Casualty is the long running hospital drama set in the emergency department of Holby City Hospital. It is one of the longest running British television shows, having been on air for over 30 years. Casulaty's sister show, Holby City, has been on air since 1999 and has aired almost 800 episodes across 17 series, whereas Casualty had only aired 400 by the end of its 17th series. This is due to the fact that earlier series of Casualty contained far fewer episodes when every since the 4th in Holby City has contained 52.
Casualty's exterior shots were mainly filmed outside the Ashely Down Centre in Bristol from 1986 until 2002 when they moved to the Centre of Bristol for just over 9 years. Then in 2011 Casualty celebrated its 25th birthday , following that for the Bristol finale they filmed the ED catching fire and exploding. After 25 years in Bristol, Casualty moved to its new home at the Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff where it is currently filmed today.
Series
Casualty has been on air since 1986. It currently features thirty series. Derek Thompson who portrays Charlie Fairhead is the only cast member to have been in Casualty since the start and continues to play him today.
The programme is usually transmitted on Saturday nights, although for a period in the late 1980s and early '90s it switched to Fridays. The first two series each consisted of 15 episodes; series 3 ran for 10 episodes (although one of those episodes was postponed following the death of its guest star, Roy Kinnear); series 4, 5 and 6 were 12, 13, and 15 episodes long respectively. The final episode of series 6, which focused on a plane crash, was postponed until February 1992, after being initially scheduled for transmission on 20 December 1991 - one day before the 3rd anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster.
When the show moved back to Saturday nights in September 1992, the series length was extended to 24 episodes per year, and placed in a pre-watershed slot at approximately 8pm. This initially caused some controversy due to the graphic and controversial nature of some of the storylines. In 1997-8, the episode number was increased again, with 26 episodes (including two 75-minute specials) making up series 12. Subsequent series each saw an increase in episodes; series 13 ran for 28 episodes, series 14 ran for 30 episodes, series 15 ran for 36 episodes, series 16 and 17 ran for 40 episodes and series 18 ran for 46 episodes. Since 2004, popularity of the show resulted in a switch from a traditional seasonal format (which had progressed from three months in its early years to around seven months by 2001) to an almost year-round production and transmission, as each series from series 19 (2004/5) to 25 (2010/11) has lasted for 48 episodes. However, this figure was dropped to 42 for series 26, with no summer break, which was related to production moving from Bristol to Cardiff. Series 27 consists of 44 episodes – an increase of 2 episodes on the previous series and returned to 48 for series 28. In addition, from series 26, the show also began broadcasting in August of their respective years, rather than start in September.
Current cast
- See also: Current characters of Casualty
- George Rainsford as Ethan Hardy, the acting Clinical Lead of Holby ED and a consultant
- Amanda Mealing as Connie Beauchamp, the acting Deputy Clinical Lead of Holby ED and a senior consultant
- Jaye Griffiths as Elle Gardner, a senior consultant
- Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead, an emergency nurse practitioner and senior charge nurse
- William Beck as Dylan Keogh, a consultant
- Charles Venn as Jacob Masters, a senior staff nurse and Clinical Nurse Manager
- Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin, a senior ward sister
- Chelsea Halfpenny as Alicia Munroe, a registrar
- Amanda Henderson as Robyn Miller, a staff nurse
- Owain Arthur as Glen Thomas a porter
- Azuka Oforka as Louise Tyler, a staff nurse
- Tony Marshall as Noel Garcia, a receptionist
- Michael Stevenson as Iain Dean, a paramedic
- Jason Durr as David Hide, a staff nurse
- Charlotte Salt as Sam Nicholls, a paramedic
- Neet Mohan as Rashid Masum, a F1 Junior Doctor
- Michelle Fox as Bea Kinsella, a F1 Junior Doctor
List of episodes
- Main article: List of episodes
List of series
Series | Episodes | Originally Aired |
---|---|---|
Series 1 | 15 | 6 September 1986 – 27 December 1986 |
Series 2 | 15 | 12 September 1987 – 19 December 1987 |
Series 3 | 10 | 9 September 1988 – 4 November 1988 |
Series 4 | 12 | 8 September 1989 – 1 December 1989 |
Series 5 | 13 | 7 September 1990 – 7 December 1990 |
Series 6 | 15 | 6 September 1991 – 27 February 1992 |
Series 7 | 24 | 12 September 1992 – 27 February 1993 |
Series 8 | 24 | 18 September 1993 – 26 February 1994 |
Series 9 | 24 | 17 September 1994 – 25 March 1995 |
Series 10 | 24 | 16 September 1995 – 24 February 1996 |
Series 11 | 24 | 14 September 1996 – 22 February 1997 |
Series 12 | 26 | 11 September 1997 – 28 February 1998 |
Series 13 | 28 | 5 September 1998 – 13 March 1999 |
Series 14 | 30 | 18 September 1999 – 25 March 2000 |
Series 15 | 36 | 16 September 2000 – 28 April 2001 |
Series 16 | 40 | 15 September 2001 – 29 June 2002 |
Series 17 | 40 | 14 September 2002 – 21 June 2003 |
Series 18 | 46 | 13 September 2003 – 28 August 2004 |
Series 19 | 48 | 11 September 2004 – 20 August 2005 |
Series 20 | 48 | 10 September 2005 – 26 August 2006 |
Series 21 | 48 | 23 September 2006 – 4 August 2007 |
Series 22 | 48 | 8 September 2007 – 9 August 2008 |
Series 23 | 48 | 13 September 2008 – 1 August 2009 |
Series 24 | 48 | 12 September 2009 – 21 August 2010 |
Series 25 | 47 | 4 September 2010 – 6 August 2011 |
Series 26 | 42 | 13 August 2011 – 22 July 2012 |
Series 27 | 44 | 18 August 2012 – 20 July 2013 |
Series 28 | 48 | 3 August 2013 – 23 August 2014 |
Series 29 | 46 | 30 August 2014 – 23 August 2015 |
Series 30 | 43 | 29 August 2015 – 30 July 2016 |
Series 31 | 44 | 27 August 2016 – 29 July 2017 |
Series 32 | TBC | 19 August 2017 - 2018 |