The BBC has confirmed the future of Casualty, after announcing a major change for the making of the show.
It has been revealed that the medical drama will be the next show to be put out to competitive tender.
This means that while Casualty will continue to be broadcast on the BBC, a new process will decide which producer makes it – with BBC Commissioning inviting pitches from producers.
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But viewers shouldn’t be worried about this change: the broadcaster says that this move ensures the BBC’s commitment to Casualty, reassuring fans that the popular programme won’t be going anywhere.
It was confirmed that the show will continue to air on BBC One and will continue to be filmed in Cardiff, with Casualty playing a vital role in Wales’ drama production output.
David Pembrey, chief operating officer of BBC Content, said in a statement: “The award-winning Casualty is a hugely important continuing drama which has been on our screens since 1986.
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“We are opening it up to competition as part of our ongoing commitment to delivering the very best value for audiences.”
The same tendering process happened back in 2017 to Holby City, Casualty’s sister show which came to an end in 2022.
However, at the end of the process, it was decided that BBC Studios would continue to produce the show and no major change would be made.
The BBC have been tendering a number of their returning series since 2014, when their new strategy required them to open up their programmes to competition.
Casualty’s current boxset, ‘Internal Affairs’ introduced the ED’s new clinical lead Flynn Byron (played by Call the Midwife’s Olly Rix), who has his own struggles with his father-in-law – surgeon Russell Whitelaw.
In this Saturday’s episode , Stevie fights for her life as she undergoes life changing surgery, while Rida is subjected to a frightening ordeal during the operation.
Elsewhere, Indie breaks the rules to help Jan during a call hander shift, and Rash begins to voice his doubts about Flynn’s leadership skills in the ED.