Concerns for future of legendary BBC soap after cast and crew told ‘two more years’ following cost-saving cuts
BBC hospital drama Casualty could be heading for the chop, with crew members told there are just more two series.
The show launched in 1986 and is the world’s longest-running medical drama, but having been hit by “super-inflation in drama production” and a string of cost-cutting measures, staff say they have been told their contract renewals will be the last.
Filming of the 39th series is currently underway, but crew now expect series 40 to be the final outing.
An insider said: “Never mind on life support, it feels like Casualty has now received its death warrant.
“The official messaging is that all is well because the show was recently recommissioned for two more years.
“But when that new round of contracts were signed, the feedback was ‘two years, then we’re done’.
“To be honest, no one was very surprised.
“The writing has been on the wall for a while now.”
In September, The Sun told how bosses had slashed the number of episodes due to pressures amid the cost of living crisis.
As a result, a mid-series break was introduced, meaning Casualty was off-air from September 16 until December 30.
The number of big stunts and budget-sapping production elements have also been cut.
And just this month, Casualty lost its biggest name, Strictly Come Dancing contestant Nigel Harman, when he quit following a year playing emergency department boss Dr Max Cristie.
This week, its only original cast member, Derek Thompson, 75, said goodbye after playing beloved paramedic Charlie Fairhead from the show’s beginning.
It also comes after sister show Holby City, which was set in the same fictional hospital as Casualty, was binned in March 2022.
The Sun revealed in October last year how the BBC had cancelled its only other medical serial, Doctors.
The Birmingham-based daytime soap filmed its final scenes last week and wrapped with a glitzy party at the city’s Grand Hotel ballroom on Friday.
The feeling among the industry is that the BBC has torn apart continuing drama. Over sixty per cent of TV people are out of work.
Source
Casualty’s demise would mean the BBC’s only continuing drama would be EastEnders.
Our insider said: “Casualty films three to four months in advance, so it’s business as usual for now as they crack on with series 39.
“Thirty-eight will end in July, then, all being well, the new episodes will continue to air from there.
“But the general word to everyone was ‘two more years then bye’ and ‘we’ve got two more years’.
“The contracts are rolling, so don’t have an expiry date on them, so you never know, things could be extended again.
“But the feeling on set is that at least they’ve had a bit of warning, unlike the Doctors production who had four months to try and find new work.
“That felt totally out the blue as they hadn’t experienced any of the budget cuts or ratings dips — unlike Casualty has.”
The Saturday night show now pulls in an average of just under three million viewers.
In its heyday it hit six million and over the years it has won a string of Bafta TV awards as well as launching the careers of many top showbiz names.
The source continued: “The feeling among the industry is that the BBC has torn apart continuing drama.
“Over sixty per cent of TV people are out of work.
“Casualty isn’t sold worldwide like some of the BBC’s other programmes, so doesn’t really make a lot of money for the Corporation.
“Apart from Doctor Who and other BBC Wales programmes, it’s also the only show they regularly film at Roath Lock studios in Cardiff, so could even mean freeing up an entire studio space there too.”
The BBC said: “Casualty isn’t going anywhere.
“The latest recommission is simply part of the normal business cycle.”
Never mind on life support, it feels like Casualty has now received its death warrant
Source
As well as a general rise in the cost of living, production budgets have been forced up by rivals such as streaming giant Netflix.
Casualty started as a 15-part series, but eventually hit 48 episodes a year.
The current series is set to run for 36 episodes.
When The Sun first revealed the cuts in the number of episodes, a spokesman for the BBC said: “Our priority is always delivering quality over hours — and due to super-inflation in drama production we’ve taken the decision to slightly reduce the number of episodes per year in order to maintain quality.”
The hospital’s famous faces
David Walliams: DAVID played an intense dad who was making his daughter seriously ill.
It was 2003, the same year he first starred in Little Britain.
Martin Freeman: IN 1998, Martin played robber Ricky Beck, who clashed with Holby staff.
He said: “It was the biggest thing I’d done on TV.”
Danny Dyer: AFTER making it big in movies, Danny played paramedic Rossy in 2012.
At the time he said: “There was a lot of dialogue to learn.”
Tom Hiddleston: IN 2007, Tom played cocky Chris who accidentally knocked a woman off her balcony while abseiling down a block of flats.
Kate Winslet: KATE played domestic abuse victim Suzanne in 1993, four years before she hit the big time in Titanic.
Minnie Driver: SIX years before her Oscar nomination for Good Will Hunting, Minnie played a patient whose condition rapidly detriorated in 1991.