Stirling Gallacher joins the cast of Casualty as Ffion, the longstanding wife of paramedic Jan

Stirling Gallacher joins the cast of BBC One’s Casualty as police officer Ffion, who is wife of the well-loved paramedic Jan, played by Di Botcher.

Stirling is best known for playing Georgina Woodson in the BBC daytime series Doctors. She also memorably played the Prime Minister’s wife in Little Britain and has most recently been seen as Paula Martin in Coronation Street.

Stirling Gallacher says: "I am entirely delighted to be joining the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world… what’s not to be thrilled about! The added bonus is of course the folk that work on this fantastic show, I could not have felt more personally welcomed or professionally supported in what is often a bit of a nerve wracking build up to your first days filming. I look forward to many happy hours on Ffion Morgan's pretend beat.”

Simon Harper, Executive Producer of Casualty and Holby City, says: “The audience may recall a single, somewhat loaded reference last year from Jan’s son Ross to her wife Ffion and the kids back home - so we’ve had her off-screen marriage up our sleeve for some time now and are really excited to explore it - not least with an actor as distinguished as Stirling, whom we are thrilled to welcome to the Casualty company, playing alongside the brilliant Di Botcher. Jan has a huge and terrifying story coming up in the next series where Ross comes into her life again - and given that Ross is pretty dodgy and Ffion is a police officer, it’s all going to get pretty turbulent!”

Stirling has started filming and will be on screens in Casualty from late Spring.

Uriel Emil joins cast of BBC One’s Casualty as new paramedic Lev

Uriel Emil joins the long-running BBC One medical drama this Autumn as new paramedic Lev.
Steely and tough but gentle at heart, Lev certainly makes an entrance on his first day on the job when Jan and Ruby catch him in a scrap with someone outside the ambulance station. A devoted family man, Lev will have his world rocked on all fronts in the coming year.

Uriel Emil says: “I feel privileged and honoured to be part of the Casualty clan and I hope the viewers will enjoy the fresh angle explored through my storyline”.

Simon Harper, Executive Producer of Casualty and Holby City says: “Uriel brings a fantastic, exciting energy to the table in his portrayal of the troubled Lev. As a Russian paramedic with a stormy past he’s a really fresh and unique character in the Casualty mix, and I’m so looking forward to the audience getting to know him in what’s going to be an explosive series.”

Casualty viewers will see Uriel on screen as Lev in September on BBC One.

Holby City and Casualty to air special crossover episodes

For the first time since 2005, the cast of Holby City and Casualty will join forces for a two-part crossover special on BBC One, as the staff of the emergency department and the wards come together when Holby City Hospital is plunged into chaos.

Characters from both series will interact as their storylines are intertwined across the two dramatic, action-packed episodes.

A major cyber-attack plunges Holby into blackout and disables most of the hospital’s automated monitoring equipment. At the same time Sacha (Bob Barrett) is in a car crash which injures his daughter Bekka (Francesca Barrett) and Ric’s (Hugh Quarshie) granddaughter Darla (Naomi Katiyo), one of whom might be pregnant.

Fighting a different battle among the chaos, Connie (Amanda Mealing) is left to save the life of a member of her own team with surgery. As Sasha’s injuries become apparent Jac (Rosie Marcel) comes to his rescue and is ready to operate but with only one theatre available in the blackout, Connie and Jac have to make the impossible decision - which of their friends to try to save first.

Simon Harper, Executive Producer of Holby City and Casualty, says: “We’ve known for some time there’s been major audience appetite for a mega crossover between these sister shows, so that’s exactly what we are serving up! You’ll see both the Casualty and Holby teams striving heroically against the odds in two episodes of pure, nail-biting, taut, emotional medical drama.

"I’m quite literally in awe of Michelle Lipton’s writing achievement and Steve Brett’s direction in pulling off this double, and so proud of both the Cardiff Casualty and Elstree Holby crews and casts in making the mind-boggling logistics work, quite aside from their creative wizardry. There’s so much to relish in the cross-show character interactions: an especially poignant thematic resonance between two regulars, Connie and Jac, in delicious conflict, and perhaps most vitally, who from Casualty has been secretly carrying on with whom from Holby!”

The crossover will begin during Casualty on Saturday 2 March and will conclude during Holby City on Tuesday 5 March on BBC One.

Throughout 2019, Holby City is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a host of guest appearances from previous Holby characters and fan favourites across the year. Amanda Mealing will be the latest returner in the crossover, coming back to her old stomping ground in Holby as Connie Beauchamp.