Casualty marks 40 years on BBC One
Casualty: 40th Anniversary, BBC One, Saturday
BBC medical drama Casualty marked its 40th birthday with an episode packed with explosions, chaos and a few familiar faces.
The show has long been part of Saturday night television, and this anniversary instalment leaned into that history with a major incident storyline that sent the team at Holby A&E scrambling. The programme has often been described as having started as a defence of the NHS in the Thatcher era, and it now claims the title of the “world’s longest-running medical drama”.
A dramatic start for Flynn
The episode opened with Flynn (Olly Rix), the “brilliant but maverick consultant and Casanova”, out running when he took a call wishing him a happy 40th birthday. Shortly after telling his daughters he would be back in time for pizza, disaster struck.
What followed was described as a mini-mushroom cloud of flames, leaving the question of whether Holby was dealing with a terrorist bomb, an accident or a military attack.
Over at Holby, Siobhan, Dylan, Stevie, Rash and the rest of the team prepared for an influx of patients. For a medical drama, a major incident episode is a big test, and this one gave the long-running series the chance to show it still knows how to stage large-scale emergency drama.
Chaos in Holby A&E
The incident brought confusion, with one character declaring, “We’re at war,” as the staff tried to work out what had happened. As the review noted, Casualty often moves quickly through character moments in these episodes, focusing instead on the next emergency.
There were mixed fortunes for the staff. Dylan started strongly before being blown off course, while others found the night boosted their standing in the team.
The episode ran to 100 minutes and, according to the review, had its share of ropey dialogue and over-the-top moments. But for many fans, that is part of the appeal of a big Casualty event.
Charlie returns
One of the evening’s biggest talking points was the return of Charlie (Derek Thompson), described as Casualty’s “patron saint”. His arrival was not treated as a spoiler, since news of his return had emerged last week.
Charlie was shown doing what Charlie does best, with “a twinkle of the eye here and a sad smile there.” He was joined by Ethan (George Rainsford), who also drew attention.
Ethan left Holby after being diagnosed with Huntington’s, and in this episode he was seen helping out where he could. The review even raised the idea of a spin-off featuring Ethan as a disabled doctor, drawing a comparison with Harrison Ford’s therapist character in Shrinking, who is living with Parkinson’s.
For a series now four decades into its run, the message was clear: Casualty still has room to surprise, and still has life in the format yet.
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