Casualty star Melanie Hill teases 'very different' 40th anniversary episodes
Melanie Hill hopes that Casualty's special 40th anniversary episodes attract new viewers to the BBC medical drama.
Melanie Hill has hinted that Casualty’s 40th anniversary episodes will be “very different” from the norm.
The BBC medical drama celebrates four decades on air with a special double bill on Saturday (05.09.26) that sees the hospital rocked by an explosion and the 64-year-old actress - who plays the role of Siobhan McKenzie - hopes that the drama can attract new viewers to the show.
Melanie told Digital Spy: “I would like viewers who maybe haven’t seen Casualty before to keep watching, because we keep raising the bar.
“These are very different episodes, obviously there is much bigger CGI involved.
“But as well as that, we continue to tell really human stories that everyone can identify with - and the scripts that we’re working on now just get better and better.”
Melanie’s co-star Olly Rix, who portrays Flynn Byron, believes that the special will cater to viewers both old and new with the return of former characters Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) and Ethan Hardy (George Rainsford).
The 41-year-old actor said: "I’d say the same, it’s for new viewers as well. But of course, it’s good and it’s right to acknowledge the audience that have been with the show for a long time, and I think there’s plenty in the episodes that they are going to feel pleased is included.
"So there’s many different audiences being catered to in these episodes."
Meanwhile, Casualty producer Liza Mellody feels that the show continues to resonate with audiences after 40 years on air because it is “modern and relevant”.
She said: "Our characters are human - they are flawed but they do the best they can with what they have.
"We are telling human stories through the lens of medicine, adrenaline, warmth, joy, pain and ultimately hope. It is a marvellous concoction for Saturday night viewing."
Mellody added: "There are so many people that have said, 'I became a nurse or doctor because of Casualty’, or 'I know how to do CPR because of Casualty.’”
