Production
Conception and development
"It's an episode that hasn't cut corners, that's for sure. Everything, from the production values to the re-shoots to get that extra bit of detail, has been done. Money and time has been invested in it – and it kicks off the new series in quite some fashion I feel."[2]
—Stevenson on episode 1094 (2018)
On 9 May 2018, Sophie Dainty of entertainment website Digital Spy reported that Casualty would broadcast a car crash and an explosion involving a petrol tanker in August.[3] The Gazette Series billed the stunts as "one of the most expensive scenes ever made" for the series.[4] Actress Charlotte Salt, who portrays paramedic Sam Nicholls in the series, confirmed that the stunt would mark the beginning of the show's thirty-third series, which series producer Lucy Raffety billed as "The Year of the Paramedic".[5] Raffety said that the stunt would start the new series with a "bang".[6] Salt described the episode as "a big dramatic episode" with a focus on the paramedics at work. She added that there was a positive atmosphere on-set.[5] Official confirmation of the episode was announced on the show's Twitter account on 24 July 2018. The tweet stated that "the paramedic crew of Holby ED face their darkest day" in the episode.[7] Dainty reported that the stunt would "rip through the heart of Holby".[8] Advanced spoiler pictures from episode 1094 were released on 11 August. Dainty also predicted that "life in Holby may never be the same again".[9]
Salt explained that there would be a greater focus on the "front line of the NHS" from this episode.[10] The actress dubbed the episode "adrenaline-filled" and "quite intense".[11] In an interview with Christine Lampard on chat show Lorraine, Salt likened the episode to a late night special, which explores the "gritty, dark side" of paramedic life.[10] She also described episode 1094 as a "very emotional [and] high-adrenaline" episode which sees Sam and her former Army colleague, paramedic Iain Dean (Michael Stevenson), go "full circle" with their relationship and work together in a "high-stress environment".[10] Stevenson billed the episode as "gripping",[2] and told Allison Jones of Inside Soap that the events of the episode will alter Iain's life "forever".[12] He commented, "Everything that happens in the episode adds another level of guilt and jeopardy to all the characters it affects."[12] The actor added that the episode would "share stories, raise awareness and create drama at the same time".[13]
Episode 1094 begins 20 minutes before the end of the previous episode, although it is portrayed from an alternative viewpoint. At the end of the previous episode, Iain swerves the ambulance, which has Alicia and Ruby Spark (Maddy Hill) inside, but it is not known why he has done this.[2] When the episode begins, Iain and Ruby are attending a call-out to suicidal Mia Bellis (Simona Zivkovska), but leave to attend an incident at Alicia's house.[14] Stevenson told Elaine Reilly of What's on TV that his character's choice to treat Alicia Munroe (Chelsea Halfpenny) would cause the episode's events.[2] He explained that in the moment, Iain felt that was the right decision to make.[6] Jones (Inside Soap) reported that the aftermath of Iain's decision "proves devastating – and not just for Iain."[12] Halfpenny enjoyed her character featuring as a patient in the episode, rather than a doctor, as she does not get the opportunity to do this often.[6]
A petrol tanker crashes into the ambulance, creating a multi-car pile up on the dual carriageway. Stevenson explained that the people trapped in their cars at the incident scene cannot be saved quickly, placing them at risk. He said that the petrol tanker is "a ticking time bomb, adding pressure to the situation".[2] He also stated that when the tanker explodes, it creates more chaos.[2] To create the fireball that the tanker explodes into, the show's production team produced ten different explosions, which each served as a catalyst for the next explosion.[6] The scene with the explosion was rehearsed multiple times without the explosion and the actors were told that when the camera starts filming, they should run and when they hear an explosion, they should duck.[6] Stevenson confirmed that episode 1094 would spark a darker journey for Iain with issues that cannot be solved overnight.[12]
Planning for episode 1094 took place over several months between the production team. To understand how the vehicles in the multi-car pile up would collide, members of the production team used model cars as examples.[6] Mark Turner, the special effects coordinator, explained that the ambulance hits a pipe ramp on the dual carriageway, causing it to flip in an anti-clockwise position.[6] The production team also faced a challenge in deciding how to crash and explode the petrol tanker.[6] The episode was written by Simon Norman, directed by Steve Brett and produced by Carol Harding.[1] Stevenson praised Brett's direction and likened the filming of episode 1094 to filming a movie. He pointed out that because Brett is "cinematic" in his work and since there was a lot of discussion about the characters and the scenes, there was a greater illusion that it was a movie.[2] He commented, "In terms of the scale too, it very much felt like we were on movie standards."[2] Raffety also praised Brett's direction, describing him as "unbelievable" and said that he managed to unite the cast and crew.[6]
Salt's departure
The death of at least one regular character was revealed with the confirmation of the episode.[7][8] Reilly (What's on TV) warned that the explosion would "kill indiscriminately".[2] Duncan Lindsay, writing for the Metro, said that although it was "inevitable" that one character would die, producers were keeping the character's identity embargoed.[15] Lindsay suggested that one of the show's paramedics could die.[15] Similarly, Dainty included the paramedic crew in her list of potential deaths, but she also suggested that Alicia or Eddie McAllister (Joe Gaminara) could die too. She also thought that Bea Kinsella (Michelle Fox), who departed in the previous episode, could be a potential fatality.[16] Stevenson told Reilly (What's on TV) that both patients and medics' lives would be placed in "jeopardy" by the explosion. He said, "you just don't know what's going to happen."[2]
"Yes definitely, it's quite sad. There is a real finality to it rather than 'Oh well, I can always come back one day'. For me, personally and professionally, this way I can leave on a real high and move forward."[11]
—Salt on her character being killed off. (2018)
Episode 1094 featured the death of Salt's character, Sam Nicholls.[17] When Salt returned in 2017, she knew that she did not want to stay on the series for a long span. Producers wanted to create a sensational departure for Sam and decided to have the character leave during the crash. Salt explained that it seemed to be "the perfect moment to throw a real spanner in the works."[11] Despite this, the actress was surprised to learn that her character would be killed off and felt that her exit was more final, allowing her to progress with her career.[11] Salt hoped that the audience would be surprised by Sam's death and wanted it to have a "big impact" as she felt that most twists were normally spoilt ahead of transmission.[11]
As Sam and Iain save two women trapped in the crash, the tanker explodes and they are hit by the explosion without injury.[17] However, later in the ambulance depot, Sam discovers that she has been hit by shrapnel causing her liver to bleed. She collapses in an ambulance and when Iain finds her, she says goodbye to him and dies.[17] The scene where Sam dies was first scene of the episode to be filmed, which Salt found weird. She found it upsetting to film Sam's death scene as it solidified that it was the end of a character that has been "a huge part of [her] life."[11] Stevenson described Sam's death as "shocking and upsetting" and said that Iain would blame himself in the aftermath.[18] Salt explained that Sam's death would take Iain to "a very dark place", which has never been explored before.[11]
Filming
The episode was filmed between late April and early May 2018.[4] Cast and crew were allowed six weeks to produce the episode, two extra weeks than allowed for a regular episode.[2] On-location filming was held at three different locations in Bristol, England.[19] One of the three locations was an unused dual carriageway, the Road to Nowhere, in Yate, England which is closed to traffic. The show received permission from South Gloucestershire Council to film on the dual carriageway.[4] Casualty has previously filmed at the location for other episodes.[4] Stevenson dubbed the location as "phenomenal" and found himself amazed by the set.[2] He likened the set to walking into a film and thought that the set designers had produced an amazing set.[12]
The show planned to film on the Road to Nowhere between 28 April and 5 May, although filming took longer than originally thought and continued until 10 May.[20] Stevenson explained that the stunts for episode could not be hurried and therefore, they took more time.[2] He added that extra days were given to ensure that they had everything that they needed.[2] Shooting for the episode took place at night, which Salt and Di Botcher (paramedic Jan Jenning actress) disliked but Stevenson enjoyed.[5] Stevenson enjoyed the night shoots, but found it difficult to cheer Salt up.[2] Salt told Dainty (Digital Spy) that although she found the night shoots tiring, "there is such a camaraderie that you all find at 2am when you're worrying that the sun is going to come up soon and you've got to get the last shot in."[11] A footbridge was constructed by the show's set designers for the episode. Stevenson was surprised by how realistic the footbridge was.[2]
All the interior scenes of the ambulance flipping and being hit were filmed on a gimbal that was fitted to the ambulance.[6] Halfpenny and Hill were involved in these scenes, with Halfpenny strapped to a bed in the ambulance. When the ambulance was on its side, Halfpenny hung from the bed, which she and Hill found amusing.[6] The show's crew had to regularly check that the actresses were fine and that neither had whiplash.[6]
