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Derek Thompson (the longest- serving cast member on Casualty) recently announced his retirement from the drama after 37 years service. He has portrayed Charlie Fairhead since the opening episode, Gas. The role was based on real-life nurse, Peter Salt. |
BBC One's Saturday night flagship drama has
now endured for more than thirteen-hundred
instalments over thirty-seven seasons.
The programme, now stylised as CASUAL+Y,
was created by socialist screenwriters Jeremy
Brock and Paul Unwin as a direct response to
Thatcherism, and launched on September 6
1986.
Set in the fictional Bristol suburb of Holby,
Casualty is both the world's longest-running
show of its genre, and the most enduring
medical drama on prime time television. The
acclaimed franchise has earned many accolades
(including six BAFTA and five RTS awards), and
spawned four spin-off series - Holby City (1999
to 2022), Casualty@Holby City (2004/05),
Casualty 1900s (2006-09), and Holby Blues
(2007/08).
According to a Radio Times survey, the programme
has seen more guest roles for future stars than any
other UK soap or drama - Christopher Eccleston,
Alfred Molina, Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Minnie Driver, Tom Hiddleston, Johnny
Lee Miller, Ray Winstone, David Walliams, Robson
Green, Pam Ferris, Caroline Quentin, Marc Warren,
Pete Postlethwaite, David Harewood, Honor
Blackman, and Norman Wisdom have all appeared on Casualty.
The original leading characters were Ewart Plimmer
(played by Bernard Gallagher), Dr. Baz Samuels
(Julia Wason), Clive King (George Harris), Megan
Roach (Brenda Fricker), Lisa Duffin (Cathy Shipton),
and Sandra Mute (Lisa Bowerman. In 1989, Fricker
became the first Irish actress to win an Oscar for her
role in My Left Foot.
A repeat run of the first, fifteen-part season concluded on Drama this
week - it featured Roberta Tovey, and a total of forty-two Doctor
Who cast and crew connections:
- Watson was Hilda in Joy to the World
- Robert Pugh (Andrew Ponting, 1986/87; Gethin, 2023) was Tony Mack in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, then voiced Emmett Burrows for Big Finish's Five Twenty-Nine (2017)
- Trevor Cooper (Ralph here; Eddie, 1995) was [Lancelot] Takis in Revelation of the Daleks, and Friar Tuck in Robot of Sherwood, then voiced Rull for Magic Bullet's Kaldor City, Sir Ralph for The Doomwood Curse, Shanks for The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (both 2008), Judah for The Beast of Orlok, Smithy for Castle of Fear (both 2009), Captain Maddox/Stennan for Army of Death (2011), Colonel Burroughs/Kimball for The Emerald Tiger (2012), Preddle/Jonathan Jaggers for Judoon in Chains (2016), Jonathan Mayfly/Sir Joseph Eagleton for The Ghosts of Greenwich (2019), Smallpiece for Merry Christmas Mr. Jago (2020), and Silas Keynes for The Ravencliff Witches (2022)
- Roy Evans (Relative) was Trantis in The Daleks' Master Plan, Bert in The Green Death, and Miner in The Monster of Peladon
- Graham Cole[man Smith] (Junior Doctor) was a Krarg in Shada, Player in The Leisure Hive (1), Marshman in Full Circle, the Melkur in The Keeper of Traken and Time Flight (2), a titular Kinda, Cyberman in Earthshock and The Five Doctors, Crewman in Resurrection of the Daleks (1), and Jacondan in The Twin Dilemma (1)
- David [John] Simeon [born Townsend] (Bates) and James Snell (Thalton) both starred in The Daemons, as Alastair Fergus and Harry - Simeon was also Private Latimer in Inferno
- John Flanagan (DS Fox here; Keach, 1999) and Andrew McCulloch (Northover here; Ewart, 1995; Dean, 2002) wrote Meglos
- Patsy [Doris] Smart (Winnie) was the Ghoul in The Talons of Weng -Chiang
- Vincent Pickering (Gary here; Strudwick, 1999) made his TV debut in Warriors' Gate as Sagan
- [James Arnold] Rio Fanning (David) was Harker in Horror of Fang Rock
- James Marcus [born Brian T James] (Bill) was Peasant in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (2), and Rask in Underworld
- Adrian Fletcher (Nurse here; Fan, 1990) was Coven Member in K9 & Company
- Christine Pollon (Mrs. Ferguson here; Dr. Jacobs, 1995) provided the Voice of the Oracle in Underworld
- Timothy Block (Blair) was Tanner in Black Orchid
- Mona Hammond [Mavis Chin] (Millie) was Rita Anne in Rise of the Cybermen
- Derek Benfield (Davies here; Hogarth, 1990) voiced Dr. John Hallam for Catch 1782 (2005)
- Mark Jones (Tom) was Arnold Keeler in The Seeds of Doom
- Jonathan Evans (Dougie) was a Kinda (1), and Marshall in Earthshock
- John Bloomfield (Mike) was the costume designer on The Face of Evil and The Talons of Weng-Chiang
- [Robert] Michael Bilton (Arthur) was Charles de Teligny in The Massacre, Collins in Pyramids of Mars, and Time Lord in The Deadly Assassin
- Eric Francis (Mal) was the First Elder in The Sensorites
- [William Reginald] Bruce Purchase (Spiderman) was the Captain in The Pirate Planet
- Harry [James] Fowler (Terry) was Harry in Remembrance of the Daleks
- Keith Jayne (Luke) was Will Chandler in The Awakening
- Tom Lucy (Beck) was the stunt co-ordinator on sixteen stories (from Smith and Jones to The Next Doctor) and Torchwood
- Jon Glover (Commentator/Jeremy) voiced Shellingborne Grant for Slipback, then voiced the Shansheeth for The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor, Creodot for False Gods, Dr. Verryman for Order of Simplicity (both 2008), Father Christmas for Death in Blackpool (2009), and Jafrid for The Well-Mannered War (2015), Sir James for Infidel Places, and Dr. Gommen for The Stuntman (both 2022)
- Peter [George Haywood] Halliday (Piet) was Packer (and provided the Cyber Director Voice) in The Invasion, voiced the titular Silurians in their debut story and the Aliens in The Ambassadors of Death, then was Pletrac in Carnival of Monsters, Soldier in City of Death, and the Vicar in Remembrance of the Daleks (2)
- Zienia Merton (Receptionist here; Dr. Billington, 1991/92; Manson, 2002) was Ping-Cho in Marco Polo, and the Registrar in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
- Susan Jameson (Harriet) was originally cast as Morgan for Colony in Space but was replaced by Tony Caunter - she voiced Mrs. Moynihan for The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2000), and Fennella Wibbsey for AudioGo's Hornets' Nest (2009), Demon Quest (2010), Serpent Crest (2011), The Thing from the Sea (2018), The Winged Coven (2019) and The Penumbra Affair (2022)
- Andrew [James] Hall (Richard here; Wilkinson, 2015) voiced Alonso/ Gonzalo for Maker of Demons (2016)
- Keith Marsh (Arthur) was Conway in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 AD
- Tony Van Silva (stunts here; Attendant, 1997) was a stuntman on Tooth and Claw
- writer Wally Kevin Daly submitted the unused script The Ultimate Evil
- Martin Ridout was also sound supervisor on Time Flight, Snakedance, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment, The King's Demons, The Five Doctors, Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening and Frontios
- John Mooney was also sound assistant on Remembrance of the Daleks, Silver Nemesis (3), The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Battlefield and Ghost Light
- production manager Marcus DF White was an AFM on The Awakening
- Patricia Greenland was also production assistant on Full Circle
- technical co-ordinator Ray Hider began his career as lighting technician on The Power of the Daleks (6), and was technical manager on Terror of the Autons (1)
- Julie Mann was vision mixer on The Greatest Show in the Galaxy too
- camera supervisor Rodney Taylor was the senior cameraman on The Creature from the Pit
- props buyer Pauline Seager was an AFM on The Five Doctors
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