6/9/97 – 28/2/98
Episode Listing
- S12 E1 (6 Sep 97) : Give my Love to Esme by Ginnie Hole
- S12 E2 (13 Sep 97) : Private Lives by Robin Mukherjee
- S12 E3 (20 Sep 97) : Nearest and Dearest by Stephen Wyatt
- S12 E4 (27 Sep 97) : What Friends Are For by Andrew Holden
- S12 E5 (4 Oct 97) : The Things We Do For Love by Peter Bowker
- S12 E6 (11 Oct 97) : Counting the Cost by Tony McHale
- S12 E7 (18 Oct 97) : Always on my Mind by Shelagh Stephenson
- S12 E8 (25 Oct 97) : Finders Keepers by Joe Broughton
- S12 E9 (1 Nov 97) : Whatever it Takes by Tony Lindsay
- S12 E10 (8 Nov 97) : A Taste of Freedom by Shelagh Stephenson
- S12 E11 (15 Nov 97) : Bad Company by Robin Mukherjee
- S12 E12 (22 Nov 97) : Moving On by Jonathan Rich
- S12 E13 (29 Nov 97) : Power of Persuasion by Tony Lindsay
- S12 E14 (6 Dec 97) : Out of Control by Carolyn Sally Jones
- S12 E15 (13 Dec 97) : Love’s Labour by Gil Brailey
- S12 E16 (20 Dec 97) : Facing Up by Jonathan Rich
- S12 E17 (27 Dec 97) : The Golden Hour by Barbara Machin
- S12 E18 (3 Jan 98) : An Eye for an Eye by Tony Lindsay
- S12 E19 (10 Jan 98) : Loco Parentis by Andrew Holden
- S12 E20 (17 Jan 98) : Degrees of Seperation by Gil Brailey
- S12 E21 (24 Jan 98) : Secrets by Jonathan Rich
- S12 E22 (31 Jan 98) : Love Me Tender by Tony Lindsay
- S12 E23 (7 Feb 98) : Taking Sides by Steve Chambers
- S12 E24 (14 Feb 98) : We Can Be Heroes by Jonathan Rich
- S12 E25 (21 Feb 98) : Everlasting Love (Part 1) by Barbara Machin
- S12 E26 (28 Feb 98) : Everlasting Love (Part 2) by Barbara Machin
History
It seems the idea for Casualty to go bi-weekly lurked again; however it was again decided to be shelved when it came to the same conclusion that it wasn’t what the viewers wanted. Instead another idea was put into the making; sister show Holby City was launched at the beginning of 1999 in the hope that it would become the weekly soap medical based in London that Casualty wasn’t able to achieve.
As for Casualty, there was an increase to 26 episodes and the first was a 75 minute special. ‘Give my Love to Esme’ featured a shopping centre explosion which Baz and baby Louis are nearly involved in.
‘There’s a hugely loyal audience, but you can’t take it for granted. I think Casualty has a responsibility to provoke people to think and talk. You do have to be a bit brave in a show like this but I do believe we come down on the moral side,’ Sally Haynes, new producer added. ‘Because we’re on series 12 you have to keep pushing it. No-one wants to see a sad, slabby show that’s soft. The tricky thing is getting the right balance.’
New recruits were brought in to compliment stalwarts, including nurse Tina Seabrook, manager Elliot Matthews, SHO George Woodman, nurse Mark Grace, receptionist Amy Howard, porter Sunny and sister Eve Montgomery hjoined mid-series. ‘Casualty is an ensemble cast, not a star vehicle. It has it’s own momentum. Casualty has had some brilliant artists who have gone on to do other things. And the show has always survived. We’ve got six new regular artists and that means new energy.’
Newcomer Tina Seabrook, played by actress Claire Goose produced one of the most memorable performances to date after her character is raped in the hospital toilets. ‘The rape storyline was massive,’ she said after the show was aired, and she received a vast number of letters afterwards from girls sharing their experiences, ‘It was really hard to film. I spent one whole day just crying, By the end of it I was exhausted, but I felt fantastic too – the way you do when you’ve had a good cry.’
The final episode – Casualty’s first two parter – was also set to be a classic Casualty; with the wedding of two of the most popular characters Charlie and Baz and the return of some faces of the past. Duffy, Mike, Ash and Megan all made an appearance to make the episode a memorable one. Haynes, whose idea it was, confesses she had to do a lot of nifty negotiating with their agents. Cathy Shipton said, ‘There was a lot of, ‘Well I will, if he will’ but it all worked out in the end.’ Brenda Fricker added ‘If Derek Thompson says you come, you come.’
Joining Cast
- S12 E1 Elliot Matthews – Manager
- S12 E1 George Woodman – Senior House Officer
- S12 E1 Mark Grace – Staff Nurse
- S12 E1 Tina Seabrook – Staff Nurse
- S12 E1 Amy Howard – Receptionist
- S12 E1 Sunny – Porter
- S12 E13 Eve Montgomery – Sister
- S12 E? Penny Hutchens – Paramedic
Regular Cast
- Charlie Fairhead – Charge Nurse
- Sam Colloby – Staff Nurse
- Josh Griffiths – Paramedic
Exiting Cast
- S12 E10 Kate Wilson – Sister
- S12 E11 Jack Hathaway – Consultant
- S12 E12 Liz Harker – Paramedic
- S12 E26 Baz Hayes – Registrar/ Consultant
- S12 E26 Elliot Matthews – Manager
- S12 E26 Richard McCaig – Senior House Officer
Major Guest Characters
- Paul (Joseph May) – Sam’s boyfriend
- John Harker (Mark Powley) – Liz’s husband
Notable Guest Stars
- S12 E6 Ramon Tikaram – as Darren Wilson
- S12 E7 George Costigan – as Martin Gregory
- S12 E14 Dorian Healy – as Mick
- S12 E14 TP McKenna – as Dr Archie Whitlock
- S12 E16/21/22 Tracy-Ann Oberman – as Zoe Garrard
- S12 E19 Paul Barber – as Carl Myers
- S12 E22 Angela Lonsdale – as Karen Sunderland
Casualty/ Holby City Guest Appearances
- S12 E1 Christopher Colquhoun – as Madello Costello
- S12 E8 Ian Aspinall – as Kumar Kaul
- S12 E19-S12 E23 Colette Brown – as Laura Wright
