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Just a year ago, ER's newest leading man, Noah Wyle was dropping very heavy hints that the next, tenth series of ER would be John Carter's last. We caught up with him recently only to find out he wasn't quite so sure. What's changed? Pretty much his entire life, as he explains to David Spedding.

Noah, you intimated last year that the tenth Season might be your last.

[Grins mischievously] Did I really intimate that?

You most definitely intimated it.

Well, as things stand right now, that's all I'm contracted to do. But we're talking about extending that right now. So nothing's set in stone. Maybe I should take an informal poll.

Well, your english fans certainly think you should stay.

[Grins] If you think England wants me to stay, then I stay. I have been trying to be very honest with myself and honest with the producers about when I feel the character's time is up. And as long as they can convince me that the stories that they want to tell are still viable to tell through my character, then I'll stay.

This sounds more promising than the noises you were making last year. We're guessing, of course, but would the recent birth of your son (Noah became a father in December 2002) have anything to do with that?

It would have everything to do with that, yeah. It's been interesting the last few months. I've never had my attentions divided more between work and home. On the one hand, I was really worried, after having been here for so long, that my job was going to be adversely affected by fatherhood. That suddenly I was going to find myself unable to prepare properly before a day's work or that the frustrations of being here for twelve to sixteen hours a day would weigh on me to such an extent that I'd become bitter about being here.

So what was the return to work like?

Surprising. This interesting thing happened - and somebody actually told me it might - where the time I'm here becomes much more focused. I now find that when I'm here, it's really just about doing the work and doing it as well as I can do, but also to do it as quickly and as efficiently as possible, so that I can go home and enjoy my life. So the show has sort of ceased to become my life, and it's become my vocation, my job.

Erm, newsflash: that's how it's supposed to be, no?

Of course. And there many more rewarding aspects to my life now than when I first started doing ER. Back then, I didn't care if I slept in my trailer. It didn't really make any difference. I was here all the time. Then you meet a woman, you get married, and then you have a baby. And suddenly your job just becomes… not less important, but it certainly finds its proper place in the mix.

Are the ER bosses supportive?

One hundred percent, yes. The nice thing about this job is my wife and my son can visit, and they can hang out and spend time in the trailer. And we live near enough to the set for that to be do-able. And of course Sherri (Stringfield, Dr Susan Lewis) brings her daughter. Alex (Kingston, Dr Elizabeth Corday) brings her daughter, Paul (McCrane, Dr Romano) brings his son…

Is there an ER creche?

No, but we're actually hoping to get one, A little day care room, where we could have all the kids meet together.

Has that surge of stability, since becoming a Father, influenced your talks about the new season at all?

No, just the opposite. I mean, the impulse to go is stronger than it is to stay. There's an american colloquialism about "fuck you" money. You know - when you're earning money you no longer actually need. And the whole point of it is, at a certain point, you go "OK. I've made enough. I've done enough. Now, I can afford the freedom of choice to pursue work that interests me. I no longer have to chase paychecks. I can spend my time where I find it most rewarding."

It's hard to imagine a better position to be in for a new father.

There really is no better position. OK, at the moment, I'm a weekend father. And any talk about doing an eleventh season, has to be weighed up against how old my son will be at that point, and he won't even be in school yet.

Any chance of letting us know what's in store for Carter?

Well.. [Looks around] There's nobody in here that's going to yell at me, so I'll tell you. We have this storyline coming up at the end of the year where Carter because of the problems with Abby and some family problems as well - becomes slightly disillusioned with working at the hospital and decides to take Goran Visnjic's character (Dr Kovac) up on an invitation to go practice war-zone medicine, refugee medicine. I can't say too much about it, but there's some really exciting storylines wrapped up in that.

Which, to go by what you said earlier, means that you can't leave the show yet.

[Grins] No. Well, not for a while yet…