"Hopelessly Addicted" is the 991st episode of Casualty and the 30th episode of the 30th series. It was preceded by "Buried Alive" and followed by "Survivors". The episode was directed by David Beauchamp and written by Kayleigh Llewellyn.
Synopsis[]
Ethan arrives for work in an attempt to "be more Cal", something which doesn't go unnoticed by the other members of staff. Meanwhile, Connor encounters some teenage girls at the bus stop, one of whom is his neighbor but they mock him for being a nerd and throw his toy robot in the bin. He climbs in to get it but ends up falling in and calls Max for help. Elsewhere, the teenage girls arrive at the quarry and plan to take drugs. The one with the drugs, Lauren, gives a pill to Dani and Rachel but spits out her own pill secretly. As the others climb on the rocks to get a good photo, a rockfall occurs and Dani falls to the ground and Rachel is left stranded on the ledge.
At an elderly care home, John proposes to another resident Bev, and she accepts when she sees the ring. However, John falls through a glass door shortly after and ends up in the ED. John's friend Frank also accompanies them to the ED, but John later catches sight of them flirting and breaks up with Bev, and punches Frank in the face but they later make up.
Connor arrives in the ED, and Mercedes is furious that he called Max before thinking to call her, and she accuses him of being a paedophile. Zoe quickly steps in and diffuses the situation. Meanwhile the paramedics attend the scene of the collapse at the quarry and Jez climbs along the steep ledge to rescue Rachel. They arrive back at the ED with a badly injured Dani and they admit to taking drugs. Jacob manages to get Lauren to hand over the pill she didn't swallow so they can discover what it is. Jacob later approaches Mercedes for help in tracking down the drug dealer but she refuses to cooperate. Jacob and Connie also find themselves together in the storeroom in an awkward encounter.
Big Mac is more reliant on his painkillers than ever and tries to get Zoe to write him another prescription, but she tells him that he shouldn't really need them anymore and to go and visit his GP. Later in the day, he offers to help Robyn unpack the drugs delivery but when they're dropped on the floor, he takes the chance to pocket a few. Outside the ED, Rachel confronts Lauren before collapsing and being readmitted. Inside, Rachel tells her that if that's what being cool is, she would rather be a nerd with Connor. Jacob goes to see Connie and gives her the drugs which he got from the dealer after tracking them down.
Production[]
Behind the scenes photos revealed the use of a harness by the guest actor and Lloyd Everitt who plays Jez Andrews. In December 2015, Michael Stevenson posted a photo on Twitter with the dig site in the background, hinting the episode was filmed around this time.