Series 31

Series 31 is the thirty-first series of Casualty and commenced airing on 27 August 2016. The current series producer Erika Hossington revealed that they had big plans for the show's thirtieth anniversary, which fell at the beginning of this series. It was later revealed that the 30th anniversary episode was to air on 27 August, 10 days before the actual anniversary. The series will contain 43 episodes, the same as the previous series.

This series introduced a brand new title sequence and a slightly modified theme tune, although the changes to the latter were minimal. The first new arrival of the series was that of F1 doctor Sebastian Grayling, portrayed by Rik Makarem. He was first seen in the Autumn trailer released on 31 August 2016, and neither his casting or character had been announced beforehand.

The series would have originally contained 44 episodes, but at some point prior to the airing of the 30th anniversary special it was merged to make one long feature length episode, rather than comprising episode 1 and 2 of the series. In turn, this resulted in all later episodes in the series being shifted down an episode number as well as airing a week before expected.

Series guest appearances
The series opener saw a variety of guest appearances from former cast members including Ian Bleasdale and Suzanne Packer as Josh Griffiths and Tess Bateman, respectively. Charles Dale also returned for a brief cameo in the episode as MacKenzie "Big Mac" Chalker who departed just two months earlier. Some Holby City regulars also guest starred in the 30th anniversary episode, including Jac Naylor, Henrik Hanssen and Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher, the latter having been a series regular on Casualty from 2012 to 2014. Continuing into series 31 was also be Robyn's love interest Glen Thomas as well as Steph Sims who only appeared in episode 1. Emily Carey also continued her role as Grace Beauchamp, furthering her recurring role which began in the 29th series.

In August, Josh Griffiths' guest appearance was officially announced as well as the news that Ben Turner had reprised his role as Jay Faldren for the 30th anniversary. On 16 August, it was revealed that Alice Chantrey, John "Abs" Denham, Mike Barratt, Comfort Jones and Lenny Lyons would all appear in episode 1 along with the other returnees. Poppy Jhakra and Pam St. Clement first appeared as Amira Zafar and Sally Hodge, respectively, and both reprised their role for an episode later in the series. James Gaddas and Tracey Wilkinson guest starred in episode 2 as Alicia's parents Howard and Jackie Munroe, respectively. Rosie Marcel, John Michie and Tom Chambers all guest starred in episode 3 as Jac Naylor, Guy Self and Sam Strachan, respectively. Episode 5 of the series also saw the first appearances of Rosa and Oliver Hide, David's ex-wife and son portrayed by Lorraine Pilkington and Harry Collett, respectively.

Episode 11 of the series saw the first appearances of Ricky Nixon as Peter Duffin and Sophie Austin as Tanya Duffin. Peter had last appeared in series 17, portrayed by a different actor as a child. Additionally, James Wilby made his first appearance as Archie Grayling, the father of Sebastian Grayling and a potential love interest for Lily. Russell Boulter reprised his role as Ryan Johnson in episode 14, appearing for the first time since the show's 17th series. His role continued into episode 15, in which Roly Botha also appeared in as Duffy's son Paul.

In the new year, episode 17 sees a guest appearance from Holby City ' s Ric Griffin, portrayed by Hugh Quarshie, who was last seen on Casualty in 2005. Tonicha Lawrence will also be reprising her role as Steph Sims.

Cast

 * For a listing of character appearances in this series, see Character appearances.

Main characters

 * Amanda Mealing as Connie Beauchamp
 * Jaye Griffiths as Elle Gardner
 * William Beck as Dylan Keogh
 * George Rainsford as Ethan Hardy
 * Richard Winsor as Cal Knight
 * Crystal Yu as Lily Chao
 * Chelsea Halfpenny as Alicia Munroe
 * Rik Makarem as Sebastian Grayling (episodes 10 - 17)
 * Charles Venn as Jacob Masters
 * Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead
 * Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin (from episode 1)
 * Amanda Henderson as Robyn Miller
 * Azuka Oforka as Louise Tyler
 * Jason Durr as David Hide
 * Michael Stevenson as Iain Dean
 * Lloyd Everitt as Jez Andrews
 * Tony Marshall as Noel Garcia
 * Jamie Davis as Max Walker

Recurring/Guest characters

 * Emily Carey as Grace Beauchamp
 * Tonicha Lawrence as Steph Sims (episode 1, early 2017)
 * Rosie Marcel as Jac Naylor (episodes 1 & 3)
 * Pam St. Clement as Sally Hodge (episode 1, early 2017)
 * Charles Dale as MacKenzie "Big Mac" Chalker (episode 1)
 * Ian Bleasdale as Josh Griffiths (episode 1, early 2017)
 * Suzanne Packer as Tess Bateman (episode 1)
 * Ben Turner as Jay Faldren (episode 1)
 * Alex Walkinshaw as Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher (episode 1)
 * Guy Henry as Henrik Hanssen (episode 1)
 * Steven Miller as Lenny Lyons (episode 1)
 * Sam Grey as Alice Chantrey (episode 1)
 * James Redmond as John "Abs" Denham (episode 1)
 * Clive Mantle as Mike Barratt (episode 1)
 * Martina Laird as Comfort Jones (episode 1)
 * Poppy Jhakra as Amira Zafar (episodes 1 & 23)
 * Owain Arthur as Glen Thomas (episodes 2 - 9)
 * James Gaddas as Howard Munroe (episode 2, early 2017)
 * Tracey Wilkinson as Jackie Munroe (episode 2)
 * John Michie as Guy Self (episode 3)
 * Tom Chambers as Sam Strachan (episodes 3, 23 & early 2017)
 * Lorraine Pilkington as Rosa Hide (episode 5)
 * Harry Collett as Oliver Hide (episode 5, early 2017)
 * Jenny Howe as Lexy Morrell (episode 8, early 2017)
 * Ricky Nixon as Peter Duffin (episode 11)
 * Sophie Austin as Tanya Duffin (episode 11)
 * James Wilby as Archie Grayling (from episode 11)
 * Russell Boulter as Ryan Johnson (episodes 14 & 15)
 * Roly Botha as Paul Duffin (episode 15)
 * Hugh Quarshie as Ric Griffin (episode 17)
 * Rebecca Ryan as Gemma Dean (early 2017)
 * Chizzy Akudolu as Mo Effanga (early 2017)

Characters Who Have Left In This Series:

Sebastian Grayling ( From Episode 10-17 )

Specials
A special episode will become available on 24 December 2016, and unlike other special episodes will only be available online, not on the red button.

Trivia

 * This series' premiere marked the 30th anniversary of the show.
 * At some point in the series, a main character is rumored to die although this remains unconfirmed.
 * It's also been hinted that this series will contain Casualty ' s first ever three-part episode. Through the run of the show, over 30 two-part episodes have aired.
 * The series premiere is the longest ever episode of Casualty, but not the first feature length episode.

References and notes
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