The first series of the British

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' began airing on 6 September 1986, and concluded on 27 December 1986. The show was created by

Jeremy Brock Jeremy Brock MBE (born 14 July 1959) is a British writer and director whose works include the screenplays '' Mrs Brown'', '' Driving Lessons'', '' The Last King of Scotland'', '' Charlotte Gray'', and '' The Eagle''. Brock has also written two ...

and Paul Unwin.

Geraint Morris Geraint Morris (28 March 1941 – 12 July 1997) was a profound Welsh film and television director and producer. Career Morris joined BBC Wales in 1963 after graduating from the University College of North Wales in Bangor. His first work ...

was appointed as the show's producer. Prior to first series airing, Brock and Unwin visited the

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...

where they met a charge nurse called Pete Salt who was appointed the series medical advisor. The first series of ''Casualty'' consisted of fifteen episodes with individual titles, which aired weekly on a Saturday night. The first series featured ten main characters, who were all appointed different roles within the A&E department. By the end of the first series, two actors would not be returning for the second series: Julia Watson (Baz Samuels) and George Harris (Clive King). Watson eventually returned to the programme in 1995 in

Series 9 The ninth series of the children's television series '' Hi-5'' aired between 11 June 2007 and 10 August 2007 on the Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial ...

Episode 20.

Development

The idea of ''Casualty'' came together when co-creators

and Paul Unwin were both hospitalised for different reasons. During their time at the hospital, the pair were 'deeply concerned by what they saw'. Brock and Unwin pitched a document and sent it to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1985. Unwin said in an interview with

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

that their pitch 'read like a manifesto', with the first sentence being: "In 1948, a dream was born - a National Health Service. In 1985, the dream is in tatters." Unwin said that he and Brock were both 'left–wing and passionate', and that they 'knew what stories there were to tell'. After the commissioning of ''Casualty'', the BBC decided to team Unwin and Brock up with

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

. One of the reasons ''Casualty'' was produced was to help boost decreasing ratings for the BBC between 1984 and 1985 during peak viewing times on Friday and Saturday evenings. Before Brock and Unwin scripted the first series, they took a visit to a hospital based in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. There, they met Pete Salt, a charge nurse. Salt was appointed the series medical advisor, advising the team of ''Casualty'' on what was and wasn't medically possible or accurate.

Cast

Overview

The first series of ''Casualty'' featured ten main characters. All ten characters were introduced in the first episode of the series. The fifteenth episode saw the last appearances of characters Baz Samuels and Clive King, whose respective departures were explained in the second series. The other eight characters reprised their roles in series two. Throughout the duration of the first series, there were seven notable actors who appeared in guest roles. Graham Cole played a junior doctor in episode one, Michael Garner played PC McMorrow in episode four,

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

played Fleet Street

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Harry Horner in episode four, while Vas Blackwood also appeared in episode four, as Bob.

Stella Gonet Stella Gonet (born 12 December 1960) is a Scottish theatre, film and television actress. She is known for her roles in the BBC dramas ''The House of Eliott'' (1991–94) and ''Holby City'' (2007–09). Her stage credits include playing Ophelia i ...

played Clare Wainwright, a

specialist registrar A specialty registrar (StR), previously known as and still commonly referred to as a specialist registrar (SpR), is a doctor, public health practitioner or dentist who is working as part of a specialty training programme in the UK. This is known ...

general medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...

in episode seven, while

Perry Fenwick Perry Fenwick (born 29 May 1962) is an English actor. He is known for portraying the role of Billy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role which he has played since 1998. Career Television Fenwick's first regular television rol ...

played patient Marvin Osborne in episode nine.

Main characters

Lisa Bowerman Lisa Bowerman (born 1 February 1962) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the first two series of the BBC One medical drama '' Casualty'', and ''Doctor Who'' companion Professor Bernice Summerfie ...

as Sandra Mute *

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

as Megan Roach * Bernard Gallagher as Ewart Plimmer * George Harris as Clive King *

Robert Pugh Robert Pugh (born 3 November 1948) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Pugh was born in Tyntetown, Mountain Ash and attended Ynysbo ...

as Andrew Ponting *Debbie Roza as Susie Mercier *Christopher Rozycki as Kuba Trzcinski * Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin * Derek Thompson as

Charlie Fairhead Charlie Fairhead ( Derek Thompson) is a fictional character from the BBC British medical drama ''Casualty''. The longest-serving character on the show, his tenure spanned over three decades from the series’ inception in 1986 until his depart ...

* Julia Watson as Barbara "Baz" Samuels

Episodes

References

External links

Casualty series 1
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casualty series 01 01 1986 British television seasons