Jonathan Kerrigan, now 52 years old, has undergone a remarkable transformation in the decades since he first lit up our screens as Sam Colloby on Casualty. When he arrived on the BBC’s hit medical drama in 1996, fans could hardly take their eyes off him: a bleach-blond, sharp-featured nurse with a heart full of courage and a spirit that refused to be crushed. Jonathan’s path to Casualty was unexpected, having made his first on-screen appearance in the Chemical Brothers’ 1995 hit music video Life Is Sweet, but television soon claimed him as one of its brightest rising stars.

Sam Colloby wasn’t just another face in the crowded halls of Holby City’s emergency department — he became a character who broke boundaries and shattered expectations. As one of the first openly gay characters in the series, Sam’s storylines resonated deeply, giving audiences a glimpse into a reality rarely portrayed on prime-time TV at the time. But the writers refused to keep Sam’s life easy. His romantic entanglements carried all the complications and heartbreak of real life, including a shattering betrayal when he discovered that a female car crash victim he was treating had been having a secret affair with his boyfriend.

Viewers were hooked. Each week, Sam’s personal journey became more layered, more painful, more true to life. Jonathan brought so much empathy and fierce honesty to Sam that fans couldn’t help but rally around him, championing his strength in the face of prejudice and heartbreak. Yet Sam was far from just a tragic romantic figure. His storylines tested him in ways that would have broken a lesser character — and Jonathan was there, delivering powerful performance after powerful performance.

In one unforgettable plot, Sam helped expose a colleague’s horrific sexual assault, refusing to stay silent and risking his own position to make sure justice was done. In another terrifying moment, Sam suffered a life-threatening fall from a hospital balcony — a jaw-dropping twist that left viewers gasping and glued to their screens to see if he would survive. But Sam was a fighter, always. He came back swinging, determined to carry on with his work, refusing to let a single fall — no matter how brutal — end his mission to help others.

Perhaps one of his most heroic moments came in a storyline that still sends shivers down the spines of fans today. In the middle of a chaotic emergency, with a young girl struggling to breathe and no time to get her to an operating theatre, Sam stepped up. Without hesitation, he performed a daring emergency tracheotomy right there on the hospital floor, saving her life in a scene as nerve-shredding as it was inspiring.

For four adrenaline-fueled seasons, Jonathan embodied Sam Colloby with such raw emotion and moral courage that the character carved out a permanent place in Casualty history. But in 1999, after so many battles, Sam made the decision to leave Holby City behind and pursue a new path beyond the hospital’s walls. It was a bittersweet farewell for fans who had grown to love him — the brave, loyal, ever-vulnerable nurse with a gift for defying the odds.

Jonathan Kerrigan himself went on to a rich and diverse acting career, taking on new roles that showcased his impressive range and talent. Yet to many, he will forever be remembered as Sam, the bleach-blond hero who carried the burdens of a thousand tragedies yet still found the courage to stand up, time and again, for what was right.

Fast-forward 29 years, and Jonathan is almost unrecognisable to those who remember him as Sam. Gone is the boyish, peroxide-blond nurse; in his place stands a seasoned, thoughtful actor whose journey has been every bit as layered and compelling as the character he once portrayed. Time has given Jonathan a new gravity, a quiet confidence that seems to radiate through every recent photograph. The sparkle of mischief in his eyes might still be there, but it’s tempered with the experience of a man who has seen far more than his share of life’s unpredictable twists.

It’s a testament to Jonathan’s incredible presence on-screen that fans still talk about Sam Colloby with such affection, decades after his last appearance. Sam wasn’t just a soap character; he was a groundbreaking moment for representation, a lifeline to countless viewers who saw in him their own struggles and their own hope for better.

The brilliance of Jonathan’s acting lay in his ability to make Sam real — to take a fictional nurse and transform him into a flesh-and-blood human being with fears, flaws, and a lion’s heart. Audiences believed every heartbreak, every triumph, every moment of fierce defiance, because Jonathan played it all without artifice or hesitation.

When Sam walked away from Holby in 1999, it felt as if the hospital itself paused to catch its breath. So many patients had been saved by those skilled hands, so many colleagues inspired by his moral courage. It was the end of an era, but not the end of Sam’s impact.

Even now, Casualty fans can still remember precisely where they were when Sam performed that emergency tracheotomy, or when he crumpled after the balcony fall, or when he uncovered that sickening betrayal by his boyfriend and a patient. The scenes are etched in their memories — a testament to just how powerful Jonathan Kerrigan’s work was.

In many ways, Sam Colloby’s storylines helped redefine what medical drama could be. He proved that bravery wasn’t only found in battlefields or operating theatres, but in standing up for who you are, no matter how much the world tries to break you down. And Jonathan, with his fearless, committed performance, gave Sam a soul.

Nearly three decades later, as Jonathan embraces new projects and steps further away from the shadow of Holby, he remains an icon to the millions who watched his story unfold. It is a powerful reminder that great characters never truly leave us. They live on, in memory and in spirit, long after the final credits roll.

Jonathan Kerrigan might look very different now, but for everyone who was there during those late-90s years of Casualty, he will always be Sam Colloby — the nurse who refused to give up, who held a patient’s life in his hands and chose to fight, no matter the cost. And perhaps, that is the most inspiring legacy an actor could ever hope to leave behind.