Casualty producer Erika Hossington on 30th anniversary
By the age of 30, most things have either gone mouldy or turned to dust. Some, however, are only just reaching their peak. Like a fine single malt whisky - or, as it turns out, Casualty. The show's latest series launched with a bang in the autumn with the dramatic aftermath of the explosion at Zoe and Max's wedding. But the best is yet to come as we move towards the 30th anniversary celebrations in 2016.
For some juicy gossip on what to expect from future storylines, we recently caught up with series producer Erika Hossington in a two-part interview. Here in part one, find out what she had to say about the 30-year milestone, possible returnees and a whole lot more...
What can you tell us about your plans for the 30th anniversary?
"We started planning the 30th anniversary two years ago, pretty soon after I'd joined the show. We really wanted to build to it, so that when people watch the actual episodes, they can look back and see that they're a pay-off to lots of things that have been happening over the course of the last series.
"We also wanted to do something that only Casualty could do. We can guarantee an absolutely massive stunt, which will supersede the boat stunt which ended the last series. Viewers can expect to see some of our major characters in serious jeopardy, but the hospital itself will be in jeopardy too and that's the difference!"
Series 30 launched in dramatic style in the autumn, but was it always the plan to go big for the actual 30-year milestone in 2016 too?
"Yes, it was a long-term plan. Casualty's co-creator Paul Unwin came back to write and direct two episodes at the start of Series 30, and we felt that was a brilliant way to start the celebrations. But we're also building towards episodes one and two of Series 31, which will go out around the time of the 30-year milestone next year.
"It's similar to how EastEnders started with the murder of Lucy Beale, but their 30th anniversary was the culmination of that story. In our show, what we established with those first two episodes of Series 30 - which had Charlie in very serious jeopardy and Connie rescuing him - sets up the whole of this series. That will be paid off in those first two episodes of Series 31 next year."
"We will! It'll be a special episode because it will only be set in the hospital, and an old face will reappear."
Would you ever consider a live episode of Casualty?
"We'd never say never. It is often discussed, but the way in which we shoot Casualty and treat the show in post-production is so different from the half-hour programmes. If we were to do a live episode, I'm not sure we'd be meeting the audience's expectations in terms of what Casualty looks and sounds like. We'd have to do it in a different way.
"When ER did a live episode, they did it from the point of view of a documentary crew coming in to film them, for the very same reasons. So every time we talk about it, we think that we don't really want to rehash what they did!
"We've often talked about live elements, so maybe we'd do a live insert at some point, but I can tell you that we're not doing that for the 30th."
We've heard that Holby City will be getting involved in the celebrations too. Can you tell us much about that?
"Discussions are ongoing between us and Holby and there'll be a lot of interface between the two programmes, but the anniversary will still be very much grounded in Casualty. There'll also be a lot more crossovers between the two shows on screen, certainly in the next six to twelve months, because we know how much the fans enjoy them."
"The cast is going to stay pretty much the same for the rest of this year and into spring next year, but from around April to June there will be some new faces on screen. There'll be some more later on in the year as well."
Aside from the returnee in Episode 1,000, will there be other characters coming back too?
"Yes, there will be more. All I can say is that discussions are ongoing with a number of different people, so watch this space!"
We've had lots of reader questions about Zoe and Max. Knowing how popular they are, were you nervous about playing the cheating story?
"We did know that there would be a very big reaction to it, but we always ground our stories in the characters. One of Zoe's character flaws is that she's a master of self-sabotage. She almost can't believe it when things are going right for her. We also felt that the path of true love never runs smooth.
"All the way through their relationship, it was Zoe who was always doubtful and it was Max who reassured her. We really wanted to turn the tables on that, so that's why we played that beat in the story."
What does the future hold for Zoe and Max now?
"They are still married and there's a lot of story left to play with the two of them. We will pick that up meaningfully post Christmas. I can't tell you whether it'll be happy or bittersweet, but there's no way we would have left them in the No Man's Land that they're currently in. We know the fans are so invested in that story."
"We love Alicia too. Let's just say that this is an 'au revoir' and not a goodbye, because surely she has to come back at some point to face Lily?"
A lot of fans seem keen for Lily to get her comeuppance after the way she's behaved towards Alicia. What are your thoughts?
"Because Lily's father has died, her grief has made her behaviour a lot more extreme. She fears that her father was never proud of her, so in that time that she felt most vulnerable, she struggled with being faced with someone like Alicia who was so great at what she did.
"Lily will get a comeuppance because people will turn against her over the next few episodes. But that gives us the opportunity to peel back some of Lily's layers and see her vulnerability about letting her father down. There'll be a realisation of what that's meant for her behaviour towards Alicia."
What are the show's plans for Christmas?
"The Christmas episode this year is going out on the 19th December between the Strictly final and the results, which is amazing for us because we haven't had an episode air on that Saturday for a very long time. The episode is going to be really big for Cal and really big for Connie and Jacob too. I'm really excited that we've got Sean Hughes as one of the guest artists in that, and the audience will see him in a very different guise to what they're used to.
"The theme of the episode is Scrooge - and there's the most fantastic ending with Dylan and Lofty that people will be talking about for a very long time!"
Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe