Huge BBC soap to be off air for weeks as live sport forces schedule shake-up
Casualty, which has been on the BBC since 1986 and is the world's longest-running medical drama, is being moved from its regular Saturday night slot to make way for football coverage. The medical drama joins the likes of The One Show and EastEnders in the channel's schedule shake-up as it prioritises its coverage of the UEFA Euro 2024 football matches.
Viewers will miss out on their regular dose of drama from the A&E Department in Holby on Saturday, 29 June, and Saturday, July 6, as teams continue to battle it out on the pitch for this year's trophy.
Instead, the BBC coverage of the UEFA Men's Euro 2024 will run from 4.40pm until 10.10pm both Saturdays, meaning viewers will have to wait to see what happens in Casualty's latest big storyline.
Barney Walsh in Casualty
The third episode of the latest series - which was originally due to be shown on 29 June - is thought to have been delayed until after the football tournament is finished. The first two instalments of the series - called Storm Damage - saw the cast dealing with the aftermath of a hige storm which wreaked havoc on Holby.
Barney Walsh, who plays nurse Cameron 'Cam' Mickelthwaite is at the centre of much of the drama after being caught up in the red weather warning on the way into the hospital. In a promo for the new series, the BBC revealed: "Haunted in the aftermath, Cam is left questioning whether the chaos of the ED is for him. But to face his future, Cam has no choice but to confront his past when it washes into Holby..."
Sarah Seggari, Eddie-Joe Robinson and Anna Chell, Barney Walsh and Jaye Jacobs who play nurses Rida, Ryan, Jodie, Cam and Donna in the BBC1 drama, Casualty. Issue date: Thursday March 23, 2023.
The 26-year-old Gladiators presenter - who works alongside his dad Bradley Walsh on the hugely-popular revival of the nineties classic - was announced by the BBC as Casualty's newest cast member last year. The channel described his character as "woefully lacking in self-confidence and a perpetually terrified fish out of water, Cam arrives at Holby to realise he might have bitten off more than he can chew."
Speaking previously about the major new gig, Barney said: "I'm so grateful to be able to do that while telling these Casualty stories because, growing up, acting is all I wanted to do. Going from audition to audition to finally getting the call for Casualty, it's a dream come true.
"I love my other jobs and we're very excited for series two of Gladiators, but this one will always be in my heart because of that."