On 6th September 1986, Casualty was born but what happened to the original cast of the show? We take a look…
Derek Thompson – As nurse Charlie Fairhead, he’s been described as the ‘lynchpin of the Holby ED’. Derek is the only cast member to have appeared in all 30 series of the show and has appeared in over 700 episodes. He has also made crossover appearances in both Holby City and HolbyBlue.
Cathy Shipton – Appearing in the first eight series of the show as nurse Duffy, since then she has made a number of returns including 2006’s special set in Cambodia and last year, two opening episodes of Series 30, written by co-creator Paul Unwin. Her comeback proved popular and Cathy joins the new series full-time.
Bernard Gallagher – Bernard played Casualty’s first Consultant, Ewart Plimmer in the first three series of the show, before his character was killed off after suffering a heart attack whilst on the ward. Bernard has continued to work steadily over the years, his most recent TV acting credits have included Downton Abbey, Doctors and Together.
Julia Watson – Julia appeared in the first series as Charlie’s love interest and first SHO Baz. She returned for a longer stint between 1995 – 1998 where she ended up marrying Charlie and they had a child together, Louis. However a further return in 2004, led to her character being killed off. Julia has continued to work in stage and TV including appearances in Doctors, Welcome to Orty-Fou and Midsomer Murders. In September, she will be appearing in a theatre production of ‘A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur’ at The Print Room in Notting Hill Gate.
Brenda Fricker – Brenda became one of Casualty’s most successful stars, during her five year stint on the show the Irish actress won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the 1989 film ‘My Left Foot’. She since went on to appear in a number of further TV and film roles but did make time to return to Casualty in 2010, where her character Megan was killed off in a memorable euthanasia storyline.
George Harris – George played alcoholic nurse Clive King in the first series. He returned in 2004, playing a different character – Neville Newton, the father of paramedic Fin. Since leaving the show, George has worked steadily in TV and film including appearances in three Harry Potter films as Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Robert Pugh – Robert played paramedic Andy Ponting, who was having an affair with his colleague Sandra. But after her death in Series 2, he quit Holby. Since leaving the show, the Welsh actor has had an extensive acting career including most recently roles in Games of Thrones, Doctor Foster and Mr Selfridge.
Lisa Bowerman – Lisa played Casualty’s first female paramedic, Sandra Mute and was the first ever character to be killed off after being stabbed in the back of an ambulance. She made an appearance as another character Mrs Lowe in 2007. She is mostly famed for her work in Doctor Who and it’s spin-offs, having appeared in over 50 audio plays as Bernice Summerfield. She is also an audio drama director for Big Finish Productions and is a professional photographer. She was recently seen in five episode of Coronation Street and is currently starring in ‘The Roundabout’ at the Park Theatre in London till the end of September.
Christopher Rozycki – Christopher played an integral part of the first three series of Casualty as Polish porter Kuba Trzcinski. Sadly, Christopher died in an accidental fall in 2015. His last acting credits were in Stella and Downton Abbey.
Debbie Roza – Debbie uttered the first ever words on Casualty as receptionist Susie and featured in two series. She since quit acting in 1989 and now has over 20 years experience in not for profit management, marketing and communications. Debbie now lives in Canada and currently works for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
