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Casualty (TV series)

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Casualty is a long-running BBC television drama series, first broadcast in 1986 and transmitted on BBC One. It was devised by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin. It is based in and around the fictional Holby City Hospital, situated in Holby, a fictional city bearing a close resemblance to Bristol, where the show is filmed. Bristol landmarks, including the docks and the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, are regularly glimpsed in the outdoor scenes. The exterior shots of the hospital itself were formerly filmed at the city's technical college, but are now shot on a small industrial estate, not far from the interior set of the hospital itself.

Casualty
File:Casualty Intro.png
Created byJeremy Brock and Paul Unwin
Original release
NetworkBBC 1
Release1986

The drama is mainly concerned with a group of doctors, nurses and administrators who work in the Accident & Emergency department. At the centre of the action is Nurse Manager Charlie Fairhead (played by Derek Thompson), a dedicated and caring man frequently at odds with the demands of hospital management. This has been a recurring theme over the years, but especially in the early series, which were frequently criticised for endorsing criticisms of National Health Service management under the Conservative government of the day.

The programme has traditionally been transmitted on Saturday nights, although for a period in the late 1980s it switched to Fridays. Since the early 2000s, popularity of the show forced a switch from a traditional seasonal format to almost year-round production and transmission. During the 18th series, the run was artificially extended with Casualty being relaced in the schedule for several weeks. The 18th series had 47 episodes, but the break between the 18th & 19th series was only 1 week. A spin-off show, Holby City, shows life elsewhere in the same hospital. Due to the large number of episodes, some viewers have felt the storylines are becoming increasingly repetitive and predictable, although it remains one of the most watched television shows.

In December 2004, a 2-part special Casualty @ Holby City was broadcast, with the two shows combining to cope with a petrol tanker crashing into the Hospital. Most of the filming was done on Holby City's interior & exterior sets, as Casualty is filmed in Bristol, whereas Holby City is shot at the BBC Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. A second special (with the same name, but shot in Bristol) was broadcast in August 2005 to promote organ donation; viewers were asked to choose between two patients waiting for a heart transplant.

In order to draw more viewers over Bank Holidays, Christmas etc, two-part specials are shown, where the first hour is the build-up to some major accident eg, train crash, nuclear waste spill, lorry explosion etc, which inevitably stretches the hospital to the limit and results in multiple deaths and injuries.

Opening Titles

Series 1 - Series 3: BBCi link

Series 4 - Series 7: BBCi link

Series 8 - Series 11: BBCi link

Series 12 - Series 14: BBCi link

Series 15: BBCi link

Series 16: BBCi link

Series 17 - Series 2?: BBCi link

Current Cast

The following characters appear regularly in the programme as of April 8th 2006.[1]

portrayed by Derek Thompson

portrayed by Ian Bleasdale, from 4x01

portrayed by Martina Laird, from 16x01

portrayed by Simon MacCorkindale, from 16x37

portrayed by Matt Wait, from 17x32

portrayed by Suzanne Packer, from 18x01

portrayed by James Redmond, from 18x05

portrayed by Rebekah Gibbs, from 18x41

portrayed by Elizabeth Carling, from 17x25 to 17x30; from 19x01

portrayed by Georgina Bouzova, from 19x03

portrayed by Luke Bailey, from 19x05

portrayed by Elyes Gabel, from 19x08

portrayed by Susan Cookson, from 19x22

portrayed by Janine Mellor, from 19x45

portrayed by Ben Price, from 20x15

portrayed by Sam Grey, from 20x31

Original Cast

The following characters starred in the first episode, which aired September 6th 1986.[2]

portrayed by Bernard Gallagher, to 3x05

portrayed by Julia Watson, to 1x15; from 9x20 to 12x26; from 18x12 to 18x19

portrayed by Derek Thompson

portrayed by Brenda Fricker, to 5x13; 15x25 and 15x26

portrayed by George Harris, to 1x15

portrayed by Cathy Shipton, to 8x13; from 12x25 to 17x31

portrayed by Lisa Bowerman, to 2x04

portrayed by Robert Pugh, to 2x06

portrayed by Debbie Roza, to 2x15

portrayed by Christopher Rozycki, to 3x10

Former Cast

The following characters formerly appeared on the show regularly.[3] Not included on this list are the Original Cast (see above), and those, having rejoined, now on the 'Current Cast' list

  • Elizabeth Straker, Administrator

portrayed by Maureen O'Brien, from 2x01 to 2x15

  • Mary Tomlinson, Senior House Officer

portrayed by Helena Little, from 2x01 to 2x15

portrayed by Eddie Nestor, from 2x02 to 4x12

portrayed by Kate Hardie, from 2x02 to 2x10

portrayed by Ella Wilder, from 2x07 to 3x10

portrayed by Geoffrey Leesley, from 2x05 to 5x??

portrayed by Susan Franklyn, from 3x01 to 4x12

portrayed by Paul Lacoux, from 3x01 to 3x10

portrayed by Julie Graham, from 3x01 to 3x10

portrayed by Shaheen Khan, from 3x01 to 3x10

portrayed by Carol Leader, from 3x01 to 3x10

portrayed by William Gaminara, from 4x01 to 4x04; from 7x16 to 7x24 portrayed by Philip Bretherton, from 15x12 to 15x35

portrayed by Tam Hoskyns, from 4x01 to 4x12

portrayed by Belinda Davison, from 4x01 to 4x12

portrayed by Vivienne McKone, from 4x01 to 4x12

portrayed by Robson Green, from 4x01 to 6x15

portrayed by Nigel le Vaillant, from 5x01 to 7x14

portrayed by Mamta Kaash, from 5x01 to 6x15

  • Martin "Ash" Ashford, Charge Nurse (prev. Senior Staff Nurse; Staff Nurse)

portrayed by Patrick Robinson, from 5x01 to 10x24; 12x25 and 12x26

portrayed by Maggie McCarthy, from 5x01 to 5x13

portrayed by Eamon Boland, from 5x01 to 5x10

portrayed by Caroline Webster, from 5x02 to 8x24

portrayed by Adie Allen, from 6x01 to 6x09

portrayed by Annie Kristen, from 6x01 to 8x06

portrayed by Maria Friedman, from 6x03 to 6x15

portrayed by Maureen Beattie, from 6x11 to 7x24

  • Kate Miller, General Manager

portrayed by Joanna Foster, from 7x01 to 7x08

portrayed by Jason Riddington, from 7x01 to 7x24

portrayed by Emma Bird, from 7x01 to 7x24

portrayed by Robert Daws, from 7x06 to 7x24

portrayed by Clive Mantle, from 7x09 to 8x09; from 8x13 to 9x20; from 10x01 to 10x21; from 11x01 to 11x10; 12x25 and 12x26

  • Mark Calder, Surgical Manager

portrayed by Oliver Parker, from 8x01 to 8x18

portrayed by Suzanna Hamilton, from 8x01 to 8x17

portrayed by Dona Croll, from 8x01 to 8x24

portrayed by Christopher Guard, from 8x01 to 8x07

portrayed by Samantha Edmonds, from 8x02 to 8x10

portrayed by Naoko Mori, from 8x02 to 8x24

portrayed by Steven O'Donnell, from 8x02 to 8x24

portrayed by Brendan O'Hea, from 8x09 to 8x19

portrayed by David Ryall, from 8x10 to 8x13

portrayed by Tara Moran, from 8x12 to 8x24

portrayed by Martin Ball, from 8x15 to 8x24

portrayed by Jane Gurnett, from 8x16 to 10x21

portrayed by Joan Oliver, from 9x01 to 9x24

portrayed by Sorcha Cusack, from 9x01 to 12x10

portryaed by Steven Brand, from 9x01 to 9x24

portrayed by Jason Merrells, from 9x01 to 11x24

portrayed by Lisa Coleman, from 9x02 to 11x24

portrayed by Sue Devaney, from 9x10 to 12x12

portrayed by Craig Kelly, from 10x01 to 10x24

portrayed by Lizzy McInnerny, from 10x01 to 10x24

  • Peter Hayes, Non-Executive Trust Board Member

portrayed by Robert Duncan, from 10x02 to 10x20

portrayed by Gray O'Brien, from 11x01 to 12x26

portrayed by Ganiat Kasumu, from 11x01 to 11x24

portrayed by Vas Blackwood, from 11x01 to 11x24

portrayed by Jonathan Kerrigan, from 11x02 to 14x05

portrayed by Peter Birch, from 11x11 to 12x11

...

portrayed by Claire Goose, from 12x01 to 14x30

portrayed by Rebecca Wheatley, from 12x01 to 15x29

portrayed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, from 14x09 to 19x05

portrayed by Ian Kelsey, from 14x15 to 16x28

portrayed by Will Mellor, from 15x31 to 17x40

portrayed by Dan Rymer, from 16x01 to 17x40

portrayed by Kelly Harrison, from 16x01 to 18x40

portrayed by Christine Stephen-Daly, from 16x03 to 18x46

portrayed by Christopher Colquhoun, from 16x29 to 18x46

portrayed by Sarah Manners, from 17x22 to 19x44

portrayed by Maxwell Caulfield, from 18x02 to 19x17

portrayed by Leanne Wilson, from 18x03 to 19x48

portrayed by Will Thorp, from 19x14 to 20x17

Deaths

Here is a list of every regular character's death in the show's history. Notice that in recent years the amount of deaths has risen dramatically.

  • Series 2 - Sandra Mute (stabbed)
  • Series 3 - Ewart Plimmer (heart attack)
  • Series 6 - Kelly (suicide)
  • Series 11 - Trevor (falls to death)
  • Series 15 - Andrew (pushed to death), Tom (falls to death)
  • Series 16 - Rachel (fatal mugging), Patrick (motorway crash), Eddie (transplant op)
  • Series 17 - Jeff (heart attack), Beth (car crash), Jack (boat explosion), Anna (train crash)
  • Series 18 - Baz (car crash), Simon (plane crash), Fin (murdered)
  • Series 19 - Jim (hospital fire), Claire Guildford (drowns, suicide)
  • Casualty@Holby Christmas 2005 - Woody (Chlorine poisoning)

DVD Release

File:Casualty 1.jpg
Casualty Series 1 DVD release

Casualty is being released on DVD (Region 2, U.K.) by 2 Entertain/Cinema Club. The first series will be available on 10th April 2006.

See also

Citations

  1. ^ "Present Characters" (PHP). holby.tv Database. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Casualty, Series 1" (PHP). holby.tv Database. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Past Characters" (PHP). holby.tv Database. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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