Series 3 (Casualty)

This article covers a real-world subject which should not be taken as part of the Holby universe.

Series title card
Series 3
Casualty
Series information
Episode total	10
Airing	9 September 1988 – 4 November 1988
Series chronology
Previous	Series 2
Next	Series 4

Series 3 is the third series of Casualty. It aired between 9 September and 4 November 1988. The series contained ten episodes, making it the shortest ever series with the least number of episodes.

In this series, main events included two minibuses full of school kids colliding, Ewart's death and Peter's death. Also, patients included a woman with a tummy full of condoms made up of heroin, A Catholic woman who had her wrists after becoming pregnant by her brother-in-law and a social worker having been attacked by a child abuser. This series also sees Holby admit its first AIDS sufferer.

​Cast

• Bernard Gallagher as Ewart Plimmer (until episode 5)
• Paul Lacoux as David Rowe (episodes 1−10)
• Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead
• Brenda Fricker as Megan Roach
• Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin
• Eddie Nestor as Cyril James
• Julie Graham as Alison McGrellis (episodes 1-10)
• Shaheen Khan as Kiran Joghill (episodes 1-10)
• Ella Wilder as Shirley Franklin (until episode 10)
• Geoffrey Leesley as Keith Cotterill
• Carol Leader as Sadie Tomkins (episodes 1-10)
• Susan Franklyn as Valerie Sinclair (from episode 1)
• Christopher Rozycki as Kuba Trzcinski (until episode 10)

Episodes

Episode	Series	Episode	Centric character	Original airdate
31	1	"Welcome to Casualty"	Ewart	9 September 1988
Megan's now living in a high-rise flat because they had to sell the house to finance the mini-cab business. Charlie gives her a lift to work and Cyril's back, looking for a job and surprised to find Susie's gone. Ewart's feeling low because Elizabeth has left and he visits George, an old friend, who bucks him up. He leaves to return to casualty and findings intruders on the premises, George investigates and is brutally attacked but bites one of them before he passes out. He later raises the alarm and ends up in casualty and Ewart visits him. Later, he recognises one of his assailant's and the police apprehend both of them. Peter's sister brings Duffy a letter from him with a pressed flower in it and tells her he's dead, after driving his car into the river. Dr David Rowe finds it hard to treat a young woman, paralysed from the neck down, after a car she was working on, fell on her. Ewart meets the new out-patient's manager, Valerie Sinclair and battle lines are drawn. Note: First appearance of David Rowe, Valerie Sinclair, Alison McGrellis, Kiran Joghill and Sadie Tomkins.
32	2	"Desperate Odds"	Ewart	16 September 1988
Social worker, Steve Selway, is called by a neighbour concerned about the welfare of a boy but when he investigates, the father attacks and seriously injures him, leaving him for dead, by his car. With no identification on him, the staff battle to save him and as he's sent to the theatre for an operation, Megan recognises him. The police go to arrest the father but the boy's been injured and rushed to hospital where the staff battle to save him but who was responsible? The police bring in a prisoner complaining of chest pains but he is sent back to the cells after being examined but he suffers a fatal heart attack and dies. Charlie meets Valerie and talks about the Observation Ward but an irate Ewart arrives, worried about their conversation, dismisses him and then argues with her over savings to be made. A wedding party arrive suffering with food poisoning and an elderly woman with diabetes is brought in by her son and finds she's going to lose her other leg.
33	3	"Drake's Drum"	Ewart	23 September 1988
Tony, the local Vicar, calls on an elderly man whose lost his faith and later finds he's been rushed to casualty, where a delicate heart operation to remove fluid, has to be perform by the on-duty surgeon. Duffy senses Tony has problems of his own and he eventually tells her he's HIV and Ewart's gone on a trip down the river with an old pal to escape the pressures of work, but finds out about the proposed closure of the Observation Ward. He heads back to casualty and argues with Valerie over the news and he's furious with her. A small child suffering from asthma comes in and the cause is put down to the parents arguments.
34	4	"Absolution"	Ewart	30 September 1988
Amid rumours that the Observation Ward is to be closed, a middle aged woman's rushed in from the airport and found to be a drug smuggler, who has swallowed the assignment, which has to be removed quickly and Charlie and Dr David Rowe are at odds about calling the police. Laura tries to commit suicide in a church, after confessing the baby she's expecting is her brother-in-law's. As the staff battle to save her, her husband's found and shocked to find out about the baby which she's loses. David has to deal with an irate husband who objects to him examining his wife's breast and when Charlie makes an undeserved remark, he puts him in his place. A patient who looks like Peter causes Duffy to freeze and has to ask Cyril to take over and then receives a reprimand from Charlie, but when she explains, he takes her to the church where he's buried and she lays his ghost to rest.
35	5	"Burn Out"	Ewart	7 October 1988
After being attacked by pupils at her school, the teacher returns after plastic surgery on the injuries to her face, only to be taunted by them again. She refuses to report them and when Megan visits that evening, she's shocked at what happened to her. She collapses at school and taken to Holby and told she faces more surgery which will leave her scared for life, and her husband's frustrated that the money they spent on her first operation was a waste. Valerie Sinclair feels Ewart has betrayed her over the proposed closure of the Observation Ward and they have an exchange of words, as Cindy, a squatter, is in a bad way when Keith and Shirley have to deliver her baby in the ambulance and then she rejects it. An irritable patient causes Megan to have a major stress attack and Ewart takes her to his office and she tells him about her problems and then breaks down. The patient who caused her to snap, finds himself on the receiving end when Duffy takes over and treats his injured hand. Note: Death of Ewart Plimmer (Bernard Gallagher).
36	6	"A Quiet Night"	Charlie	14 October 1988
Charlie meets Megan at the train station as she returns to work after that fateful night and she feel Ewart's family were wrong in not letting his friends attend his funeral. She tells him she had to have more tests and relieved to find the cancer hasn't returned and Ewart knew about it. A rugby player comes in with a broken nose but it's his mate who tries the patience of the staff, complaining about being kept waiting for him. Valerie Sinclair's found in Ewart's office by Charlie looking for some papers he had and Megan's shocked when a woman confides in her that her husband died suddenly and she hasn't told anyone. A farmer injures his hand on some machinery and his wife, realising it needs stitches, sends him to hospital. A group of rowdy teenagers going aboard, cause one of the mini bus drivers to taking his mind off the road and into the path of the injured farmer's car. Both buses crash and the farmer's car bursts into flames, killing him in the inferno
37	7	"A Wing and a Prayer"	Charlie	5 August 1989
Aired only as a repeat. A patient brought in by his boss, is wrongly accused of glue sniffing but when another man comes in with the same symptoms and suffers a heart attack, the workplace's suspected of being the cause. A GP calls for an ambulance for her elderly patient, as bed shortages cause problems and when no bed can be found for him, it's decided to transfer him but dies on the journey, leaving his daughter distraught. A young mother leaves her new born son for the first time and ends up in casualty, to find he was a victim of cot death, but she blames her husband. Megan takes the parents to see their baby and arrangements are made for them to have their son christened. When two students nurses are robbed in their rooms, Cyril offers them accommodation where he lives. Sadie worries about Kuba when he realises his job's in jeopardy and he seeks reassurances from Valerie. Note: This episode was broadcast almost a year after originally scheduled due to the death of a guest star in the episode. It aired well after the series finale of series 3, but before series 4 began.
38	8	"Living Memories"	Charlie	21 October 1988
A little girl's rushed in and the doctors quick actions, saves her life and Megan comforts the relived mother. A man dressed as a rabbit comes in, having been pushed through a plate glass window, needs attention and his companion, also in fancy dress disguised as a chicken, causes a few laughs. Valerie Sinclair is definitely not very popular amongst the staff and an old man who comes in after his wife slashed his private parts during a row, refuses to go home. A woman, suspected of having food poison, is distressed with her partner's impatience and is relieved when he leaves. Nurse Kiran Joghill finds out she's having an affair with a with him and this must be her penance for adultery. A sixteen-year-old boy, the victim of a hit and run accident, is pronounced brain dead and as he had a donor card, the parents are asked if they can use he organs but the father refuses. The irony is, the boy will now have to have a post-mortem and what the father objected to, will happen anyway.
39	9	"Inferno"	Charlie	28 October 1988
A hairdresser's mood swings causes a disagreement between Megan and David, who tells the woman to keep taking the pills prescribed by her doctor, but when she returns later with a deep gash on her arm, he realises his mistake. Her husband and daughter have suffered over the years as well and Megan finally gets her to agree to seek professional help. An old war hero gets separated from his dog and is totally confused, when he's admitted but all he wants is his dog and Megan cheers him up when she tells him he's been found by the police. Valerie goes to a local bonfire night with friends and gang of kids cause trouble when they steal some rockets and throw them into the fire. Panic sets in, as parents try to protect their kids but Valerie and her friend's son are injured and rushed to Holby. The boy has to be transferred to a burns clinic and Charlie attends to her badly burnt arm and advises her to go home.
40	10	"Caring"	Charlie	4 November 1988
When a drugs rep talks to a doctor about a drug that some of his patients are taking, is now under review, he requests they all be called in for a consultation and then goes off to start his Locum duty at Casualty. An elderly patient, who took the pledge years ago is furious when Dr David Rowe tells her the gripe water she takes for indigestion, contains alcohol. A retired consultant arrives with her GP husband,knowing what's wrong and she's admitted for a cancer operation. Charlie changes Valerie's bandages and then asks her out but before she can give him her answer, there is an emergency which he has to attend to. Kevin brings his brother Robert in, unconscious and he dies. Dr David Rowe diagnoses the probable cause was his medication and blames his GP. Little does he realise, the Locum on duty is the GP, who breaks the news to Kevin. The two doctors are at odds over it at first but realise they're both on the same side and resolve their differences. Note: Final appearance of Kuba Trzcinski, Alison McGrellis, Kiaran Joghill, David Rowe, Sadie Tomkins and Shirley Franklin.

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