Production
Background
"Today's announcement places BBC Wales at the heart of BBC drama network production. We have already established a first-class drama production base in Wales and Casualty provides a springboard for further creative and talent development." [3]
—BBC Cymru Wales Controller Menna Richards on the move to Cardiff (2009)
In October 2008, it was reported that Casualty could be relocated from its current production base in Bristol to a new filming studio in Cardiff. [4] This was confirmed on 26 March 2009 as part of the BBC's mission to expand production across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Production was scheduled to move in 2011 after twenty-five years in Bristol. [5] Menna Richards, the BBC Cymru Wales Controller, hoped that the move would create "a springboard for further creative and talent development". [3] Piers Wenger, the head of drama at BBC Cymru Wales, reiterated this and added that Casualty is a key element to the expansion of BBC Cymru Wales. [3] John Yorke, the BBC Controller of Drama Production and New Talent, opined that the move was "incredibly exciting" and would secure the show's future as "one of Saturday night's favourite dramas". [3] In January 2011, it was confirmed that the new studio would be located at Roath Lock drama village. [6]
The show's move faced opposition from multiple sources. Caroline Norbury, chief executive officer (CEO) at South Wales Screen, a Bristol organisation promoting film and television production in South West England, expressed plans to campaign for Casualty remaining in Bristol. [7] Two members of the show's production crew - prop master Patrick Black and freelance producer David McHenry - expressed their dismay with the move to Robin Turner from Wales Online . [7] Kerry McCarthy, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol East, was critical of the news and likened it to moving soap opera EastEnders from Albert Square to Trafalgar Square. [8] Derek Thompson, the serial's longest-serving cast member, disliked the decision to relocate the series and dubbed it a result of unexplained "BBC bureaucracy". [9] He added that he would miss filming in Bristol. [9] Johnathan Young, the show's executive producer, admitted that although there was "mixed feelings" about the move, viewers should not notice any differences. [9] A campaign, named "Keep Casualty in Bristol", was launched by Equity to prevent the move, although chairman Terry Victor noted that sets in Bristol would likely need reconstructing anyway due to their age and the introduction of high-definition television (HDTV). [7] Thompson was appreciative of the campaign's efforts and contributed to the street protests. [9]
Development
"Next of Kin" is a celebration for both the show's twenty-fifth anniversary, which was reached in September 2011, and the final episodes filmed from Bristol. [10] [11] Consequently, producers decided to make the episode an event, wanting to leave Bristol "with a bang!" [11] A story was devised, where the show's setting - the emergency department (ED) of the fictitious Holby City Hospital - was destroyed in a fire. [12] Series producer Oliver Kent teased the episode in a promotional interview with Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy , calling it one of a collection of "big episodes" during the transition in studios. [10] William Beck, who portrays Dylan Keogh, dubbed the events of the episode "a fitting end to our time in Bristol". [13]
The episode is directed by Simon Massey, who expressed his "enormous pride" to have worked on it. [11] In a behind-the-scenes video for the show, he commented, "I gave my heart and soul to this job for a number of months and it was absolutely fantastic." [11] Patrick Homes wrote the first part of the episode and the second part was written by Sally Abbott. Abbott felt "lucky" to write the episode and speaking in 2014, she admitted that people talk to her about the episode weekly. [14] Abbott sought the cast's opinion on the script and spoke to them on-set, before rewriting any agreed suggestions. Sunetra Sarker suggested that her character Zoe Hanna could play music from her phone when she is trapped in Resus and believes she will not escape, which Abbott then wrote into the script. [14] "Next of Kin" was produced by Rebecca Hedderly. [1] Casualty's production team worked in conjunction with The Giggle Group, a film and animation studio, from the conception stage of the episode. The company's managing director, Steve Garratt, discussed how to achieve the fire stunt with Massey and the show's writing team. These discussions included whether it would be possible to remain on the show's set. [11]
The episode features the departures of Ruth Winters (Georgia Taylor) and Jay Faldren (Ben Turner), who have appeared in the drama since 2007 and 2008, respectively. Their departures were announced on 21 October 2011. [15] A show spokesperson teased an "explosive and heart-stopping" final episode for the pair and added, "we don't think they'll be disappointed with the character's extremely dramatic exit later this year!" [15] Taylor and Turner did not plan to leave together, but their decisions coincided so they were written out together. [16] Taylor liked that their exit featured in the show's final episodes in Bristol, calling it "quite a fitting end". [16] Ruth and Jay have been in an on-off relationship since the latter was introduced to the show, and writers have challenged them with multiple obstacles. Turner noted that they have "been on a bit of a roller coaster over the past couple of years". [16]
For their final episodes, writers created a new challenge for the couple when Ruth becomes pregnant. [16] The pair previously encountered this in series 24, but Ruth terminated the pregnancy behind Jay's back. Turner thought that this reduced the "excitement" Jay feels for this pregnancy. [16] He added that Jay finds fatherhood "a scary prospect" as he is worried about Ruth. [16] Likewise, Ruth is scared about the pregnancy and the effect her bipolar disorder may have, so she pushes Jay away and ends their relationship. Discussing Ruth's feelings, Taylor commented, "She just freaks out. Ruth has always felt she's not good enough for Jay". [16] Jay is disappointed with Ruth's choice and decides to fight it. He then goes to her office and announces that they won't leave until it is sorted. During this time, a fire breaks out in the hospital. [16] Turner and Taylor explained that Jay first realises that there is a fire and that the hospital has been evacuated, leaving Ruth and Jay "stranded" and unable to escape. [16]
Writers introduced guest character Lily Stone, portrayed by Eleanor Rowe, into Ruth and Jay's escape story. Lily features across both parts of the episode with her own story. [16] Ruth, Jay and Lily decide to escape the fire by crawling through the air conditioning ventilation system with the intention of reaching the roof. Taylor told Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap that it becomes "a fight for survival. It's life-and-death". [16] After encountering obstacles en route, they reach the roof. Turner pointed out that Jay immediately becomes "very protective" of Ruth. [16] He thought that Jay would forgo his own life to ensure Ruth was safe. At one point, Ruth is left in danger and asks Jay to leave her and save himself; Jay tells Ruth that he would never leave her. Turner called this a "touching moment", but warned that they could not leave the situation alive. [16] Their fate was embargoed until the episode's broadcast, where it was revealed that they survived the fire. [16] [17]
"Next of Kin" served to develop the show's characters, especially Scarlett Conway (Madeleine Mantock) and Lloyd Asike (Michael Obiora), two young nurses who were introduced at the start of the series. [18] [19] In the pair, Scarlett has been portrayed as shy, and Lloyd as confident. However, Scarlett's confidence grows after rushing into the fire to save elderly couple Bernard Jones (Alan Rothwell) and Susan Jones (Anne Rutter). [18] Mantock explained that this causes tension between Scarlett and Lloyd because "this tips the scale a little bit". [18] She added that Scarlett struggles to receive praise for her heroics as she "never expected to be the heroine". [18] This moment serves as a turning point in Scarlett's character journey. [18] Contrastingly, the episode creates "a crisis of confidence" for Lloyd as he is hesitant to go back into the ED, unlike Scarlett. Obiora thought that Lloyd acted differently to how he expected to, which "surprised [him] but not pleasantly". [19] This sends Lloyd onto "a mission of redemption". [19]
The episode also set up new stories for the show. During part two, it is revealed that Dylan and Sam Nicholls (Charlotte Salt) are married. [13] Both characters had been introduced to the show across 2011 but their connection was not revealed until that point. [13] Salt was informed about the connection during her audition process and performed a screen test with Beck. [20] Beck learnt about the twist prior to Salt's casting. [21] Salt hoped the twist was a surprise for viewers. She added that Dylan and Sam are both complex characters, which allows the story to run for an extended period of time. [13] Beck did not want the twist to overshadow the main story about Ruth and Jay, which he thought was "so wonderful, lovely and so moving". [21] On how the twist was delivered, he commented, "It was nice to play in a way that wasn’t unrealistically overdramatic." [21]
Filming and post-production
Filming for the episode took place in August 2011. [11] The first part of the episode contained 73 scenes. [11] "Next of Kin" was partially filmed at the Casualty studio in Bristol, including on the exterior set at the Lawrence Hill Industrial Park. [22] It was the final episode of Casualty to be filmed at these studios. [23] The episode was largely filmed at night in mixed weather conditions. [11] Taylor found this "exhausting" yet "exciting". [16] On his final day of filming, Turner revisited the main set and admitted that he found it "hard to say goodbye to that battered old warehouse!" [16] The final scene of the episode, which depicts Ruth and Jay leaving Holby, was filmed on the Clifton Suspension Bridge, marking the last time it was featured in Casualty. [17] Post-production took place over eight weeks and continued when production moved to the new set on Cardiff. [11] [20] Taylor and Turner visited the new set to re-record some dialogue for "Next of Kin". [20]
Fire scenes could not be filmed at the main studio because it is not fireproof and has ventilation issues. It is also not permitted to film any naked flames at the studio. Producers had to find a way around this, so that they could achieve their goal. [11] They decided to hire two stages at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol. [11] [24] On one stage, an elevator build was constructed using the studio's 70 ft (21 m) height. [24] On another stage, a replica of the main part of the Casualty set was created, so that the ED could be set on fire. [11] [24] The rest of the set was created through a blue screen, which serves as a backdrop to the replica set. [11] Garratt explained that the combination of a blue screen stage and the replica set allowed Massey "flexibility" and made the episode "as convincing as possible". [11] Steven Miller, who portrays Lenny Lyons, described the stage as "an enormous hanger-like space" with large blue canvas sheets hung from the ceiling. [11] Every shot filmed on the replica set was also filmed at the main studio to create plate shots. These replaced the blue screens in the final cut, making the background to each shot. [11] When filming the plate shots, set designers had to scorch the set so that matched the fire image created at the replica set. [11]
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) was used to digitally input the "elements" - debris, dust, explosion and flames - into the scene via the blue screens. Elements were filmed on the replica set, although some parts of the episode, including air explosions, were filmed at the main studio. [11] The CGI process was documented in a video by The Giggle Group. [25] [26] Mark Turner, from special effects company MTFX Ltd, explained that CGI had to be used due to the limitations that the set's design offers. [11] Whilst the production team aimed to film as much flame in the primary shot as possible, they added in more elements during post-production to make the stunt appear realistic. [11] Garratt noted that they want the stunt to "feel like a raging inferno". [11] Massey explained that different aspects of smoke were layered onto the scenes in post-production. He commented, "These were small details but they made all the difference." [11] CGI was also used to digitally add fire to characters, since there was restrictions on the level of danger actors could be exposed to. [11] On how much was filmed through CGI, Mantock quipped, "there comes a point where [I ask myself] am I going to be lying in a heap of rubble today?" [11]
One shot featured in the second part of the episode was a tracking shot of the ED on fire, which was filmed on the blue screen stage. This shot created logistical difficulties for the production crew as they needed both the foreground and the background to be tracked, with the addition of the CGI fire. [11] Massey explained that heat haze made some elements in the scene "ripple slightly", so when the background was stitched onto the foreground, it began to move. To solve this issue, the post-production team had to manually stitch the scenes by hand. [11] The ED set features pillars, although they did not reach the full height of the set when recreated onto the replica set. Therefore, the post-production team also had to extend the pillars and the ceiling, and then digitally input the elements of the fire onto those areas. [11] Massey opined that there was "quite a lot going on" in that scene. [11] In total, it took the majority of a week to complete digital production on the tracking shot. [11]
The nature of the episode meant that stunt performers had to be hired to protect the cast from any danger. This was arranged by Julian Simpson, the show's stunt co-ordinator. [11] The final scene of part one uses stuntmen, who double for Miller and Sean Blowers (fire officer Frank Molloy). In the scene, Lenny opens the storeroom door - where the fire is located - and a ball of flame measuring at 3–4 m (10–13 ft) explodes as a result of the backdraft. [11] The explosion consists of compressed air and soft materials, which are designed not to hurt the actors. The stunt performers wore burn suits to protect them from the flames. [11] When the explosion occurs, Lenny and Frank are thrown backwards by the force of the explosion; the stuntmen portraying them were attached to drift wires and pulled backwards through the shot. Turner (MTFX Ltd) opined that it was "the most ambitious" aspect of the episode. [11]
A stunt performer was also used in one of the final scenes as guest character Bin Head (Paul Oldham) is thrown through a glass sign in the ED following an explosion in the department. [11] Although the explosion was as "substantial" as earlier ones in the episode, it was created using only a canister expelling air. [11] When the explosion goes off, the stuntman standing in for Oldham was pulled back by an attached wire, designed to portray the blast of the explosion. [11] Massey noted that the challenge of the sequence was having the explosion blast through the glass. The sequence had to be stitched together during post-production. [11]
At the conclusion of filming the episode, props from the show's time in Bristol, including the clapperboard used for filming "Next of Kin", were donated by the show to Bristol Children's Hospital for use in a charity auction to raise money for the hospital's cardiac unit. Executive producer Johnathan Young was pleased to "give something back" to Bristol and its medical teams in exchange for the support Bristol Royal Infirmary has offered the drama since its conception in 1986. [27]
