THE highly anticipated return of Casualty certainly didn’t disappoint on Saturday evening – but what’s still yet to come this year on the show?
After a four-month break, the BBC One medical drama finally aired its first scenes over the weekend, and left viewers in tears with their portrayal of the current coronavirus pandemic.
The first episode gave a real account of how hard frontline workers have been working in hospitals to try and fight the deadly bug over the past year.
As the doctors and nurses of Holby City hospital put their lives at risk to save others during the first wave, the show highlighted many important issues that they faced back in March.
The lack of PPE, trying to overcome their very first cases in ED with little knowledge about the virus, staff contracting the bug and the loss of loved ones was squeezed into the 55 minute episode.
And all of this will have a knock on effect with what happens in future episodes. So lets have a look at what’s in store over the coming weeks…
Connie struggles to come to terms with Noel’s death
Fans of the show will know that Noel (Tony Marshall) sadly passed away from contracting the virus during Saturday night’s episode.
The much-loved character, who had been the hospital’s receptionist for the past 12 years, will be dearly missed by his colleagues and one person in particular finds it hard to cope with.
It brought back some very painful memories for Connie (Amanda Mealing) and the senior consultant was the person who had the final call on Noel’s life, which plays a very heavy part on her conscience later on down the line.
Connie’s personal life turns into a shambles
The pair have only just decided to give things a proper go, but it seems that the stress of trying to come to terms with how to deal with Covid-19 in ED has certainly put a strain on their relationship.
As we know, ethnic minorities are more susceptible to contracting coronavirus and the clinical nurse manager (Charles Venn) brought up his worries to the senior consultant.
However, Jacob was left unimpressed with Connie’s interest in his point about how they should be doing more to help them.
It’s clear that her mind is elsewhere and as time goes on it certainly takes a toll on them as a pair and to make matters worse Connie’s 16-year-old daughter Grace makes a return, adding more worry to her hectic schedule.
Will’s demand for more PPE causes a storm
The consultant, played by Jack Nolan, voiced his concerns about the lack of PPE given to the staff working in the hospital.
Will decided to talk to Connie about the real worry, which many of our NHS workers had to go through at the start of the pandemic back in March.
The pair clash heads and will affect things later on down the line…
Jade’s battle with communication on the ward
While PPE is seen as a blessing for frontline workers, some like Jade – who relies on lipreading to communicate – found it extremely had to do so with face coverings.
The staff nurse (Gabriella Leon) had to take a back seat at one point in the episode due to not being able to understand what her co-worker was saying.
Her storyline will highlight how challenging it has been for NHS workers who have a disability and have been working on the frontline to save lives.
Fenisha’s lies to cover up her pregnancy
The paramedic (Olivia D’Lima) found out she was pregnant with and consultant Ethan Hardy in the last series.
She’s kept the pregnancy a secret and when the pandemic hit, she become extremely worried about her unborn child’s safety and doesn’t want to catch Covid at work.
Fenisha had to make up a lie which enabled her to isolate at home to keep safe… but it’s only a matter of time before the big secret finally comes out.
Watch the next episode of Casualty this Saturday (January 9) on BBC One.
