BOSCO HOGAN plays D r  M i c h a e l  R y a n.
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When Bosco Hogan was told that he would have to ride a horse during a race on the sands (Series 4 Ep 6) - traditionally won by his character, Dr Michael Ryan - it held no fears for the Dublin actor. "I hadn't ridden for about ten years, I don't have the opportunity nowadays," Bosco says. "But I learned to ride on the beach in my youth, on holidays in Kerry. My first riding experience was on the sands, and when I was 17 or 18 I took part in races on the beach. I loved it."

In some Irish towns, including Dublin, it was not uncommon for horses to be kept in flats or houses, as stabling cost money: "It does happen," says Bosco, "But there are great efforts to have horses registered, with proper accommodation for them, as a lot of them were left to wander around the roads."

Bosco Hogan also came up with the idea for the story in series 4 episode five, involving a bear which has been released by a zoo - but his plans for Dr Ryan and vet Siobhan to take centre-stage did not pan out exactly as he'd planned. "The final story didn't actually involve Dr Ryan, which was disappointing, but I've heard the episode has worked out extremely well."

He didn't even get to meet the bears - the production hired two, Sooty and Sweep from Chipperfield's Circus, who did different shots - and it was all done with cages and clever camera work.

The idea for the Ballykissangel 'bear' episode was inspired by a conversation with one of Bosco's sisters, who is chairperson of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "I hear a lot of stories from her about various things which are happening to animals around the country, and the idea came out of one conversation."

Bosco's wildlife experience, however, is even more alarming than discovering a bear in Fitzgerald's pub in Ballykissangel. "I made a film for Disney some years ago, called Race For Survival, in which I played a game warden in a safari park in Kenya," he remembers. "I worked with a lion - which they brought over from California, as it had been trained - alligators and a cheetah. I even had to ride on the lion's back for one scene!"

Dr Ryan is no slouch when it comes to modern medical practice, either. When vet Siobhan Mehigan (Deirdre Donnelly) decided to go for a water-birth, Michael Ryan is quick to embrace the idea. "He's quite progressive, and whatever makes his patients happy is all right with him, and water births are medically sound. The father, Brendan, is a little less keen, though!"


 		 

 
 

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