Casualty’s first improvised episode will highlight the pressure on paramedics

Virgin Radio

8 Dec 2022, 14:25

Casualty’s first-ever improvised episode will highlight the pressure put on paramedics who are being pushed to their “breaking point”.

The BBC soap will be airing the unscripted episode on Saturday (10th December) as it explores the work of Holby Ambulance Service workers Jan Jenning, Iain Dean, Sah Brockner and Teddy Gowan.

It will also focus on the effect of ambulance queues on hospitals, their patients and the front-line medical staff.

The episode will start with Jenning (Di Botcher) arriving back from a holiday feeling refreshed until a long shift exhausts her and she makes a mistake. Gowan, played by Milo Clarke, will also have his confidence questioned on a difficult call-out, meanwhile Dean, played by Michael Stevenson, and Brockner, played by Arin Smethhurst, will battle incredibly stressful situations.

Steve Hughes, director of the episode, said the actors were “scared” at first as it is like walking a “tightrope without a net” before they found it “freeing and exciting”.

Hughes added: “It was vital to make this episode feel as authentic as possible to highlight the challenges paramedics, and the NHS as a whole, face on a daily basis.”

Jon Sen, executive producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, said: “The ambition behind the (episode) was to tell a story that gets as close as possible to what it is like to stand in the shoes of paramedics up and down the country.

“After our extensive research, using improvisation techniques to capture the truth of the world seemed only natural.

“We want people to come away having a greater respect for the work paramedics do and a true appreciation of the challenges they face.”

Earlier this year, the long-running medical drama won Best Soap and Continuing Drama at the Broadcast Awards, beating the likes of EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.