My Top TV: Jonathan Kerrigan

Kerrigan (centre): Played Sam Colloby in Casualty

Rising star Jonathan Kerrigan, 28, is best-known for playing nurse Sam Colloby in BBC1's Casualty.

Since leaving the medical drama in 1999 he has been seen in Customs & Excise drama The Knock and romantic tale A Dinner Of Herbs.

His new role is that of hot-headed PC Steve Traynor in new BBC1 drama Mersey Beat, which starts on 16 July.

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What was your favourite TV show as a child?

Mr Benn. I don't know why - looking back, all you see is bad animation. But I remember shouting at the TV telling him which costume to put on.

And Bod - I used to shout at him to tell him what milkshake to drink.

Is there anything on TV you can't bear to miss and have to set the video for?

West Wing. We got ourselves satellite TV just so we could watch it on E4. It's genius, it's taken over from The Sopranos as the best thing on TV.

Did a particular TV show or performance inspire you to become an actor?

It was more film in my case. I saw Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke when I was eight or nine and thought 'Wow! What is this guy about?' There's an idol for you. And he's been married to Joanne Woodward for the last 40 years or so.

You play a policeman in your new series Mersey Beat. Who's your favourite screen cop?

Steve McQueen in Bullitt. The style, the music, the whole thing. And he did his own stunts. Another God.

You're still best known for playing nurse Sam Colloby in Casualty. Do you miss it?

Not really, I've done a lot of interesting things since. I miss the people, but then I see them regularly because I live in Bristol where Casualty is filmed - so that's great.

How many TVs have you got in your house - and where are they?

Only one, in the sitting room. Mind you, we've got about six keyboards and three guitars. Claire [Goose, ex-Casualty star] is classically-trained and we both spend hours doing stuff in the studio.

The cast on Mersey Beat called you Supercop after you did some of your own stunts. What sort of things did you do?

I jumped off a block of flats onto an airbag, which was pretty good. I did it seven times in all. The first time it looked terrible because I was scared - but by the end it was fine.

I spend a lot of the series running after the bad guys, which is great. I've done a lot of romantic parts in the past, but I'm really more into action as far as film and TV go.

How long did Mersey Beat take to make?

We filmed for six months in Widnes and Runcorn, near Liverpool, and finished just two days ago. The series starts on BBC One on 16 July, so it's been a quick turnaround.

It's been fantastic fun to work with such a talented and amiable bunch. I haven't felt so connected to a group of people since Casualty, in fact.

Do you visit any TV-related websites regularly?

The Internet Movie Database - it's very good.

What other projects are you looking forward to?

Helping to promote a short film, Talk, by the Disability Rights Commission. It's on at the Rushes Festival in London at the end of July.