Amanda Mealing has announced she is taking an extended break from CASUALTY.
The news comes as another blow to fans who have seen a number of long serving cast members leave both medical dramas recently including HOLBY CITY’s Rosie Marcel and Hugh Quarshie and CASUALTY’s Tony Marshall.
Amanda has played iconic Connie Beauchamp since 2004 – first joining HOLBY CITY which she played for six years before joining CASUALTY as a regular from 2014. She will leave our screens in March, with no current plans to return. We will see her character embark on a new journey following the return of her daughter Grace, and putting her personal life ahead of her career.
She said of her departure, ‘It has been the most remarkable privilege to play Connie for the last 18 years. When she first hit our screens there were few female leads that weren’t ‘the wife of…’, ‘the mistress of…’ or needed ‘rescuing’.’ adding, ‘Most important for me is knowing that Connie has inspired so many women and young girls to seek careers, seek independence and strive to be their best.’
Deborah Sathe, senior head of content production for HOLBY CITY and CASUALTY, added: ‘We are going to miss Amanda playing chief of the ED Connie. Connie has led the ED, her team, and our CASUALTY audience through COVID. The quest to restore CASUALTY to our screens was not an easy one, and we owe a huge debt to Amanda and the whole team for delivering some of the most extraordinary episodes CASUALTY has ever broadcast,’ adding ‘We look forward to welcoming Connie back onto our screens in due course.’
Au revoir…for now. After 7 fantastic years at @BBCCasualty I shall miss my family there. Thank you for your endless love and indefatigable support. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dSy3aSXn3i
— amanda mealing (@meamandamealing) March 1, 2021
