Casualty stars plead with the BBC not to axe long-running drama
Casualty scooped the BAFTA Award for Soap and Continuing Drama on Sunday 12 May - for the third time in four years - where some of its stars said they hoped it is still around for years to come.
During the chat in the winners' room after they picked up their award, the team explained why Casualty shouldn’t follow in the footsteps of BBC axed dramas Doctors and Holby City and it’s because of all the famous faces that have walked through the ED.
Actress Elinor Lawless who plays Doctor Stevie Nash said: “There's been a lot of actors who've cut their teeth on Casualty, you’ve got the likes of Jodie Comer, Tom Hiddleston, Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley.
“I think it's incredibly important and significant for that reason as well, it’s one of those shows that for a lot of actors - definitely for me it was my first experience of being on a TV set.”
Producer of the show Jon Sen continued: “I think that’s what is often overlooked, the brilliant high end drama of tomorrow rests and relies on the vibrant, continuing drama of today.
“And we need to give it the attention and the credit and the funding that it needs in order to provide the drama industry with the start of tomorrow, both acting, writing, directing, cast, crew, technicians, artists we are the furnace for for tomorrow.”
Casualty has been on screens since 1986, and Jon says the key to its success is "satisfying" the core audience, but also "luring" in a new generation.
When asked about whether he wanted to talk about the representation of the NHS, Jon said: “We’re very clear that we’re not political with a big P.
“What we are doing is reflecting an authentic experience of what it is like to be a doctor, nurse, medic, paramedic within the NHS. And that authentic depiction speaks for itself, and that’s where we get the wellspring of stories.”
Looking back over the highlights of the show, Neet declared that for him, it was the 75th anniversary episode.
He revealed it was "a semi-improvised episode and that was a real show of all different sides of the NHS coming together to try and treat a patient and to tell that story in the way that we did it.
"I was really proud to be a part of that," he shared, adding: "That felt like a real achievement."
In the current storyline, Holby ED was thrown into chaos when a documentary got released about the department with secret footage being filmed by someone inside the hospital. Everyone has been speculating which character is the ‘Whistleblower’ of the series.
Despite their celebratory mood, the cast refused to reveal anything about who the 'Whistleblower' is. Jon said: "Absolutely not. It's a nice try and you got me in a good mood.” And Eleanor joked: "It's not Charlie.”
