Harman Patil (Editor)

Casualty (series 31)

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Country of origin
  
United Kingdom

Original network
  
BBC One BBC One HD

No. of episodes
  
43

Casualty (series 31)

Original release
  
27 August 2016 (2016-08-27) – present

The thirty-first series of Casualty began airing from 27 August 2016, and will consist of 43 episodes. This series has seen the permanent return of original character Lisa "Duffy" Duffin (Cathy Shipton), who made her last appearance in the 1000th episode in the previous series.

Contents

The series opened with a special feature-length episode to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the medical drama. The special episode featured character crossovers from Holby City – Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel), Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry) and Adrian Fletcher (Alex Walkinshaw) – as well as guest appearances from various former characters that have appeared in previous series throughout the thirty years it has been broadcast, a special "huge stunt" as part of its story, and a special soundtrack recorded for it by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Overview

The thirty-first series of Casualty features a cast of characters working in the emergency department of Holby City Hospital. The majority of the cast from the previous series continue to appear in this series. Amanda Mealing appears as clinical lead and lead consultant in emergency medicine Connie Beauchamp, whilst Jaye Griffiths and William Beck appear as consultants Elle Gardner, who briefly acted as clinical lead, and Dylan Keogh. George Rainsford, Richard Winsor and Crystal Yu portray specialty registrars Ethan Hardy, Caleb "Cal" Knight and Lily Chao. Chelsea Halfpenny appears as Alicia Munroe, a doctor undergoing the second year of foundation training. Charles Venn portrays clinical nurse manager Jacob Masters, whilst Derek Thompson stars as senior charge nurse Charlie Fairhead, who has appeared in the show since its conception. Amanda Henderson, Azuka Oforka and Jason Durr play staff nurses Robyn Miller, Louise Tyler and David Hide. Michael Stevenson and Lloyd Everitt star as paramedics Iain Dean and Jez Andrews. Tony Marshall and Jamie Davis appear as receptionist and porter Noel Garcia and Max Walker respectively. Emily Carey, Owain Arthur and Guy Henry also appear as Grace Beauchamp-Strachan, Glen Thomas and Henrik Hanssen in a recurring capacity.

Several former regular cast members reprised their roles and made a cameo appearance within the show's feature-length opening episode, which included: Mackenzie "Big Mac" Chalker (Charles Dale), who departed from the show in the previous series; Tess Bateman (Suzanne Packer), who appeared in the show for twelve years; Jay Faldren (Ben Turner), who appeared between 2008 and 2011; John "Abs" Denham (James Redmond), who departed from the show in 2008; Alice Chantrey (Sam Grey), who appeared in the show for over four years; Mike Barrett (Clive Mantle), who appeared in the show between 1993 and 1998; Comfort Jones (Martina Laird), who left the show in 2006; and Lenny Lyons (Steven Miller) who appeared in the show for three years. Ian Bleasdale also returned, reprising the role of Josh Griffiths, one of the show's longest-serving characters, but for the entirety of the episode. Bleasdale made a further two appearances in episodes twenty and twenty-one, as confirmed in the show's Winter 2016 trailer.

Following the cliffhanger at end of the previous series, Tonicha Lawrence appeared as Stephanie Sims in the feature-length episode. The show's Winter 2016 trailer confirmed Lawrence had reprised the role. EastEnders "legend" Pam St. Clement was cast as "surly" patient Sally Hodge and appeared in the feature-length episode. St. Clement's return to the role was announced on 12 December 2016, with Hossington later confirming she would return for a guest appearance in March. The episode also featured the significance appearance of agency nurse Amira Zafar (Poppy Jhakra). Jhakra reprised the role for an appearance in episode twenty-two.

During the feature-length special, three characters from Holby City made guest appearances: hospital CEO Henrik Hanssen (Henry), cardiothoracic surgeon and clinical lead of Darwin ward Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel), and ward manager of AAU ward Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher (Alex Walkinshaw), the latter of whom previously appeared in Casualty between 2012 and 2014. Mealing, Stevenson, Everitt and Lawrence (Connie Beauchamp, Iain Dean, Jez Andrews and Stephanie Sims) appeared in the episode of Holby City that followed the feature-length special, "Protect and Serve". Kent has also promised "several" more crossovers between the two shows following this. Marcel also appeared in episode three, broadcast on 10 September 2016, alongside John Michie who plays consultant neurosurgeon Guy Self. Michie appeared on Holby City and had previously appeared in Casualty in 2014 when his character was the hospital's CEO.

Episode three also marked the third guest appearance of Grace's father, Sam Strachan (Tom Chambers), following two appearances in the previous series. Chambers was a regular cast member in Holby City between 2006 and 2008. Hossington announced that Sam would be reintroduced to the series "for a little while" when he receives a job as the hospital's medical director. Hugh Quarshie, who currently appears on Holby City as acting chief executive officer Ric Griffin, guest appeared in episodes seventeen and eighteen, broadcast on 7 and 14 January 2017. Chizzy Akudolu confirmed that she would make a guest appearance in the series, portraying her Holby City character - consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Mo Effanga.

It was announced on 7 June 2016 that following three guest appearances in the previous series, Cathy Shipton had returned to the show as a regular cast member. Her character, Lisa "Duffy" Duffin, who appeared in the show on-off since its inception, returned in the opening episode of this series. Of Shipton's return, Kent said, "All of us at Casualty are incredibly excited that the fabulous Cathy Shipton has agreed to bring Duffy back to the Emergency Department." David Hide's (Durr) family was introduced in episode five, with the appearance of his son and former wife, Oliver (Harry Collett) and Rosa (Lorraine Pilkington). Collett reprised the role in episodes seventeen and eighteen. On 31 August 2016, it was confirmed that Rik Makarem had joined the cast as Sebastian Grayling. Makarem made his first on-screen appearance in episode ten, on 29 October 2016. Makarem left the series after appearing in eight episodes, making his departure in episode seventeen, broadcast on 7 January 2017. Sebastian's father, Archie Grayling, a consultant surgeon, was introduced for the storyline. James Wilby was cast in the role of Archie and also left in episode seventeen. Russell Boulter reprised his role as Ryan Johnson for two episodes for a storyline about his estranged marriage to Duffy. Iain Dean's sister, Gemma Dean (Rebecca Ryan), joined the series in episode nineteen, broadcast on 21 January 2017.

Main characters

  • Sam Strachan, relative / medical director − Tom Chambers (episode 3, from episode 22)
  • Connie Beauchamp, clinical lead, consultant in emergency medicine – Amanda Mealing
  • Elle Gardner, acting clinical lead / clinical lead, consultant in emergency medicine – Jaye Griffiths
  • Dylan Keogh, consultant in emergency medicine – William Beck
  • Ethan Hardy, specialist registrar, emergency medicine – George Rainsford
  • Caleb "Cal" Knight, specialist registrar, emergency medicine – Richard Winsor
  • Lily Chao, specialist registrar, emergency medicine – Crystal Yu
  • Alicia Munroe, foundation training, year 2 – Chelsea Halfpenny
  • Sebastian Grayling, foundation training, year 1 – Rik Makarem (episodes 10−17)
  • Jacob Masters, clinical nurse manager – Charles Venn
  • Charlie Fairhead, senior charge nurse, emergency nurse practitioner – Derek Thompson
  • Lisa "Duffy" Duffin, agency nurse / sister, midwife – Cathy Shipton (from episode 1)
  • Robyn Miller, staff nurse – Amanda Henderson
  • Louise Tyler, staff nurse – Azuka Oforka
  • David Hide, staff nurse – Jason Durr
  • Iain Dean, paramedic – Michael Stevenson
  • Jez Andrews, paramedic – Lloyd Everitt
  • Max Walker, porter – Jamie Davis
  • Noel Garcia, receptionist – Tony Marshall
  • Recurring and guest characters

  • Grace Beauchamp−Strachan, relative – Emily Carey
  • Glen Thomas, partner/patient − Owain Arthur (until episode 9)
  • Steph Sims, relative − Tonicha Lawrence (until episode 1, episode 24)
  • Amira Zafar, agency nurse − Poppy Jhakra (episodes 1 and 22)
  • Sally Hodge, patient − Pam St. Clement (episodes 1 and 26)
  • Henrik Hanssen, chief executive officer, Holby City NHS Foundation Trust – Guy Henry (episode 1)
  • Jac Naylor, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon – Rosie Marcel (episodes 1 and 3)
  • Adrian Fletcher, ward manager – Alex Walkinshaw (episode 1)
  • Mackenzie "Big Mac" Chalker, former healthcare assistant – Charles Dale (episode 1)
  • Josh Griffiths, paramedic – Ian Bleasdale (episodes 1, 21)
  • Tess Bateman, former ward sister – Suzanne Packer (episode 1)
  • John "Abs" Denham, former senior staff nurse − James Redmond (episode 1)
  • Alice Chantrey, former healthcare assistant − Sam Grey (episode 1)
  • Mike Barrett, former consultant in emergency medicine − Clive Mantle (episode 1)
  • Comfort Jones, former paramedic − Martina Laird (episode 1)
  • Jay Faldren, former staff nurse − Ben Turner (episode 1)
  • Lenny Lyons, former core training year 2, emergency medicine – Steven Miller (episode 1)
  • Guy Self, consultant neurosurgeon – John Michie (episode 3)
  • Oliver Hide, relative − Harry Collett (episode 5, from episode 17)
  • Archie Grayling, consultant / relative – James Wilby (episodes 11−17)
  • Ryan Johnson, relative − Russell Boulter (episodes 14−15)
  • Ric Griffin, Holby City NHS Foundation Trust, Consultant − Hugh Quarshie (episodes 17−18)
  • Gemma Dean, relative, barista − Rebecca Ryan (from episode 19)
  • Mo Effanga, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon − Chizzy Akudolu (guest appearing 2017)
  • Production

    The thirty-first series will consist of 43 episodes, with Oliver Kent continuing his role as executive producer, and Erika Hossington remaining as the series producer. Mark Catley, the show's story consultant, was credited as co-executive producer for the first episode only. Kent was appointed Head of Continuing Drama Series for BBC Scripted Studios in late 2016. Simon Harper, the series producer of Holby City, was subsequently appointed executive producer of both shows.

    The feature-length anniversary episode that began the series, aired for 99-minutes on 27 August 2016, and featured a storyline event that connected Casualty with its sister show Holby City, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales recording a special soundtrack for it at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay. Plans for the special were teased in August 2014, hinting that the show would do something "no other show had done before". In an interview with What's on TV, Chucky Venn revealed that his character, Jacob Masters, would play "an integral part" in the anniversary special, before further stating that both cast and crew members had nicknamed the anniversary episode as Casualty: The Movie while it was being filmed. Kent later stated that the episode would make the audience "gasp, laugh and cry buckets".

    Hossington teased the series finale in an interview with Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy, promising to give viewers "a live experience" without making a live episode. She described the episode as "very, very special and unique" and said it would be "something that the show has never, ever done before." Hossington also promised several stunts, including a "really big falling stunt within the hospital" in the latter half of the series. On 7 February 2017, Digital Spy revealed that a regular character will be killed off in a "shock storyline twist".

    Reception

    The thirtieth anniversary episode received an overnight rating of 5.10 million viewers, a 26% share of the total audience. BBC Media Centre later revealed the episode was watched by an audience of 7.20 million viewers.

    The episode received strong praise from fans, who "demanded the show won an award". Radio Times reported that viewers were left "stunned" by the episode, while Digital Spy stated that fans were left in "shock and awe" over the episode. The Daily Mirror reporter Sharon Marshall praised the episode, branding it as a "pitch-perfect episode mixing gore, heartache, drama and nostalgia". Marshall added that the episode "showcased what Casualty does best – beautiful writing and a stellar cast who grab your heartstrings," before concluding her review by praising the episode as being able to make the show "look as fresh and exciting as the day it was born." However, the show also received criticism, with the episode being branded "insensitive" by the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

    On 25 January 2017, Casualty was awarded Best Drama at the annual National Television Awards. Commenting on the win, series creator Kathleen Hutchison said: "Thank you, this is absolutely wonderful, we are completely overwhelmed - it was a very strong category. A wonderful way to celebrate our 30th anniversary. And thank you all for keeping us there, thank you." The show was shortlisted against Cold Feet, Game of Thrones, Happy Valley and The Night Manager. Hossington said the reaction to the win was "electric" and it had "a huge impact on everybody". She added that the show's team were "so chuffed that the sheer love and hard work that they put into the show has been appreciated by the audience and the fans".

    References

    Casualty (series 31) Wikipedia