Casualty spoilers follow.
Casualty is celebrating a huge anniversary this week, as it marks 40 years of the BBC medical drama. Two special milestone episodes will air on Saturday (5 September), centring around an explosion St James’ Hospital that has huge consequences for Holby ED.
“Lives hang in the balance as a huge firebomb lights up the skies of Holby,” notes the logline for the first episode, while the synopsis for the second part reads: “As the team look to Dylan for guidance in their hour of need, does he have the strength to keep fighting?”
BBC
Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV
Speaking about the longevity of the medical drama, series boss Liza Mellody explained that the show’s devotion to remaining “modern and relevant” was partly why it had continued to resonate with audiences over the years.
“Our characters are human – they are flawed but they do the best they can with what they have,” she said. “We are telling human stories through the lens of medicine, adrenaline, warmth, joy, pain and ultimately hope. It is a marvellous concoction for Saturday night viewing.”
The producer described Casualty as “50 minutes of unmissable television”, and claimed that the soap has a real-life impact on the public, who can learn valuable medical information from watching every week.
“There are so many people that have said, ‘I became a nurse or doctor because of Casualty,’ or ‘I know how to do CPR because of Casualty,'” she shared, while also noting that some viewers have got checked out following certain storylines.
BBC
Related: Casualty confirms new details about huge disaster in trailer
“With that comes a responsibility to be authentic. We are a drama, but we have a huge medical team advising on the show, so what we portray is authentic with a twist of dramatic licence!” she added, before saying: “Bring on the next 40 years!”
If you can’t wait until the weekend, then we at Digital Spy handily compiled a breakdown of the anniversary special, which includes exclusive chats with several stars as well as some exciting teasers!
Casualty’s 40th anniversary double-bill airs on Saturday 5 September on BBC One and iPlayer.
Read more Casualty spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.
The new edition of Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Ariana Grande, is here! Buy Ariana Grande in newsagents or online.