Big Mac Character Page

Words to sum up Big Mac...

Grumpy, miserable, lazy, hypochondriac, misanthropic

In a nutshell...

Big Mac is lonely, vulnerable and hates himself. He spends his days loathing the world and his nights gorging on comfort food, escaping into James Bond films. The emergency department fuels his hypochondria and his belief that he knows more than the doctors about illnesses. He often inappropriately diagnoses patients, predicting doom.

Background...

Big Mac was born to a shy and profoundly deaf mother, and a father who left when he was five years old. As a result, Big Mac's mother clung to her son. She plied him with food, computer games, all the home comforts he could want - ensuring he never really wanted to leave the house. He and his mother would sign to each other and without much of a social life, Big Mac became naturally laconic.

He did attempt to form a life for himself by joining the Army, but even working as a cook was too much for him. His fear of being shot at took over, and Big Mac accepted he was simply a coward. He returned home to his mother, and lived with her until the end. She suffered a long and drawn out cancer (that she refused to acknowledge before it was too late), and he spent much time with her in hospital. This is partly why he feels comfortable working in one. It is also the root of his hypochondria: if his mother had only taken her symptoms seriously, she might still be alive...

Love life...

Big Mac needs someone to love him and then, maybe, he'll begin to love himself. He had a crush on Kelsey, but now that she has gone who knows what the future holds for Big Mac...

Defining moments...

• Saving Tess from a psychotic agency nurse
• Being Kelsey's internet date
• Owning up to Kelsey that he was her secret soldier
• Fleeing in terror when kids broke into his Farmead flat brandishing a gun
• Taking on the anti-social behaviour on Farmead by becoming a vigilante

Fascinating facts...

• Charles has been an actor with the English Shakespeare Company

What's Charles been in?

• He has appeared in Casualty three times (1995, 1999 and 2003)
• Charles played Dennis, Janice Battersby's ill-fated lover, in Corrie from 2001-2002
• He played Gary Alcock, a disturbed chef, in drama The Lakes in 1999