The thirty-seventh series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 20 August 2022 and finished on 19 August 2023. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the emergency department (ED) of the fictional Holby City Hospital.
Jon Sen continues his role as the executive producer and Liza Mellody begins her position as series producer. Series 37 marks the return to regular filming protocols after the COVID-19 pandemic. The series has been marred by scheduling conflicts, with one episode premiering on BBC Two.
Following his appointment, Sen decided to alter the format of the show, removing the accidents that bring patients to the ED and instead having patients arrive injured. Starting in January 2023, he opted to split the series into 12 episode groups with a single story strand running through. The decision stems from a desire to adapt against other dramas and content available, as well as modernising the Casualty brand. The show's story team placed the pressures of working in the NHS at the focus of the series. A special improvised episode exploring the paramedic team was commissioned.
15 regular cast members reprised their roles from the previous series. Using these main characters, the issues of mental health, BRCA1, surrogacy and coercive control were explored, with some stories continuing from the previous series. Three of the show's main cast opted to leave their respective roles during the series, while another regular cast member's character was killed-off. The opening episode of the series received a positive reception from television critics and NHS workers. The series has also received criticism; Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy opined that scheduling disruption had resulted in pacing issues and leaving the drama in "one of the most turbulent" periods.
Production
The series commenced in the United Kingdom on 20 August 2022 on BBC One, a week after the conclusion to the previous series. It is produced by BBC Studios. Jon Sen continues his role as executive producer, having been appointed late in the previous series. Loretta Preece served as the show's series producer until episode 2, with Liza Mellody taking over from episode 3. This series marks the first one to return to regular filming protocols, following two series of restricted filming techniques due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode durations also return to the full 50 minutes, having been reduced to 40 minutes during the previous two series. Filming for Casualty primarily takes place in a purpose-built studio at the BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, although the nature of the show means that filming also takes place on-location. On-location filming often occurs in Cardiff and other areas of southern Wales. On-location sites used for series 37 include Dyfrid Street, Barry Island and Adamsdown Square, Cardiff.
Scheduling Casualty normally airs weekly on BBC One on Saturday nights. The series has been marred by scheduling conflicts, which resulted in weeks without episodes and other weeks with double billings. In a piece on the future of the drama, Digital Spy Sophie Dainty opined that these scheduling disruptions were "contributing to a descent in quality and momentum". The first double billing of the series contained episodes 3 and 4, both broadcast on 3 September 2022. The coverage of the death of Elizabeth II meant that episode 5 premiered on BBC Two on 10 September 2022, rather than BBC One as initially planned. The show took a transmission break following the broadcast of episode 8 on 8 October 2022. Cast members William Beck and Elinor Lawless confirmed that the show would return to transmission in November 2022, and episode 9 aired on 19 November, six weeks after the last episode.
Promotion The series was promoted through a trailer released to the show's social media accounts. Calli Kitson from the Metro praised the trailer and called it "packed full of exciting storylines". She concluded, "Strap yourselves in! Watching the lives of hospital staff and patients unfold is never an easy ride..." The show's cast promoted the show during interviews with media outlets at the 2022 Inside Soap Awards. Sen gave an interview to the Metro Duncan Lindsay, where he promoted the show's future. The twelfth episode, which is an improvised special, was advertised through a trailer released on 7 December 2022. The episode's main cast and production team also promoted the episode through interviews. A trailer was released on 9 February 2023 to promote new episodes of the series.
Format Since its debut in 1986, Casualty has maintained a consistent format, which continues into this series. The format sees a minimum of one accident occur, which results in patients being admitted to Holby City Hospital's emergency department (ED), where they are treated by the show's regular characters. Alongside this, long-running story arcs took place across a series using the show's main cast. Following his appointment, Sen decided to alter the format of Casualty with changes taking place from January 2023. He removed the accident element of the show and instead had patients arrive at the hospital already injured. This move shifted focus to how patients were treated and their lives inside the hospital, rather than how they became injured. He said that he wanted to portray how the injury impacts a person's life. Sen was conscious that the audience may detach from the show if they are watching an inaccurate reflection of life.
Upon his appointment, Sen instilled five core values of "heart, wit, adrenaline, authenticity and entertainment" into the show's story team. He wanted to lead a focus on creating "Saturday night entertainment drama", drawing from the show's position in the schedule. In the show's new format, each series is split into "discrete mini-series" of 12 episodes. Each mini-series contains one main story arc running throughout with a handful of smaller stories "weaved in subtly". The first mini-series, In Plain Sight, running between episodes 13 and 25, follows Dylan working on an abuse case. The following mini-series, entitled Welcome to the Warzone, follows four new "fresh-faced" nurses as they join the ED. A time jump of six weeks occurs between the first and second mini-series, designed to enable development of character and story pace.
The decision to change the show's format stemmed from Sen wanting to adapt against "the level of competition from other channels and the proliferation of content". He did not want to exclude a fading audience to please long-term viewers and instead wanted to keep that audience through modernising the brand. He wanted to match other dramas in the way stories were told. Sen commented, "We may be a 37 year old brand but we aren’t predictable, boring, stale. We are exciting and modern." Sen wanted the new format to establish "serial drama in terms of hooks and long-term story". He felt this format allowed the audience to join into the series at any given point, rather than feeling they are unable to watch at all. Discussing the cast, Sen confirmed that the cast would remain consistent throughout the series and would not change regularly. However, this has been proven to be a deliberate misleading press statement as there have been nine changes to the cast throughout the series.
Story development Stories from the show's previous series were continued into this series as part of the characters' ongoing development. David Hide (Jason Durr) takes a focus as his mental health is explored following the death of his son, Oliver Hide (Harry Collett). Writers reintroduced his former wife, Rosalene Hide (Jackie Knowles), as part of the story. Rachel Bavidge also reprises her guest role as Susan Kellmer, a patient with schizoaffective disorder, during the story. Durr explained that David and Susan connect on a "deep, mental level" and she would help David with his own "mental anguish" when she returns. Paige Allcott's (Shalisha James-Davis) BRCA1 diagnosis story continues into this series. Likewise, a feud between consultant Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) and anaesthetist Jonty Buchanan (Richard Harrington) is revisited, now with intervention from management consultant Marcus Fidel (Adam Sina).
A surrogacy storyline featuring Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson), Marty Kirkby (Shaheen Jafargholi) and Adi Kapadia (Raj Bajaj) receives focus in the series. Through the story, Robyn's health is explored. Actor George Rainsford confirmed that his character Ethan Hardy would feature in a new story during the series, amid rumours circulating surrounding his exit. The opening episode leads a focus on the pressures of working in the NHS. Writers used the characters of Dylan Keogh (William Beck), Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson), Sah Brockner (Arin Smethurst) and Teddy Gowan (Milo Clarke) to highlight this. Through this focus, Sen wanted to reflect the everyday experiences of NHS staff in a "factual" manner rather than a "political" one. Actress Kirsty Mitchell told Alice Penwill of Inside Soap that her character Faith Cadogan's emotional state would be explored in this series, following a traumatic year. She also teased that the character would be given a love interest.
The topic of coercive control was explored in series 37 using the characters of Stevie and Marcus. The story begins when Stevie is attacked by a patient. Sen pointed out that this reflected the physical and verbal abuse NHS staff face daily. Lawless explained that the hospital is Stevie's "safe place" and the attack leaves her feeling "incredibly open, vulnerable, scared and childlike", the opposite of Stevie's characterisation. The attack pushes Stevie towards Marcus, who takes advantage of her vulnerability. Sen called the story "really fascinating to see", and Lawless opined that Stevie and Marcus' relationship is "definitely not what it seems".
At the Inside Soap Awards, Clarke revealed that the series would include a special episode exploring the paramedic team. He teased that it would "be fun and keep the audience on their toes". The actor later told Penwill (Inside Soap) that it was an improvised episode focusing on the "strain on the NHS", which he found "scary but fun". The episode is directed by Steve Hughes. Sen admitted to being worried about suggesting the episode to the cast, but was pleased when they were responsive and "threw themselves in with both feet". Discussing the creation of the episode, Sen told Duncan Lindsay from the Metro that the episode would be "the best way" to accurately reflect the pressure on the NHS, since queuing ambulances outside EDs was "a real defining visual". The show's research team had found that ambulance waiting times were a rising issues for the general audience, which led producers to focus on this. For the special, actors were given themes to improvise from. Sen opined that there was "a real live quality" and "an intimacy that's really released from those scenes". The cast had not been required to improvise for their work "for a while" but adapted to the challenge. Additionally, the show's medical advisory team worked closely with the cast to help them with their portrayal.
Cast The thirty-seventh series of Casualty features a cast of characters working for the NHS within the emergency department of Holby City Hospital and the Holby Ambulance Service. Most cast members from the previous series reprise their roles in this series.