Series 31

Series 31 will be the thirty-first series of Casualty and will commence airing on 27 August 2016. The current series producer Erika Hossington revealed that they have big plans for the show's thirtieth anniversary, which will fall at the beginning of this series in September 2016. She also revealed in an interview that the premiere of series 30 featuring Charlie having a heart attack sets up for the first two episodes of series 31 they have planned.

When asked about the cast, Hossington stated that viewers can expect to see a few new faces later in the year (2016), which will likely be in series 31. In February 2016, Oliver Kent posted a picture on Twitter of the front pages of the scripts of the first and second episodes of series 31, which were also labelled as the 30th anniversary special parts one and two, respectively. Filming of the 30th anniversary episode took place over 5 weeks in April and May 2016. In May 2016, Amanda Mealing posted a photo on Twitter revealing the episode which she would direct along with the writer and title for the tenth episode of series 31. She had previously revealed that she would be directing an upcoming episode, although it was unknown as to when it would air. Episode ten is likely to air in November 2016.

In terms of cast changes from series 30, it's going to be one of the most dramatic jumps yet. Three brand new cast members already joined from series 30, setting them up for series 31. Zoe's departure was confirmed as she wasn't seen on the section of the staff hierarchy grid shown. Also in the picture, Elle is shown at the top with "Clinical Lead" written under her name, proving she will replace Connie in that role. The only other character seen in the photo is Ethan, therefore confirming their presence on the show until late 2016.

30th anniversary episode
Although no official synopsis or plot has been given for the 30th anniversary episode thus far, a number of hints have been dropped by various cast and crew of the show over the last year which would hint that Connie will be in an accident. Please note this is unconfirmed and shouldn't be taken for fact until a source is available or until the episode airs.

Erika Hossington revealed in an interview in 2015 that something major would happen to one of the lead characters, although she didn't say what or who. In spring 2016, images surfaced online of what appeared to be Connie's car suspended vertically on the set and smashed up, which gave many fans a chance to speculate that the 30th anniversary would involve an accident with Connie. Furthermore Charles Venn, who portrays Jacob Masters, revealed that he would have a big role in the 30th anniversary special and given his character's relationship with Connie, it links in with the other rumors. It's now been highly speculated that this incident will coincide with Amanda Mealing taking a break from Casualty.

Cast
Note that this list relies on current information regarding departures, and therefore may be subject to change. Confirmed returning for series 31
 * Jaye Griffiths as Elle Gardner, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Clinical Lead
 * Amanda Mealing as Connie Beauchamp, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Clinical Lead
 * William Beck as Dylan Keogh, Consultant in Emergency Medicine
 * George Rainsford as Ethan Hardy, Specialist Registrar in Emergency Medicine
 * Richard Winsor as Cal Knight, Registrar in Emergency Medicine
 * Crystal Yu as Lily Chao, Registrar in Emergency Medicine
 * Chelsea Halfpenny as Alicia Munroe, Locum Doctor in Emergency Medicine


 * Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin, Clinical Nurse Manager, Senior Staff Nurse
 * Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead, Emergency Nurse Practitioner
 * Lee Mead as Ben "Lofty" Chiltern, Band 6 Senior Staff Nurse (note ; episode 1, from late 2016)
 * Charles Venn as Jacob Masters, Band 6 Senior Staff Nurse
 * Amanda Henderson as Robyn Miller, Band 5 Staff Nurse
 * Azuka Oforka as Louise Tyler, Band 5 Staff Nurse
 * Jason Durr as David Hide, Band 5 Staff Nurse
 * Michael Stevenson as Iain Dean, Paramedic
 * Lloyd Everitt as Jez Andrews, Paramedic
 * Tony Marshall as Noel Garcia, Reception Manager
 * Jamie Davis as Max Walker, Porter

Notable guest characters

 * Charles Dale as MacKenzie "Big Mac" Chalker (episode 1)
 * Suzanne Packer as Tess Bateman (episode 1)
 * Ian Bleasdale as Josh Griffiths (episode 1)
 * Rosie Marcel as Jac Naylor (episode 1)
 * Guy Henry as Henrik Hanssen (episode 1)
 * Alex Walkinshaw as Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher (episode 1)