It feels like it’s been absolutely ages but this weekend, BBC One’s Casualty will return.
The medical drama has been off air since September, but will broadcast a brand-new mini series in a few days time.
The final instalment of the most recent boxset, Supply and Demand, saw the team at Holby City ED battle to save their friend and colleague Ngozi Okoye (Adesuwa Oni), who was rushed to hospital after relapsing.
Prior to this, Ngozi had said goodbye to her friends at Holby City Hospital to return to Lagos. Her young son Obi previously told Ngozi that he wasn’t happy in England anymore, and wanted to go home.
At the airport, Ngozi anxiously waited for her plane to get called. While this was happening, on/off girlfriend Nicole Piper (Sammy T Dobson) was chatting to Siobhan McKenzie (Melanie Hill). She had decided that she wanted to be with Ngozi after all, and needed to get to the airport before she left.
Siobhan raced Nicole across town, but a traffic jam outside the airport meant she was forced to run the rest of the way.
When Nicole arrived though, she found Obi on his own. In the toilets, Ngozi had fallen and hit her head after relapsing. Flashback scenes then confirmed Ngozi hid in the bathroom to try and miss the flight. After Nicole found her, Ngozi was rushed into the ED.
The instalment ended just as the team were continuing CPR on Ngozi.
This week’s episode will allow us to discover Ngozi’s fate, and meet some new members of the ED.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is Casualty back on? Next air date and time
It’s been a long wait for fans, but episode 1 of the new boxset Learning Curve airs this Saturday, January 10 on BBC One at 8:45pm.
It’s also available to watch on BBC iPlayer from Saturday morning.
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Who is joining the cast of Casualty?
Death in Paradise and Silent Witness star Aron Julius is joining the show as disarming charmer Matty, while Jasmine Bayes (Doctor Who, Vera), will arrive as second new doctor Kim.
The two characters will face the challenges of the ED, all while wrestling their own set of obstacles as well.
Jasmine Bayes said: ‘I am delighted to be joining the ED alongside Aron for Casualty’s 40th year. The journey Kim goes on is far from simple, and I hope audiences are prepared to follow her into some troubled waters.’
Aron Julius added: ‘I am absolutely buzzing to be joining Casualty as Dr Matty Linlaker. It’s a dream job – fast, fun and full of heart – and I can’t wait for audiences to meet him. Saturday nights just got a little more chaotic.’
What is the next series of Casualty about?
Learning Curve will dive into themes of resilience, acceptance and repairing fractured bonds. A new trailer released this evening also teases ED staff members facing some of their biggest challenges yet.
They will confront their personal demons, while fighting to keep the department open, and training the next generation.
As the CQC closes in, Flynn Byron (Olly Rix) and Siobhan must reunite the team as tensions threaten to break it apart.
Elsewhere, Faith Cadogan (Kirsty Mitchell) and Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson) face a new challenge, while Cam Mickelthwaite (Barney Walsh) and Indie Jankowski’s (Naomi Wakszlak) relationship heats up.
