Too Old for This Shift

Plot

Following Connie and Grace's accident after they plunged off a cliff and into a ravine, a distraught Steph, having stopped a short distance from the scene, attempts to call for an ambulance for them, but is struck down by a car in the process. After slowly regaining consciousness, Connie frantically tries to rescue Grace from within the car when smoke begins pouring out from it, but watches in horror as it explodes, presuming her daughter has been killed.

At the emergency department, Charlie welcomes agency nurse Amira Zafa, and tasks her with helping him on the ward, along with helping with elderly patient Sally Hodges, who is discovered to have lithopedia caused by a miscarriage during her teenage years. While doing his rounds, Charlie uncovers former paramedic Josh Griffiths hiding in a cubicle, and agrees to keep quiet about the surprise party being prepared for him by the rest of the staff at the pub after Josh lets him know about it. Meanwhile, Jacob becomes worried for Connie and Grace when he gets no reply from them on his phone, but quickly suspects something has happened to them when he spots Steph being rushed in to the department following her accident. Taking Iain and Jez with him back to where she was picked up from, Jacob discovers that Steph's car is damaged down one side, and with the aid of the paramedics, finds the crash site she fled from. As he and the group work to help Connie, they soon discover Grace was not in the car when it exploded, but was thrown out from it much like her mother. As Dylan arrives to help, Connie is taken back by ambulance, while an air ambulance transports Grace and Iain back to the ED.

Charlie attends his surprise party and celebrates with staff, watching a video tribute to him from current and former colleagues he's worked with, until Henrik arrives with news about Connie's accident, leading both him and the staff to rush back to ED to find out how bad her condition is. As the group prepare for the arrival of Grace, the air ambulance's rear rotor is struck by a drone, resulting in it crash landing in the car park. The accident causes several people to be severely injured or killed, including most of the crew on the helicopter, while damaging the main entrance to the department and propelling an ambulance into scaffolding, which then collapses and traps Ethan and Alicia. Iain, dazed and injured, staggers out from the wreckage, where he is quickly checked on by Josh as staff emerge and begin treating the wounded. Jacob, concerned for Grace, ventures outside and with help from Charlie and Dylan, pulls her out from the wreckage. As she is rushed inside for treatment, Connie catches sight of her and attempts to aid in her daughter's treatment, regardless of her own condition, but is stopped by Elle and Jac, the latter having been called for assistance in the wake of the accident, who advises her against doing so.

Henrik informs Charlie that ED will be closed, but gives permission, as a matter of priority, for Connie and Grace to remain inside for treatment. Amira, preparing to leave in the wake of the accident, finds a young boy named Kai, whom she takes inside to treat for an asthma attack, whereupon she learns that he was responsible for the drone that caused the accident. Later, a guilt-ridden Kai apologises to Jacob upon seeing Grace being moved out for a scan, only for him to vent out his frustrations upon the boy, out of a need to blame someone. Charlie and nearby staff intervene and prevent him from going after Steph, whom he soon blames for everything, forcing him to back down. Elle goes after Jacob and comforts him in the staff room where he confides in her that he blames himself for allowing Connie and Grace to be harmed. As the situation finally begins to calm down, and Kai prepares to be seen by the police after being reunited with his parents, Henrik brings news to Elle and Charlie that Grace is suffering from a life-threatening injury following the recent accident and that her chances of surviving her operation is not good. As Jacob goes to comfort Connie, Charlie gives the staff a morale boost by telling them that they are unstoppable as a team, so long as they stick together, and tells the staff they're welcome to go home after such a long and eventful shift, but they all volunteer to stay on to keep on helping.

Cast

The official cast list for the episode was released by BBC Online on 19 August 2016; prior to this, the BBC and various media outlets revealed throughout late June and much of August, the various actors and their characters who would appear in the 30th anniversary special. The episode marked the permanent return of Cathy Shipton to the show, reprising her role as original nurse Lisa "Duffy" Duffin, following her guest appearances in the previous series, while Ian Bleasdale made a guest appearance throughout the episode, reprising his role as former paramedic Josh Griffiths. Three Holby City actors also performed as their characters for the special, their appearances announced on 28 June, 2016 - these were Rosie Marcel as consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, Jac Naylor, Guy Henry as chief executive officer Holby City NHS Trust and consultant general surgeon, Henrik Hanssen, and Alex Walkinshaw as ward manager and former Casualty character, Adrian Fletcher.

Alongside Shipton and Bleasdale, a number of former actors from the show returned for the episode, each making a cameo appearance in the role of their respective former character and their scenes filmed in the style of giving a short video tribute to Charlie; these scenes are spaced out throughout the episode. Joining alongside Guy Henry, Amanda Mealing, Emily Carey and Jason Durr, all of whom did the same in the role of their own respective characters, these included: Charles Dale as Mackenzie "Big Mac" Chalker, Ben Turner as Jay Faldren, Suzanne Packer as Tess Bateman, Sam Grey as Alice Chantrey, James Redmond as John "Abs" Denham, Clive Mantle as Mike Barratt, Martina Laird as Comfort Jones, and Steven Miller as Lenny Lyons. In addition, former EastEnders actor, Pam St. Clement, made a guest appearance in the story as "very grumpy patient" Sally Hodge.

Production

The show's executive producer Oliver Kent and series producer Erika Hossington began planning the thirtieth anniversary episode in 2014. Hossington said in an interview with Digital Spy that they wanted to do "something only Casualty could do", and that there will be "an absolutely massive stunt" which will see the hospital itself in jeopardy too. The episode itself was to originally last for 110-minutes, however this was later shortened to 99-minutes. In addition to this, it was also reported that the events which took take place in the thirtieth anniversary episode would set up to two years of new storylines. Kent stated that "a lot of storylines kicked off in this episode will deliver in the next year or two, and probably beyond." A special soundtrack was recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the episode at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay.

Director Steve Hughes stated he "couldn't believe" that the show was going to attempt a stunt so big. The stunt itself was shot over two days using "various stunts, visual effects and rigging teams" as opposed to shooting the stunt scene using computer-generated imagery. Although computer-generated imagery was used to add to the practical effects, the team decided to shoot the stunt practically so that the sequence felt "terrifyingly real". Hughes said the team shot about sixteen stunts over the two days of filming alone.

It was announced on 22 August 2016 that the stunt which would air as part of the thirtieth anniversary would be a helicopter crash into the emergency department after an air ambulance collides with a drone. Hossington revealed in an interview with Radio Times that the show had been working with the Association of Air Ambulances seven months in advance on the storyline. The storyline was also created by the Association of Air Ambulances, who suggested the idea of an air ambulance colliding with a drone. Commenting on the storyline, Hossington said: "What you see in this episode is such a complex and unfortunate series of events."

Promotion and broadcast

Promotion of the anniversary episode began immediately after the closure of the thirtieth series, with a 40-second teaser following the final episode. The trailer featured a party for Charlie Fairhead being interrupted by a serious event, followed by the tagline: "On the happiest day, their darkest hour". A second trailer, 30-seconds long, was released on 15 August 2016, while in the final five day build-up to the anniversary episode, Casualty released daily short trailers on their Facebook and Twitter pages, counting down to the episode.

Between the two series, Digital Spy also mentioned Casualty's thirtieth anniversary stunt, placing it as the number one moment to watch in their list of the "10 big moments that you have to see this week", before releasing a teaser article about the episode on the night of its airing, adding that it was "an episode you really do have to watch live."

The episode was broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2016 and was available to watch for thirty days after this on BBC iPlayer.

Digital download

The episode was made available for digital download via BBC Store on 27 August 2016 in standard definition, with higher definition later made available for purchase.

Ratings

The episode received an overnight rating of 5.10 million viewers, a 26% share of the total audience. After seven days, the ratings rose to 6.53 million. Twenty-eight days later, the episode's rating continued to rise to a new total of 6.90 million viewers. BBC Media Centre later revealed the episode was watched by an audience of 7.20 million viewers.

Critical reception

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.