Why everyone left Casualty this year

Casualty spoilers follow.

Like most other long-running shows, Casualty is no stranger to the regular comings and goings of cast members.

Several exciting new characters have joined the Emergency Department this year, but we have sadly also seen a handful of established favourites bow out.

Here, we look back at the most significant departures of the year so far and why each of the exits came about.

Ryan Firth

Casualty kicked off the year with a sad exit for Ryan, who bowed out during the episode airing on January 6.

Ryan’s departure followed a brutal attack on him the week prior, which left him feeling like he had no future in the ED.

Eddie-Jo Robinson had only joined the show last year, when his character was introduced alongside fellow new nurses Jodie, Rita and Cam.

However, Digital Spy understands that Ryan was never destined to stay long term.

“I was only contracted for six months and that was my decision to start with”, he said to What To Watch. “Then, about halfway through they said, ‘Can we keep you for another couple of months?’ and I couldn’t say no, I was enjoying it so much!”

Sah Brockner

Sah’s final episode aired on January 13, hot on the heels of Ryan’s exit.

Unlike Ryan, Sah bowed out of the ED on a positive note, after receiving a date for their top surgery.

Jan made it clear the door was always open for Sah to return, leaving us with hope that we could see them someday again in the future.

Following their exit from Casualty, Arin Smethurst, who played Sah, said: “The amount I’ve learned, loved and been loved back by the paramedic squad in particular (and many others) is unfathomable and unforgettable.

“These absolute heroes took me firmly under their wings as I started the terrifying process of my first-ever professional gig. Needless to say, it quickly stopped being terrifying. Love you forever.”

Paige Alcott

Like Ryan and Sah, Paige’s exit back in February was unannounced, although it had been teased when spoilers revealed how she would start pursuing a new career avenue.

In the episode before her departure, Paige began to show an interest in Maxfax (oral and maxillofacial surgery). To her delight, she managed to land a new position upstairs in the hospital.

Paige was then left fearing that her dreams were over before they began when the job fell through at the last minute. Despite this, Paige’s somewhat open-ended final scene saw her tell Jodie that her career was still in Maxfax.

Shalisha James-Davis had joined as new ED doctor Paige at the start of 2022.

Max Christie

Max’s exit was first confirmed last year, when Nigel Harman signed up for the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Speaking at the time, Nigel confirmed that his time at Casualty would come to a close at the start of 2024, and that he’d already filmed his final scenes.

“I left Casualty at the beginning of August,” he said. “I finished my last scene on Monday, [then I] was here on Friday. I’m on screen until the end of February, and [I have] no plans to return at the moment. Basically, I can dedicate my life to sweating and feeling anxious.”

Max’s on-screen exit ended up airing at the start of March and saw him decide to leave Holby to head to South Sudan following a successful kidney transplant.

Charlie Fairhead

By far the biggest gut punch of all the Casualty exits this year (if not of all time) was Charlie, who left the show in a special episode in March.

It was confirmed last year that Derek Thompson would be leaving the show after 38 years of playing Holby A&E stalwart Charlie.

To everyone’s relief, Charlie ended up bowing out happily after surviving another near-death experience, ending months of speculation that he was going to be killed off.

Speaking about his decision to leave the show after three decades, Derek said: “The time has come for me to hang up Charlie’s scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years.

“Together with the writers and producers, I have tried to bring to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgement that we all see and love in Pete [Salt, the real-life inspiration for Charlie] and I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life.”

Casualty‘s executive producer at the time, Jon Sen added: “Derek and I would often joke that, after such a long and dramatic career in the NHS, there was almost nothing that Charlie hadn’t seen.

“So it was an amazing surprise to me when Derek arrived with a brilliant idea for Charlie’s exit as part of an upcoming storyline, which was too good to pass up.”

And who has joined?

As well as a handful of exits, we’ve also seen a fair few fresh faces join the Emergency Department as well…

Ngozi Okoye

Casualty fans were introduced to newcomer Ngozi at the start of the year, and she quickly became a favourite among fans.

Adesuwa Oni, who previously starred in Netflix’s African Queens: Njinga, joined the cast as Ngozi, a nurse who has recently moved to the UK from Nigeria.

Speaking to Digital Spy about joining the show, Adesuwa said: “It’s been wonderful and such a pleasure. Everyone is genuinely so lovely and so kind.

“I’ve had such a great time getting to know all the different cast members and spending time with them. It’s been such a privilege to get to play such a great character and have such great stories. I’m having a really great time.”

Siobhan Mackenzie

Former Coronation Street star Melanie Hill reappeared on our screens earlier this year, jumping on board to take charge of the nursing team.

When her casting was announced, Siobhan was described as “a no-nonsense clinical nurse manager”, who “looks set to ruffle a few feathers”. And it’s fair to say, she has done that.

Patrick Onley

Fans were excited following the news that Casualty has signed up The Crown and Killing Eve star Jamie Clover to join the medical drama. But little did they know what chaos his alter ego Patrick would bring to the ED.

New clinical lead Patrick was thrown into one of the show’s biggest stories when he immediately zeroed in on fan favourite Dylan and made an enemy of him.

It’s also become apparent in recent weeks that Patrick could actually be endangering patients, something that Dylan and Stevie are hellbent on exposing.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Will Beck, who plays Dylan, said: “To play a bad guy, you really need to go for it and Jamie is just brilliant.

“He’s so experienced. I think I certainly speak for Ellie (Lawless, who plays Stevie) but we particularly enjoyed having him around.”

Nicole Piper

Actress and comedian Sammy T Dobson joined the cast of Casualty as junior doctor Nicole Piper earlier in the year.

Nicole’s first scenes aired in a double episode on March 23, and later it was confirmed that she was pregnant for a surrogate as part of a big, new story.

“I knew nothing about it when I auditioned,” Sammy told Digital Spy. “The scripts I auditioned with weren’t the actual scripts – they’re written especially for the audition. It was so exciting when I found out.

“I did the birth research early on. I don’t really know the outcome of the storyline but needless to say, the pregnancy is not going to be smooth sailing.”

Tariq Hussein

Alongside Sammy and Patrick, Casualty confirmed that Manpreet Bachu would be joining the show to play Tariq – another junior doctor.

Tariq is the cousin of established character Rash Masum and made his first appearance on the show at Ashok’s funeral.

“Joining BBC Casualty is both an honour and an absolute privilege,” Manpreet said following his casting announcement.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of such an iconic show. The warm welcome and love from everyone has made this experience truly amazing. I can’t wait for the fans to witness Tariq’s unique journey unfold.”

Casualty spoilers follow. Like most other long-running shows, Casualty is no stranger to the regular comings and goings of cast members. Several exciting new characters have joined the Emergency Department this year, but we have sadly also seen a handful of established favourites bow out. Here, we look back at the most significant departures of the year so far…