role in a special themed episode titled, "Holby Sin City". In the episode Ethan is depicted trying to solve a murder mystery. In 2015, the show explored a story focusing on Ethan and Cal's family history. The storyline was pitched by Casualty's co-creator Paul Unwin. It features Ethan learning that he is adopted, meeting his biological mother Emilie Groome (Carol Royle) who suffers from Huntington's disease and later discovering he has inherited the disease. Writers created more romance for Ethan with Cal's girlfriend Alicia Munroe (Chelsea Halfpenny), their affair causes a sibling feud. When Winsor departed the show in 2017, Cal was murdered by Scott Ellisson (Will Austin). Writers used the incident to create a story of revenge and unethical behaviour to coincide with Ethan's grief. Ethan's morals were permanently compromised when he allows Scott to die under the hospital's care. Writers continued to portray Ethan as unethical through romance stories with his patients Leigh-Anne Carr (Cassie Bradley) and Effie Laurence (Abigail Hardingham). In 2019, producers gave Rainsford a posttraumatic stress disorder story to portray. Ethan is involved in an explosion which kills a colleague. Survivor's guilt and stress lead Ethan into yet more unethical behaviour.
Other stories include Ethan being involved in a mini-bus crash, being promoted to clinical lead and becoming disillusioned with the NHS system for over-working staff. He developed a romance with paramedic Fenisha Khatri (Olivia D'Lima), who gave birth to their son Bodhi. Ethan's response to grief was explored again when Fenisha died on their wedding day and Ethan struggled with whether to care for Bodhi or leave him with Fenisha's parents.
For his portrayal of Ethan, Rainsford won "Best Drama Star" at the 2017 Inside Soap awards. Ethan has generally been well received by critics of the genre. In 2020, Emma Bullimore from the Radio Times stated that Ethan had become one of the show's best characters from the show's entire duration; Robert Hiley from What's on TV branded Ethan a "brilliant character".
In November 2022, it was confirmed that Ethan Hardy would be leaving Casualty, with actor Rainsford leaving the role after nine years on the program. Ethan departed on 4 February 2023 in the episode "Fight or Flight".[1]
- ^ Lindsay, Duncan (25 November 2022). "Casualty boss Jon Sen reveals huge format change to show, big spoilers and addresses cast exits". Metro Soaps. Metro UK. Retrieved 31 October 2022.