Casualty stars have revealed their real-life Christmas plans – ahead of BBC drama’s dramatic festive special.

The festive special is called ‘All I Want for Christmas‘ and will air on Saturday, 21 December.

It is Christmas Day in the hospital and A&E is dealing with a serious blood shortage.

Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) and Cameron Micelthwaite (Barney Walsh) are on the front line saving patients.

Ahead of the Christmas special, Elinor opened up about her plans for the holidays, saying: “My little boy and I are going to Ireland. I lost my mum a few years ago, just before  Christmas, so this year I get the feeling we just need to be together.

“My mum loved Christmas and so when we come together this year, we do it in her memory. It’s not a wholly sad or wistful feeling,  we just miss her and that’s okay.”

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She explained how the Christmas special uses the backdrop of the busy holiday season to explore connection.

“It’s an episode about the gift of giving and throughout, we weave in real-life stories of loss, generosity  and hope which are a visual reminder of the reality we strive to present, question and challenge in Casualty.”

Meanwhile, Barney, who presents Gladiators and is The Chase star Bradley Walsh‘s son, said: “I’m spending Christmas with family this year. I have a tight-knit family, and we always spend Christmas and the New Year together. So, Christmas dinner, party, music, and lots of fun as a  family.”

One of Cam’s patients refuses a blood transfusion and medical professionals are unable to administer blood unless patients agree to it, so the team has to do their best to keep him alive.

In the meantime, the hospital runs out of donations so Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson), volunteers to go out and collect some. But it is dark, there’s been heavy snow and the roads are icy, so he has to put his own life at risk to gather the much-needed blood.

The episode cleverly weaves in real-life stories from those involved in blood donation and key workers.

Barney added: “It’s about giving blood and what that means. This episode looks at how quickly blood supplies can deplete and what the challenges are in a hospital when you’re trying to treat patients coming in with critical injuries.

“As it’s Cam’s first Christmas as a nurse working in the ED it’s a real test for Cam, and for everyone. The sheer amount of people coming into the ED is challenging. It is a tricky shift for sure.”

Michael said: “Iain faces challenges throughout the episode in order to reflect those faced by paramedics during the Christmas period. Iain goes out in really bad weather conditions and things take a turn for the worse so he faces the challenge of getting back on time, with the blood.”

Look out for some guest stars, including Coronation Street‘s Lucy-Jo Hudson, Doc Martin‘s Tristan Sturrock, Dune’s Joseph Charles, Iris star Zoe Brough, and Spaced’s Katy Carmichael.

Casualty has been on TV since September 1986. Now in its 37th series, it is the longest-running emergency medical drama in the world.

Set in the fictional Holby City Hospital, it follows the lives of the staff and patients who come in for treatment.