Casualty series 29

Lore & Background

Fifteen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series, with three long-serving cast members departing during this series. Jane Hazlegrove reprised her role as paramedic Kathleen 'Dixie' Dixon in the premiere episode, following a three-month absence. Michael Stevenson reprised his role as paramedic Iain Dean in October 2014, while Sunetra Sarker and William Beck continued their roles as ED consultants Zoe Hanna and Dylan Keogh, having been regular cast members from the start of the series. Charles Venn joined the show's main cast in summer 2015 as senior staff nurse Jacob Masters.

This series featured three webisodes. The first two webisodes were a two-parter focusing on main character Noel Garcia pursuing his dream career of being a radio DJ, while the final webisode focused on main characters Zoe Hanna and Max Walker's respective pre-wedding celebrations. On 2 July 2014, it was announced that Casualty would be airing three standalone episodes, noted as being 'independent from the main series story arc' and making 'no reference to ongoing plotlines'. An inside source told Casualty the cast and crew called the episodes 'Holby Noir'.

The first standalone episode aired on 15 November 2014, a week later than originally planned, while the second episode aired on 28 March 2015, with the final episode airing on 11 July 2015.

Reader's Guide

During series twenty-nine, Casualty was awarded the Best Soap and Continuing Drama accolade at the 2015 Royal Television Society awards ceremony. The show also won the Best Drama award at the 2015 Inside Soap Awards. Throughout the series, the show was also shortlisted under the Best Family Drama award at the 2015 TV Choice Awards, however it was beaten by Call the Midwife. In addition to this, the Casualty production team were shortlisted under the Best Television Soap and Continuing Drama category at the 2015 BAFTA awards. Actor Lee Mead was nominated under the category Newcomer for his portrayal of his character Lofty Chiltern at the National Television Awards 2015, however did not win the award.

The series is significant for its experimental standalone episodes, which were created by former show scriptwriters in an attempt to 'tempt back some of Casualty's writing alumni who had gone onto bigger and better things'. The webisodes, created by the show's junior editorial team, also represented a new digital direction for the series. Hossington's technical updates to cameras, format, and lighting aimed to modernize the show's visual style.

Did You Know?

• The standalone episodes were called 'Holby Noir' by the cast and crew.
• The first standalone episode was originally scheduled for 1 November 2014 but aired on 15 November 2014.
• The webisodes 'Radio Holby' were created by the show's junior editorial team.