Casualty fans have been left stunned by a huge change to the long-running medical drama.
It has been announced that the BBC is switching up the show’s location for the second time since it began in 1986, relocating characters from the fictional city of Holby (based on its former filming location of Bristol) to a new setting in Wales.
This decision has been made in a bid to “evolve the show” as it looks ahead to its 40th anniversary in September 2026.
An invitation to tender has been issued by the corporation, in an attempt to secure bids from potential suppliers for goods of services.
The document, which has surfaced on social media, reads: “We are asking tenderers to include authentic representation of Wales and reflect the reality of the Welsh NHS.
“This is not about radical change of the show, although the move to Welsh portrayal will mean a new fictional hospital based in Wales, and tenderers will need to address this core change in their editorial pitch to the evaluation panel.”
The document continues: “The successful tenderer will need to be able to demonstrate how to incorporate Welsh portrayal and maintain familiarity at the same time.”
An official announcement is yet to be made by the BBC. The Independent has contacted the corporation for comment.
It is believed that the majority of the show’s characters will make the move from Holby to the new Welsh location – but the switch up won’t occur until as late as 2029, so plenty could change in that time.
Still, long-time Casualty fans have been reacting to the news with shock, with many drawing comparisons to the BBC’s controversial decision to move the setting of Waterloo Road from Rochdale to Greenock, Scotland.
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“Ridiculous to expect us to believe that an entire hospital staff would relocate!” one fan wrote.
Another stated on X/Twitter: “I really don’t see the point in this? It’ll be its downfall. They tried to do the same with Waterloo Road and no one liked it.”
Elsewhere, someone else wrote: “They’ve Waterloo Road-ed Casualty! Regional quotas eh? I’m no expert, but wouldn’t it be better to make dramas in those regions alongside existing ones instead of changing existing dramas to fit a region? But I’m old school.
Another fan said the decision “manages to insult Casualty’s audience”.
Casualty was filmed in Bristol until 2011 when it moved to Cardiff in an attempt to increase TV production in Wales.
BBC Roath Lock Studios has been the filming location for the fictional city of Holby since then.
