George Rainsford (born 31 July 1982) is a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Jimmy Wilson in the

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' and Ethan Hardy in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', for which he has been nominated for a Best Actor award in the 2017 TV Choice Awards.

Early life

Rainsford was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, West Yorkshire. He attended

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

Repton Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 census was 2,707, increasing to 2 ...

, Derbyshire, where he became interested in drama. Whilst reading for a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in drama at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, he was involved with the student theatre. He joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

in June 2003 and won a

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

scholarship to the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. After graduating in 2006, he appeared in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' as D'Artagnan at

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

Career

He appeared in the first two series of the medical drama ''

Call The Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'', as Jimmy Wilson. In September 2013, it was announced that Rainsford would join the main cast of ''

'' as Dr Ethan Hardy. He took part in an audition in London and a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

in Cardiff with

Richard Winsor Richard Winsor (born 4 January 1982) is a British actor and dancer. He is best known for his role as Caleb Knight in the long-running BBC television medical drama series ''Casualty'' from January 2014 until April 2017, when his character was ...

. In November 2022, it was confirmed in a ''Metro Soaps'' interview with ''Casualty'' executive producer, Jon Sen, that Rainsford had exited his role as Ethan Hardy after nine years on the series, however, the door would be left open for Rainsford to return in the future, with Sen confirming that it would not be a permanent exit for Rainsford.

Personal life

In November 2009, Rainsford was treated at Salisbury District Hospital for a gashed fist and damaged tendon after accidentally punching Luke Norris during a stage fight in the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

production ''Days of Significance''. In the summer of 2014, Rainsford took three episodes of ''Casualty'' off due to paternity leave. His last episode of 2014 was aired on 29 November, and he returned at the start of 2015. The couple live in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

Filmography

Video games

Stage

References

External links

*
George Rainsford
on Bertram {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainsford, George 1982 births Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Alumni of the University of Manchester English male film actors English male soap opera actors Living people Male actors from Huddersfield National Youth Theatre members People educated at Repton School