The BBC medical drama Casualty, which first aired in 1986 and is set in the fictional Holby City Hospital, is approaching its 40th anniversary next month. The original series consisted of 15 episodes and featured storylines involving a toxic gas outbreak, sexual assault, an affair and a tragic diagnosis. Over the years, many famous faces have made cameos, including Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Tom Hiddleston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Derek Thompson and Lisa Bowerman
Derek Thompson played Charlie Fairhead for decades before leaving in 2024, saying 'the time has come for me to hang up Charlie's scrubs'. After his exit, he took on the role of former police officer Robin Graham in the Irish crime drama Blue Lights, his first major television role after 38 years on Casualty. He also made a guest appearance in the final episode of ITV's Vera as Gordon Spencer in 2025.
Lisa Bowerman played Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic, until her character was killed off in 1987 after being stabbed by a patient. She returned in 2007 as a guest playing Mrs. Lowe. Outside Casualty, she is the voice of Bernice "Benny" Summerfield in the Doctor Who audio spin-off, a role she has held for over twenty years, and works as an audio drama director for Big Finish Productions. She is also a photographer.
Brenda Fricker and Robert Pugh
Brenda Fricker played nurse Megan Roach before leaving in 1990 at the end of the fifth series. Her character met a tragic end in 2010. After Casualty, she starred in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and A Time to Kill, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for My Left Foot. She spoke openly about her severe depression and institutionalisation, telling Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio 1: "You're mentally locked into a place where you're not happy, and that is the sad bit." She died in July 2026 at the age of 81 following a period of ill health.
Robert Pugh played Andrew "Andy" Ponting for the first two series before leaving in 1987, returning 36 years later in 2023 as Gethin West. He went on to star in Silent Witness, Vera, Mr Selfridge and Doctor Foster, and played Craster in Game of Thrones. He told Walesonline in 2013: "I've never seen Game of Thrones. Everybody's been saying, 'You're in this, you're in this', and I've completely forgotten it. I've never watched it because it's a bit science fictiony and it's not my bag, really."
Cathy Shipton and other original cast
Cathy Shipton is best known for playing Lisa 'Duffy' Duffin, one of the show's most loved nurses and wife to Charlie Fairhead. She officially left in 1993 but returned five years later, staying until 2003, and reprised the role for the 30th anniversary in 2016. Her character was killed off in 2020 after a catastrophic bleed on the brain following a seizure during her dementia battle. After Casualty, she appeared in Hollyoaks and Doctors, and in 2023 joined the world's longest running play, Dame Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, for its 70th anniversary.
Other original cast members include the late Bernard Gallagher, Debbie Roza, George Harris, Christopher Rozycki and Julia Watson. Casualty is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
