Casualty is a British medical drama series broadcast on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it first aired in the United Kingdom on 6 September 1986. The show was originally produced by Geraint Morris and has been a staple of British television ever since. Casualty is recognised as the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world.
Catherine Ellen Shipton is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Lisa "Duffy" Duffin in the BBC medical drama Casualty. After leaving the series in 2020, she has since appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Lydia Smith.
The first series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on 6 September 1986, and concluded on 27 December 1986. The show was created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin after the pair were both hospitalised for different reasons. Brock and Unwin were deeply concerned with what they saw within hospitals and decided to pitch a document in 1985 for the BBC. It was reported the pitch document 'read like a manifesto', and the show was then commissioned. Geraint Morris was appointed as the show's producer. Casualty was commissioned to boost ratings on BBC One at peak times after ratings began to decline between 1984 and 1985. Prior to first series airing, Brock and Unwin visited a hospital in Bristol where they met a charge nurse called Pete Salt. Salt was appointed the series medical advisor.
The second series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 September 1987 and finished on 19 December 1987.
The fourth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 8 September 1989 and finished on 1 December 1989.
The sixth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 September 1991 and finished on 27 February 1992.
The fifth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 7 September 1990 and finished on 7 December 1990.
The seventh series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 September 1992 and finished on 27 February 1993.
The eighth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 September 1993 and finished on 26 February 1994.
The ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 17 September 1994 and finished on 25 March 1995.
The twelfth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 11 September 1997 and finished on 28 February 1998. The first episode was originally due to be shown on the evening of Saturday 6 September, but this was delayed until the following Thursday due to coverage of the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales earlier on that day, as the BBC felt it would be inappropriate to air the episode so soon after such an event.
The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 September 1998 and finished on 13 March 1999. It saw another increase, this time to 28 episodes, including a feature-length Christmas episode. This was the first series to be broadcast in widescreen. The series also acted as a launchpad for characters and storylines in the spin-off series Holby City, which started in January 1999.
The fourteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 September 1999 and finished on 25 March 2000. It saw another increase, this time to 30 episodes.
The fifteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 16 September 2000 and finished on 28 April 2001. It saw another increase, this time to 36 episodes, including two hour-long self-contained 'specials', "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Something from the Heart", which were shown in addition to the regular Saturday night episodes.
The sixteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 15 September 2001 and finished on 29 June 2002. It saw another increase, this time to 40 episodes. On 30 March 2002, Episode 350 had to be shown on BBC Two, due to some schedule changes on BBC One resulting from the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother earlier that day.
The thirtieth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2015, and concluded on 30 July 2016. The series consisted of 43 episodes, including the broadcast of the show's 1000th episode on 25 June 2016. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer. Seventeen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series with five actors, including three long-serving cast members, departing during this series. Chelsea Halfpenny appeared in the serial between September and November 2015 as F2 Alicia Munroe, reprising the role as a main cast member in July 2016. Alistair Brammer joined the cast for a four-month guest stint as receptionist Jack Diamond in December 2015. Three new regular cast members joined the serial in spring 2016: Lloyd Everitt as paramedic Jez Andrews; Jason Durr as staff nurse David Hide; and Jaye Griffiths as consultant Elle Gardner.
"Too Old for This Shift" is a special feature-length episode of the British medical drama television series Casualty. It was broadcast as the premiere episode of its thirty-first series on 27 August 2016, on BBC One, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the show. The special, which is 99 minutes long, was co-written by Matthew Barry and Andy Bayliss, directed by Steve Hughes, and produced by Lucy Raffety.
Lisa "Duffy" Duffin is a character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by Cathy Shipton. Duffy was created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin as one of the serial's ten original characters. Shipton received her audition just as she was thinking of giving up her acting career. She thought her chances of being cast were slim, as she had on bandages following a fall; however, the producer, Geraint Morris, was fascinated by the incident and asked her about her time in the hospital. Shipton was considered for the role of receptionist Susie Mercier, before being cast as Duffy. She made her debut in the pilot episode of the first series, broadcast on 6 September 1986.
"One" is the thirty-first series finale of the British medical drama television series Casualty and the 1,049th episode of the overall series. The episode is written by Paul Unwin, the show's co-creator, and directed by Jon Sen. It premiered on BBC One and BBC One HD on 29 July 2017. "One" is a fly on the wall episode following an hour in Holby City Hospital's emergency department (ED) with additional focus on sister Lisa "Duffy" Duffin mentoring two work experience girls and paramedic Jez Andrews grieving the death of a baby.
The thirty-fourth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 17 August 2019, one week after the end of the previous series. The series consists of 43 episodes. Lucy Raffety continues her role as series producer, while Simon Harper continues his role as the show's executive producer; this is Raffety's final series as producer, and she was replaced by Loretta Preece. Production on the series was postponed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also resulted in multiple transmission breaks. A single episode was also pulled due to comparisons between its content and the pandemic; the episode was broadcast as the final episode of the series at a later date. The theme of the series is reflecting how the National Health Service (NHS) is "under pressure", with elements focusing on "the hierarchy of pressure on the doctors". The series is also promoted through multiple trailers.
