View Full Version : Amanda Mealing to reprise Connie role
Former Holby City star Amanda Mealing is joining Casualty.
The actress - who played Connie Beauchamp on the BBC medical drama between 2004 and 2010 - will now reprise the role in Casualty, The Sun reports.
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Connie Beauchamp from Holby City
© BBC
Amanda Mealing as Connie Beauchamp
Viewers last saw Connie three years ago when she resigned from her position at the hospital.
As part of a new storyline, Connie will join the hospital's Casualty department as a "demanding but fair consultant".
Mealing admitted that she was surprised when she was first informed of the plan to bring Connie back.
She said: "When the idea was first proposed I was surprised to say the least. Then when I heard some of the ideas for the character, I thought it was genius.
"I hope this will be as exciting for fans as it is for me. I can't wait to get those heels back on and get to work."
Amanda Mealing has admitted that she is "really nervous" about reprising her role as Connie Beauchamp in Casualty.
The actress originally played Connie in Holby City between 2004 and 2010.
Earlier this week, the BBC announced that Connie will be causing a stir in Casualty from March 2014, when she joins the emergency department at Holby City Hospital as a "demanding but fair" consultant.
Speaking on ITV's This Morning today (July 25), Mealing explained: "Since I left Holby, I have literally had daily requests for Connie to come back and I had a call from the executive producer of Holby and Casualty a while ago and he put forward this idea - and I'm really nervous about it!"
Asked if she knows what is planned for Connie, she replied: "They have some brilliant stuff coming up. I don't start filming yet, but I'll be relocating to Cardiff."
Mealing will begin filming at Casualty in November.
JustJodi
27-07-2013, 08:55
Fantastic news,,, its about time they get some one like "Connie" aboard :-)
Casualty's executive producer Oliver Kent has promised that there are new rivalries ahead for Amanda Mealing's character Connie Beauchamp when she joins the show.
Connie, who previously appeared on Holby City between 2004 and 2010, will be joining the BBC's Saturday night medical drama early next year - becoming a "demanding but fair" consultant in the ED.
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Amanda Mealing during a photocall at the Tower Hotel, London.
© PA Images / Adam Davy/PA Wire
Amanda Mealing
Speaking in an official BBC video interview, Kent revealed: "Connie will be a new brilliant top dog for Casualty. We felt that we needed a top dog and it would be interesting to bring in a female top dog, and that is Connie. We were very lucky when Amanda Mealing said yes.
"Connie's arrival in Casualty will really set the cat among the pigeons, not least with Ash and Zoe, who she will instantly upstage.
"I think what it will do is unlock a fun rivalry between Zoe and Connie. It will also put Ash in a very different place, and it will be the start of what we're seeing as Connie's year in the ED."
Talk about a Casualty cliffhanger!
The show has left us wondering over the fates of Connie Beauchamp and her daughter Grace, after they went plunging over a cliff in the closing moments of Saturday night's tense episode (July 30).
The dramatic moment followed a difficult day for Connie, as she'd been forced to deal with a case that was way too close to home.
When Grace's friend Carmel was admitted to hospital following an accident on a trampoline, some disturbing facts began to emerge as the youngster was found to have nasty scratches on her stomach.
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Connie Beauchamp, Carmel Sims and Grace in Casualty
© BBC Alistair Heap
Although Grace initially came under suspicion for causing the injuries, it was later revealed that Carmel had actually been self-harming after a barrage of cruel and abusive comments from her mum Steph.
The case appeared to have reached its resolution when Steph was reported to children's services, but she wasn't prepared to take Connie's involvement lying down.
As Connie and Grace left the hospital by heading off in the car, seething Steph followed in her own vehicle and repeatedly tried to get Connie to pull over.
Driving dangerously, Steph pulled ahead but was then forced to slam on the brakes as they came up to a bend.
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Connie Beauchamp's big Casualty cliffhanger
© BBC
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Connie Beauchamp's big Casualty cliffhanger
© BBC
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Connie Beauchamp's big Casualty cliffhanger
© BBC
With Connie's path blocked, she went straight through a road barrier and hurtling off a cliff - leaving fans up and down the country horrified.
Will Connie and Grace survive? Casualty now goes off air until its 30th anniversary celebrations at the end of August, so we'll have a little while to wait to find out...
Digital Spy
With just a month to go until Casualty's much-anticipated 30th anniversary episode is aired on BBC One, the soap is ensuring that we go into the episode with bated breath by ending its current series on quite the cliffhanger.
Saturday night's shocking episode left Connie Beauchamp and her daughter Grace with their lives in danger as the pair went plunging over a cliff in the closing moments.
Casualty shocker! Has the show just killed off Connie Beauchamp and her daughter Grace?
We have to wait until the series returns on Saturday, August 27 to find out what happened, but in the meantime, Connie actress Amanda Mealing has been keeping fans guessing by thanking them for their support... and keeping silent on her character's fate.
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amanda mealing ✔ @meamandamealing
Thanks for all the love. It was tough to shoot. Congrats to my gorgeous tv daughter @TheEmilyCarey ❤️🙏🏼
11:28 PM - 30 Jul 2016
91 91 Retweets 380 380 likes
"Thanks for all the love. It was tough to shoot," she tweeted. "Congrats to my gorgeous tv daughter @TheEmilyCarey."
Mealing then went on to quote tweet a number of fan reactions about what comes next for the actress but made sure she definitely didn't let the cat out of the bag.
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amanda mealing ✔ @meamandamealing
Thank you https://twitter.com/jonmdexter/status/759499806524006400 …
11:25 PM - 30 Jul 2016
7 7 Retweets 96 96 likes
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amanda mealing ✔ @meamandamealing
That's very kind. X https://twitter.com/char_loughlin/status/759500685314494464 …
11:30 PM - 30 Jul 2016
12 12 Retweets 129 129 likes
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amanda mealing ✔ @meamandamealing
Haha X https://twitter.com/surrey_steve/status/759500741862166528 …
11:29 PM - 30 Jul 2016
11 11 Retweets 98 98 likes
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amanda mealing ✔ @meamandamealing
Don't you dare! https://twitter.com/thegolfcoach/status/759506507599937536 …
11:54 PM - 30 Jul 2016
12 12 Retweets 139 139 likes
She replied "thank you" to someone who wished her all the best in the future "should tonight's Casualty have been [her] last" and laughed along with another viewer who argued that there's no point in watching Casualty without Connie.
"Please don't leave Casualty," another fan pleaded. "You're the best actress... I love Connie as a character... you act her so well."
"That's very kind," she answered.
Well played, Mealing.
Casualty now goes off air until its 30th anniversary celebrations at the end of August, which include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales recording a special soundtrack at their home in Cardiff Bay.
Digital Spy
i think connie survives grace dies
The good news for fans of Casualty's Connie Beauchamp just keeps coming.
First of all, Connie made it through Casualty's 30th anniversary episode alive - surviving her dramatic clifftop plunge and managing to avoid the helicopter that later crashed into the hospital. Phew.
Now we can reveal that we'll be seeing Connie again even sooner than expected. Nope, you won't have to wait until Saturday for her story to continue, as she pops up for a cameo in next week's episode of Casualty's sister show Holby City.
Tuesday's Holby City (August 30) episode is heavily affected by the carnage in Casualty, as we'd expect since they're both set in the same hospital.
Set on the day after the helicopter crash, Tuesday's Holby sees the hospital still in a state of disarray - with Adrian 'Fletch' Fletcher (Alex Walkinshaw) struggling to keep things running smoothly on the wards.
It's not just the job on Fletch's mind, though, as he finds the time to check on former colleague Connie after hearing that she's in ITU after her car crash.
Fletch is also forced to treat unstable Stephanie Sims, the woman who ran Connie off the road in one of Casualty's most memorable cliffhangers.
Still under police guard, Steph makes a desperate dash to escape from the hospital, so we recommend that all Casualty fans should tune into Holby to find out what happens to her.
Saturday's Casualty episode ended four weeks of speculation over Connie's fate, after she went hurtling off the edge of a cliff in her car while driving home with her daughter Grace.
While Connie escaped any life-threatening injuries, her daughter Grace wasn't so lucky as the helicopter which transported her to the hospital later crashed.
Emotional scenes at the end of the episode saw Connie's partner Jacob Masters (Charles Venn) forced to break the devastating news that Grace might not pull through, leaving a huge question mark hanging over her future.
This story will continue over the coming weeks in Casualty, so for now we'll just have to stay tuned to find out what happens.
Connie has been a regular on Casualty since 2014. She was also a lead character on Holby between 2004 and 2010.
Digital Spy
Casualty star Amanda Mealing has spoken about the long journey her character Connie Beauchamp has ahead of her, as her daughter Grace prepares to come up from hospital this weekend.
Grace has spent the last few months in a coma after she was seriously injured when the helicopter - rescuing her from a car crash - collided into the hospital.
Although Connie was relieved when Grace recently started to wake up, the reality of the situation will start to hit the talented medic in Saturday's episode as she is forced to accept that the youngster may never be the same again.
"This is the beginning of a new journey for Connie, and for her relationship with Grace," Amanda said to Inside Soap.
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Connie Beauchamp and Grace Beauchamp in Casualty
BBC ALISTAIR HEAP
"Connie is full of doubt - there is a lot of trepidation, and her judgement goes out of the window. She is worried about the extensive care Grace is going to require and whether she will be able to meet those needs.
"Grace is semi-paralysed - her right side is not functioning properly. She has very little speech. It's something that will get better with time, but it'll need a lot of therapy.
"For now, Grace will depend on Connie for everything. And at least while Grace is in hospital, she's got the best care on hand if anything goes wrong."
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Connie Beauchamp and Hugo in Casualty
But could Connie's situation with Grace make her re-evaluate her future in the ED?
"My husband's family are all medical professionals and they've always said that to do the job day in day out, you have to be able to detach and look at the patients as puzzles to solve," Amanda explained.
"But they forget all their training when it comes to a loved one - the emotional side of it comes to the fore. So I think it would be the same situation for Connie. As brilliant as she is with anyone else, this is her daughter so there is a real reluctance there."
Casualty will air on Saturday, November 19 at 9.15pm on BBC One.
Digital Spy
She is taking a break
https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/casualty/a27153258/casualty-amanda-mealing-taking-break-connie-beauchamp-role/
Casualty star Amanda Mealing has spoken out about Connie Beauchamp's sad exit and teased what fans can expect from her return.
Connie left the ED under a very dark cloud in tonight's series finale (August 10), after finally confiding in Charlie Fairhead about her addiction.
Viewers have seen Connie make a number of shocking moves over the last few weeks in a bid to hide her sad addiction to prescription drugs.
Despite Connie's best efforts to keep her secret hidden, things came to a head in tonight's dramatic scenes and she finally told Charlie what had been going on.
Horrified by her actions, Charlie took the tough approach with Connie and told her to leave the ED immediately.
Discussing the sad scenes, Amanda – who plays Connie – said to Digital Spy: "Charlie was her last hope. She knew that if he said no, she was on her own.
"She knows that there is no one left to help her. She has to do something about it. This is her rock bottom and when you hit rock bottom, you have to admit to yourself where you are. And that’s where the journey of recuperation begins.
"It is so sad to see this happen to such a beautifully strong, independent woman. I’ve always been so proud to have an example of a woman who’s independent of a man, which isn’t the usual portrayal on film and TV."
Amanda added: "Connie is strong. She is capable. She is independent. She is not the usual portrayal of the wife, the mother, the lover – you know, the over-40 woman who’s incapable of being able to use the internet.
"She is absolutely the opposite to that. So we are leading the way in all these concerns. We are now showing who I think is the perfect example of this story, which is usually the strongest of people, the ones that go that bit further than anyone else. That is why they are so successful.
"But also when it comes to someone in need of help, they also go further than anyone else, because they’re reluctant to ask for help. They believe that they’re strong enough to overcome it. Whereas in situations like this, being strong is probably the worst thing, because you’re the last one to be helped. The last person she does ask is Charlie."
The good news, however, is that Connie hasn't gone for good – with Amanda due to return to filming over the next few weeks.
As Casualty films approximately four months in advance, this means that Connie won't be back on screens until early 2020. However, Amanda has promised exciting times ahead for when her popular alter-ego does return.
"We are resetting Connie, which is really exciting for me," Amanda said. "We’ve seen her vulnerable side, but I am now pushing to get back into that strong, strident Connie that viewers love.
"I go back to work very soon, so she will be off screen for a while. But she will come back so much stronger. When you hit rock bottom, there’s no one else left but you. You have to look at yourself, and that’s what she does. She has a chance to look at herself."
Discussing whether Charlie and Duffy can forgive Connie, Amanda said: "I don't think he should. What I said to the execs is that it should take a long time for Charlie to forgive her.
"I think it would take something major, and even then, I think Charlie is really the one that needs to say, 'Connie, you need to forgive yourself' – he needs to be the one who gives her permission. I think that would be the only way for full redemption."
Casualty will kick off its brand new series on Saturday, August 17 with another highly dramatic episode you won't want to miss.
Digital Spy
Back on our screens, 4th Jan 2020
https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/casualty/a29858482/casualty-connie-beauchamp-amanda-mealing-return-date/
she is leaving for extended break
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