Fears for Casualty after 39 years following Holby City and River City axings as BBC makes big move
FEARS are growing for Casualty after BBC bosses make a big decision behind-the-scenes amid Holby City and River City's axe.
The long-running medical drama first launched in 1986 and has been a staple of the schedule ever since.
3
3
3
However, with its companion show Holby City cancelled by the Beeb in 2022, Casualty fans have maintained fearful of its future ever since.
The Sun previously revealed how crew working on Casualty have been told there's just two more series left.
Due to 'super-inflation in drama production' and a string of cost-cutting measures, staff say they have been told their contract renewals will be the last.
And now it's been revealed Beeb bosses will no longer produce the drama as they seek a new production company to take over.
Since 2012, BBC Cymru Wales has produced episodes of Casualty, having taken over from BBC Bristol.
Addressing fan fears, the BBC said the show will continue to be made in Cardiff and it remains an important part of Wales' output.
David Pembrey, Chief Operating Officer, BBC Content, said: 'The award-winning Casualty is a hugely important continuing drama which has been on our screens since 1986.
"We are opening it to competition as part of our ongoing commitment to delivering the very best value for audiences.'
Last year the BBC opened Blue Peter up for competitive tender - and last month it aired its final ever live episode on TV.
Casualty star smashed into nurse in horror crash after taking cocaine
Meanwhile, just last month Casualty won Best Soap and Continuing Drama in a surprise result at the RTS Awards as it beat off competition from fellow BBC show EastEnders and Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
Casualty found out it won the top gong at a prestigious ceremony at London's JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel.
Comedian and Cooking With The Stars host Tom Allen delivered the results in front of a packed out crowd filled with telly favourites.
Last year Casualty legend Derek Thompson quit the show after whopping 38 years playing the fan-favourite role of Charlie Fairhead.
BBC crime dramas
The BBC is reopening case files on an all-star line-up of crime dramas this summer.
Here's a refresher on the popular programmes which span six decades.
Campion: Aired from 1989 to 1990, this detective drama series was adapted from novels by Margery Allingham and stars Peter Davison.
Dalziel And Pascoe: A gritty detective drama series about a mismatched pair of policemen, based on the award-winning books by Reginald Hill. Aired from 1996 to 2007.
Death In Paradise: A misanthropic detective inspector is assigned to a Caribbean island against his will. Premiered in 2011 and is still on air to this day.
Happy Valley: Created by Sally Wainwright, this northern noir follows Sarah Lancashire as Sgt Catherine Cawood – tough, defiant and facing her traumatic past.
Hinterland: Welsh drama starring Richard Harrington. Brooding DCI Tom Mathias uncovers secrets – and links to his troubled past amid mountainous terrain and close-knit villages. Aired from 2013 to 2016.
Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Based on the novels of Elizabeth George, this drama series is about upper-crust DI Thomas Lynley and working class DS Barbara Havers. Aired from 2001 to 2007.
Jonathan Creek: Starring comedian Alan Davies, this comedy-drama series follows a inventor of magic tricks who is often called in to solve puzzling murders. Aired from 1997 to 2016.
Law & Order: Originally broadcast in 1978, this four-part drama series is about the British judicial system. Stars include Peter Dean and Derek Martin.
Life On Mars: Beguiling science-fiction police drama following a Manchester policeman who travels back to 1973 following a car accident. Stars John Simm and Philip Glenister. Aired from 2006 to 2007.
Line Of Duty: Created by Jed Mercurio, this drama follows the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit. Stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, aired from 2012 to 2021.
Luther: Crime drama series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther. Aired from 2010 to 2019, with a follow-up film released in 2023.
New Tricks: Warm-hearted drama following an eccentric group of old-fashioned detectives. Starring Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam. Aired from 2003 to 2015.
Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch stars a modern day Sherlock Holmes, teaming up with Martin Freeman 's war veteran Dr Watson to solve impossible crimes. Aired from 2010 to 2017.
Shetland: Detective drama starring Douglas Henshall, Ashley Jensen and Alison O'Donnell, showcasing the dark side of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Premiered in 2013 and is still on air to this day.
The Cops: Set in the fictional northern town of Stanton, this acclaimed, provocative police drama stars Katy Cavanagh, Rob Dixon and John Henshaw. Aired from 1998 to 2001.
Waking The Dead: With a cast including Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston and Wil Johnson, this series follows a cold case team who unearths sleeping secrets, but sometimes the past is best left buried. Aired from 2000 to 2011.
Wallander: Starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, Kurt Wallander is unable to unsee the dark crimes he's tasked to investigate while Wallander's job comes at a cost to his family and relationships. Aired from 2008 to 2016.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Billie Piper 'let slip' she was returning to Doctor Who weeks ago
Billie Piper will be the next Doctor after it was revealed in the finale episode of the latest series last weekend - but she accidentally 'shared' the news weeks before Actress Billie Piper appeared to let slip she was returning to Doctor Who weeks before it was revealed. The 42-year-old will become the second female Doctor in the next series. So far, Jodie Whittaker is the only female to take on the iconic role. It comes after Ncuti Gatwa's shock exit during the finale of the latest series when his character regenerated into Billie in his final episode, which aired on the BBC on Saturday, May 31. Speaking in BBC Three's Doctor Who: Unleashed to mark the 20 years since the show was revived, Billie dropped a huge hint she was returning to the show for the third time, following her original appearance as Rose Tyler from 2005 to 2006 and a cameo in 2010. Asked if she would ever make a comeback in the interview filmed weeks before the news was officially announced, she said: "Yeah I would… I would come back. What's funny is that I never feel like I've left Doctor Who, because there is this huge Doctor Who afterlife." She continued: "Obviously people still really want to talk about it, it's a massive fandom, so we do conventions and we meet lots of the fans, and there's always features. It's always on the TV on some channel, and a new generation pick it up, so it never feels like it's over, like it does with all the other jobs I've done." Billie then accidentally blurted out: "So coming back is really good fun." Quickly correcting herself, she added: "So I would do it, but I still feel like I'm in it. Just a lot older." Now cat is out the bag, Billie has since said it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. In a statement, she shared: "It's no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse, as I have some of my best memories there. So to be given the opportunity to step back on that Tardis one more time was just something I couldn't refuse." Now it is rumoured that the 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant, could also return to the show alongside Billie 20 years after they first appeared on screen together. Though if Billie is the new Doctor, it's unclear what role David would take on. A source told The Sun: "The BBC brought Doctor Who back in 2005 and there is talk about a possible one-off project to celebrate the 20th anniversary. David and Billie were a hugely popular partnership and he brought in a golden age of Doctor Who. "With the anniversary of the reboot this year there have been some ideas floated about, with the thought of maybe bringing David and Billie back together for one last hurrah. When David's Doctor bi-generated in the 60th anniversary special, his 'half' went on to live a normal life in an alternative universe while Ncuti Gatwa's carried on as the Time Lord. 'It wouldn't be beyond the realms of imagination for him to return with Billie as Rose for a one-off special to celebrate not only their partnership, but the anniversary of BBC bringing back Doctor Who." David, 54, played the 10th Doctor from 2005 to 2010 and appeared in three specials returning as the 14th Doctor before handing the role over to 32-year-old Sex Education star Ncuti. Speaking about his exit from the show after just one season, Ncuti told fans: "You know when you get cast, at some point, you are going to have to hand back that sonic screwdriver and it is all going to come to an end, but nothing quite prepares you for it. This journey has been one that I will never forget and a role that will be part of me forever. "I've loved every minute of it, but now is the time to hand over the keys to that beloved blue box and let someone else take control and enjoy it every bit as much as I have. I'll truly miss it, and forever be grateful to it, and everyone that has played a part in my journey as the Doctor." Explaining his reasons for leaving, he added: "It's a role that demands a lot of you physically and emotionally and mentally. The actors playing the Doctor are only actors playing the Doctor. Unfortunately, we are mere mortals. I would love to have the energy and the youth to be able to do this full time for the rest of my life, but my knees are telling me it's time." However, die-hard fans think there may be another reason behind his exit. Taking to X, a fan named Mr Tardis wrote: "In October 2024, Ncuti Gatwa was on 'The Graham Norton Show' saying he was going to be filming another series of DW next year. In June 2025, he officially leaves the show and regenerates. This was never the plan. What a shame. He deserved so much better." But the BBC were quick to shut down those claims. A spokesperson said: "Whilst we never comment on the future of the Doctor, any suggestion that Ncuti Gatwa has been 'axed' is pure fiction."
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Meghan Markle's 'vulgar' move would leave King Charles 'horrified', claims expert
Meghan Markle stunned the world by sharing a video of her in a hospital room before giving birth to her daughter. A royal commentator has described Meghan Markle's decision to share a video of her twerking in an effort to induce labour as "utterly bizarre", which would likely leave King Charles "horrified". The Duchess of Sussex surprised fans and the press by uploading the footage on Lilibet's fourth birthday, where she danced vibrantly in a maternity ward with Prince Harry by her side. Meghan is seen in the video energetically twerking to Starrkeisha's Baby Momma Anthem, hitching her skirt above the knees, lifting her arms and shuffling low, hands placed firmly on her waist, legs moving rhythmically. Posting the video, Meghan reflected: "Four years ago today, this also happened," adding that after other methods such as eating spicy food, walking extensively, and trying acupuncture failed, dancing seemed like the next option. "Both of our children were a week past their due dates... so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work – there was only one thing left to do!" she penned. Jennie Bond, ex-BBC Royal correspondent, gave her take on the surprising clip, telling the Mirror that those moments are typically highly private for any couple. Emphasising the significance of personal choice during childbirth, Bond stated: "The hours before you give birth are some of the most personal, intimate and private in the lives of any couple. "Women are perfectly entitled to do whatever they feel like to get through the waiting, and the pain. Giving birth is a serious business, and anything to lighten the mood is welcome. "However, to share those scenes with the world is utterly bizarre and, in my view, takes away all the magic of the moment. I cannot imagine why she chose to release it. "Maybe show it one day to your nearest and dearest- but to anyone and everyone who wants to click on it? "I can hear the voice of the late Queen's former private secretary, Lord Charteris, repeating the comments he once made about Fergie: 'Vulgar, vulgar, vulgar'." She went on: "If the King has watched it, which I doubt, though he can't have missed the headlines I'm sure he would be horrified. Royalty has to carry with it some measure of dignity. "I'm glad they were so happy before the birth, I'm glad Harry was there to support his wife in every way, I'm delighted to hear that he's such a great dad. But they really can't have it both ways. "They can't demand privacy and be so coy about sharing images of their children and then show us all these intensely intimate scenes. "And she cannot expect to be treated as if she's royal whilst behaving like a click-hungry social media influencer." Jennie admitted, though, that such videos will "connect in a very real way to young people". "Perhaps that's what Meghan is trying to do," she reasoned. "My own daughter thought the video humanised both Meghan and Harry and was light-hearted and hugely relatable. "It reminded her of her own pregnancies and labour and she thought it was rather charming. "In many ways, I agree with her. I just don't think it sits happily with trying to cling to the vestiges of being ' royal '." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Fearne Cotton: ‘I'm a million times more confident than I was in my 20s'
Fearne Cotton is redefining what happiness looks like in her 40s. 'It's just maybe a level of average contentment that I'm aiming for – I don't even know if I'm needing to land on happiness,' says the podcaster and author. Advertisement 'I'm pretty happy these days when I just feel even and average. I'm not looking for euphoria. 'It's about those moments where there's a bit of mental peace and I just feel kind of balanced,' the 43-year-old explains. 'It's not circumstantial. Before I'd think, [happiness is] being on a holiday with a beautiful beach and no laptop and having a nice cocktail. But actually I could do that and be going mad in my head.' (Happy Place/PA) The former BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 presenter, who rose to fame first on children's TV and later Top Of The Pops in the early Noughties, says her old TV and radio life 'hugely' affected her mental health. 'I wasn't doing so well mentally in my old career,' says Cotton, who announced her split from husband Jesse Wood in December 2024 after 10 years of marriage. The pair share two children, Rex and Honey, and Cotton is stepmother to Wood's two children from a previous relationship, Arthur and Lola. Advertisement She's largely left the TV and radio world behind, and says live broadcasting is not a position she wants to put herself in at the moment. 'I think it's so exposing, people are incredibly judgemental. 'There's no room in traditional media, certainly not when I was growing up as a teenager in the early Noughties, in my 20s, to be thoroughly yourself. 'There was no space to fade up the microphone on Radio 1 and say, 'I'm feeling like death today'. You've got to be jolly and play music – so people probably only saw that side of me, and I was terrified to show the other side of me.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fearne (@fearnecotton) Cotton – who has been open in sharing her struggles with depression and OCD – started the Happy Place Podcast in 2018, interviewing famous faces and notable people, exploring themes of mental health, wellbeing, and happiness. A year later she launched the Happy Place Festival and now also writes self-help, healthy eating and children's books. Advertisement 'I believe that what I've created, very luckily, is a career where I'm not waiting around to be chosen by anyone because I'm deemed good enough, or popular enough,' she says. Cotton considers herself an introvert, but says, 'I wonder how much of it is naturally, authentically who I am, and how much of it is almost a response to the more troubling times I've had being in the public eye – where you're so instantly judged and people so easily make assumptions, and you're so hyper alert to what you've said, in case someone takes it the wrong way. 'So sometimes I wonder, am I an introvert? Am I naturally someone that likes to be in my own company, or is it just because it feels safer? But, she admits: 'I crave being on my own with nothing to do, and then when I'm in it, I'm a bit lost, so I sort of have to push myself, because I actually feel great when I've had a good experience with other people.' Advertisement Connecting with other people is a big theme of both her podcast and festival (now biannually in London and Cheshire). 'I hope [people] leave feeling a bit better really. (Happy Place/PA) 'I know when I'm going through something that feels mentally trying, I always assume I'm the only person on the planet that's ever felt like that, because you get into that sort of narcissistic vortex of hell where you just think no one else has ever had these awful thoughts or felt so low.' From guest speakers and workshops to meditation, sound healing and yoga classes, 'People have deep conversations off the back of hearing talks, it might make you feel more connected to other people who have been through tricky things. I want people to come together and feel like it's a safe space to explore whatever they're going through in their lives and their heads and [know] they're not alone in it. 'Once you have said that thing that you feel awful about in the past, or you're worrying about in the future, or the thing that you're very uncomfortable with, that you couldn't say out loud, I think there's so much power in that, there's an immediate sense of relief.' Advertisement Cotton says she'd be 'in trouble' if she didn't go to therapy every week. 'I feel lucky I get to do it because it's not always accessible and it's expensive, but I really need that time to talk to someone about what's going on in my head and sift through all the obsessive thinking that I can get stuck in, and [the] negative thought loops'. Still says she's 'a million times more confident than I was in my 20s – I'm perhaps learning the most about myself than I ever have.' (Ian West/PA) When Cotton is feeling off balance, 'I usually start to not like myself quite quickly. Like self loathing is never far away, so I have to really watch that… 'I start to look at the past and that becomes a bit obsessive, and my OCD kicks in. I might start getting into a bit of an obsessive thought loop, I do some of the more cliche things, like I have to check all the windows are locked and check the ovens are all turned off. But more so, it's the loops of thought that I get stuck in. The OCD is still on off, it's not debilitating.' To counteract and rebalance, she loves smaller social occasions. 'I like really small dinners, like one on one with a mate or two mates. I love painting – it makes me feel absolute euphoria like nothing else, if the painting's gone well. And even cleaning. 'I love having my house really tidy. If it's a mess, I cannot cope with life. I have to have everything in its place, neat, with a candle on. I just need everything visually to be in place, so I feel like my head's not such a mess. 'I actually enjoy the process of doing that. Every morning, I get up, clean the kitchen before the kids get up, get their lunch boxes sorted or their snack boxes, do a couple of emails. I just like everything being in order. When everything gets a bit chaotic I don't cope very well.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fearne (@fearnecotton) Walking helps, 'which sounds so basic', she says, 'but there's something about getting out of the house and not being trapped in it all – walking, getting a bit more perspective, seeing other humans. 'I'm constantly trying to recalibrate and work out what the best thing is in those moments. I know that yoga is going to suit me better than a HIIT workout.' But like any working parent, she does 'whatever I can fit in, because the mornings are just absolute chaos!' 'So many things you read, it's like, oh, just get up earlier, do half an hour of yoga, make a smoothie. Yeah, if you've got kids and a job… good luck with that one!' Tickets for Fearne Cotton's Happy Place festival are available at .
