Before bowing out, she gave us an insight into her life as Casualty producer and teases us about forthcoming storylines, her desire for Duffy to return full time, the possible romance between Charlie and Maggie and the forthcoming "unique" Christmas and New Year two-parter.
Casualty’s celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – that’s a staggering achievement by any stretch of the imagination. Just what do you think it is about the programme that has made it what it is?
"I think the minute that show hit the air the British public recognised that it was very cutting edge, very different, very accessible, it talked about a world they knew; the NHS and life or death which could happen to anybody on any day – we could all end up in casualty – and I think that's what's made it the longest running emergency medicine television drama in the world."
Do you think it's succeeded because it's such a basic concept?
"It is a basic concept, but I don't think that we should forget how revolutionary it was when it first came out. Up until then, it had been very cosy and doctors always cured everybody, men in white coats came and said 'there, there dear' and when Casualty hit the air, we were a very frank portrait of alcoholism, domestic abuse; 20 years ago that was a shock on television. And what it also showed, that I think only cardiac arrest has done since, is the ordinariness of the team working in the emergency department, you know, the Charlies, the Duffys and now it's the Maggies and the Joshes. They're just people like us, ordinary people just trying to hold a line against the rising tide of violence and distress and agony. They're not glossy glamorous air hostesses or glitzy people and I think people respond really positively to that because they recognise the truth of it."
How do you react to suggestions that you've brought in more good-looking actors? Is it done intentionally?
"I think a couple of years ago there were some absolutely spellbindingly beautiful people in the hospital who maybe were a bit of a stretch in terms of are they plausible doctors and nurses? I think now with Kelsey, with Alice, with Maggie, with Abs – all of those people, they're fabulous to look at, they're charismatic actors, but they are also credible as doctors and nurses."
Could you take us through a typical week in the life of Jane Dauncey?
"A typical week in my life is; get up ridiculously early on a Monday. We start filming at 7 o'clock usually on a Monday morning and Casualty works like a crazy, but well organised train set with everything running around in circles, but never quite crashing. We have two programmes filming at any one time, so we have a team of about 65 people on episode one, meanwhile, episode two is running as well. We always have one episode in the warehouse in the hospital set, while the other episode is out doing the location stuff, the stunts, the people in the council flats and nightclubs, then that shoot comes in to the warehouse.
"All the time we're looking ahead, looking ahead for stories for the regular characters as much as possibly nine months ahead. Viewers may have noticed there's a little possible glimmer of a romance brewing between Maggie and Charlie. Now we need to think will that happen, how fast might it happen, will it go wrong, all the obstacles in the way of those two and all of that is planned a long, long time ahead. And then we basically need to produce a decent ready-to-shoot script once a week. We do 48 one-hour episodes so while we are shooting two episodes, I have two script editors who will be working on a whole succession of scripts which all, of course, have to relate to each other because you can't have Nathan having a terrible row with Maggie one week and the next week that's all forgotten. So all of those scripts need to link to each other and all the writers need to know what comes before and what goes after.
"We're also casting actors for the weekly guest roles all the time. I'm watching edits of programmes – If I don't understand something I have it recut or if I think it's slow we'll look at the structure and see what we can do. So really the feeling you get working on Casualty, it's a bit like wicket keeping. You're kind of standing there with a machine that's chucking programmes at you and you just have to biff them forwards all the time. I mean, on Casualty, the thing that I've found the most exciting and challenging is keeping up the quality of the story while simply dealing with such a popular show, involving 48 episodes a year now."
That's a staggering amount of work per week. Do you sometimes wonder how you keep up the quality?
"Well I've got a very, very good team of four producers who work like I've never seen anyone work before. We're very lucky with our cast. They love the show, they're happy doing it, they will always be constructive about what they're doing, so if they get a script and think 'what is this? I can't say this' they will come and discuss it and try to make it better. So there are a lot of people who are working to keep the show up to scratch. It has a brilliant atmosphere, because whenever actors come to visit Bristol just for their four-day shoot, they almost always comment on how loyal and entertaining and welcoming people are to them. I think if you're enjoying your work, that really, really helps."
Now series 21 kicks off with the two-part Cambodian specials on Saturday night. Where did the idea come from?
"We wanted to do something very special, very different for the 21st birthday and we also wanted to do something that in a way celebrated the core quality of Casualty, which, in a way, is Charlie and Duffy. As you know Duffy left the show a long time ago. We wanted a kind of ambitious and visual scenario that would put those two characters back together and Cambodia is a fascinating country with amazing scenery and very, very interesting history and people and a relatively undeveloped medical system because the Khmer Rouge killed almost anybody with any education, so hence any medical training at all for a whole generation of doctors and nurses and educated people were wiped out. It's a young country, it's working very hard to rebuild those skills. So it seemed an interesting place to do a contrast between what the medical set-up is in Britain, which is struggling to deal with a growing elderly population and technical change where they keep you going until you're 110 virtually versus this very young emergent medical country."
Did you go out there yourself?
"Yes, I went out for the first 10 days and the most difficult thing we had to deal with was the heat which compared with Britain was knockout and people were just standing there dripping with sweat, trying to hold their microphone on a beam in the air with sweat pouring. And there was also the rain and when it rains in Cambodia it rains. We were just on the start of the rain season, and a couple of times in late afternoon, bang – an electric storm like you never saw and you're up to your ankles in water in about 10 minutes. So there is no question that you can film, you just have to duck inside. But luckily those storms passed over very quickly and we found the actors there, the people, the crews, not necessarily trained to the highest level, but incredibly conscientious, talented, committed, always on time, always ahead of you and really, really excited to be taking part in it. So it was a great experience."
What's your take on the final product of the first two episodes of series 21?
"For me it's the best opening two-parter for Casualty I've seen. It's a very emotional story. We reached a point where we felt we can't blow up anything bigger than we've already done, and I think after September 11 you almost felt there's something wrong in making entertainment out of an enormous disaster and so the Cambodian story is a different kind of story. It puts what's happening in Britain side-by-side with what's happening in Cambodia. It's very exciting, but it's very much focused on people and strong emotions and I think it works really well. It's called 'Different Worlds' and so there is a big stunt at the British end which is well worth watching because it's a stunt that I believe has not been done in Britain before, but really the programme puts the two worlds side-by-side and weaves those stories together."
Where do the episode titles come from?
"The idea for the episode titles usually come from the writer because the writer, on an episode of Casualty, brings us guest stories. We tell the writer what we'd like to happen in the serial, the ongoing nurse and doctor stories, but the writer usually comes to us and says 'I want to write about teenage alcoholics' or 'I heard this brilliant story the other day and I'd love to write this' and so usually the thing the writer has to say becomes the title of the episode."
There’s been one big question on everyone’s lips since the announcement that Cathy Shipton was returning to the show for a couple of episodes – do you have any plans to bring back Duffy as a regular character?
"Well, I will tell you the truth on that one, there's no concrete plan, currently, but she is such a well-loved character and she is such a fabulous actress and we really enjoyed having her back in the show, so I would not rule it out."
Would you like to see Charlie and Duffy finally tie the knot?
"That’s a really difficult one, you know, because I'm getting quite fond of the idea of Charlie and Maggie finding happiness together, but, as you know, all good drama romances are best while you're waiting for the couple to get it together and the minute they're happily married, usually something terrible happens and someone gets killed in a car crash or gets some hideous terminal disease, so I'm enjoying the journey of Charlie's quest for love."
Is there any possibility that you're planning Duffy's return to spoil Charlie and Maggie's love?
"I'm not able to say at the moment, but it's a brilliant idea."
Series 21 kicks off with the Cambodian specials. What else is to come this series? Can you give us any teasers? New characters joining?
"There's a lot coming up. Two fabulous new characters arriving in episode three, one of whom will give people something to laugh about; that's two new paramedics, so they're well worth looking out for. In episode 10 we've got a departure of a much-loved character and episode 15 and 16 will be a really unique Christmas and New Year double which, much like ER, has chosen to take a quite radical approach to time scale. It's written by Barbara Machin who is the writer who set up Waking The Dead. She's a bit of an expert on thrillers and mysteries, so that Christmas special has a kind of, yes it's a reconisable hospital, but the story is much more of a thriller than we usually do."
And I believe you have Holly Aird as a guest artist for those episodes?
"Yes, Holly Aird, who was a lead character in Waking The Dead, Barbara Machin has managed to get her back for that. We've also got George Costigan who was in Calendar Girls; we've got Pauline Quirke and actually, rather curiously, Pauline plays a down-and-out and in an episode a couple before her episode, her son, Charlie - he's about 10 or 11 - plays a lead role in that episode. There's also Charlie Brooks along with Scott Mills."
Do you have the guest artists in mind?
"Sometimes we do have someone in mind, sometimes our casting department come to us with suggestions and we say 'brilliant idea - see if they're interested'. Occasionally actors or agents who are Casualty fans come to us and say 'I know normally you wouldn't expect somebody to do Casualty, but they're a real fan of your show'."
Are there any actors out there that you’d just love to have in Casualty – either guest artist or regular character?
"There are quite a few, but you have to make the dates and stories match up. There are some fantastic British actors out there. I would like, for example, to have Michael Sheen to do an episode, but who knows? You have to match dates and stories."
Will Harry and Selena ever get together?
"Well it's something Harry would really, really like. I think he realised that his relationship with Ellen was a complete mistake and a complete disaster and yes, I think he still carries a torch for Selena, but as you'll see in the next series, Selena is hearing her biological clock ticking and is quite seriously attracted by the thought of making a sensible marriage."
We’ve all got favourites, so who’s your favourite Casualty character?
"Well right at the moment I have two favourites who are relatively new characters. I love Kelsey because she just makes me smile. I find her just a delight to watch because she's lazy, she's a little bit dim sometimes, but if I went into a hospital, I'd feel in safe hands with her even if she did forget my cup of tea. And the actress, Janine, does a brilliant job of Kelsey. My other current favourite is the newish character in the show – and she's a slow-burn because she's quite a shy girl – Alice, the new receptionist. We wanted a receptionist in total contrast to the wonderful stroppy chopsy tarty Sarah Manners playing Bex and so we devised Alice, who is the worst possible option to be a receptionist in a busy hospital because she's very shy and doesn't like people very much. But Sam Grey, who plays Alice, I find delightful to watch. She's very cute and very funny. She's a talent to watch."
Moving on to the Casualty @ Holby specials; how much involvement did you have in these productions?
"We haven't done one this year and the previous two both Holby and Casualty managements have been liaising with the organisers, but not directly hands-on because they are so big and quite a lot of money at stake, so in both cases, they have been done as a separate production liaising very closely with the team at Holby and the team at Casualty."
Do you know if there are any more in the pipeline?
"I don't know at the moment. I don't think there are concrete plans. This Christmas, Casualty is doing something pretty special and Holby are doing something pretty special, but separate. I don't know what next Christmas will bring."
What’s your take on the new spin-off of a spin-off, Holby Blue?
"Oh, the police show. I think it's a brilliant idea. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I've read two of the scripts and they've got very strong characters, very tight, very exciting. Casualty will be involved and you will see one or two familiar faces in the first couple of episodes of Holby Blue. I think it's time the BBC did a new energetic police show to take on The Bill, so I'm looking forward to it."
Do you manage to watch Casualty in your spare time?
"Yes, I've seen every episode anyway because I see the fine cut and I see the dubbed finished version, but there's nothing quite like sitting down on a Saturday night with your family and watching the credits roll for real, watching it coming after she show before. And also interesting, watching my family checking if they're hooked or if an episode's not as good as it should be. It's fantastic when they are hooked and they sit there wide-eyed."
With 20 years on the clock and two spin-offs – Holby City and the forthcoming Holby Blue – do you ever think there will there ever be an end to ‘all things Casualty’?
"Well I can't see it. I must say, I think the show is still dynamic, still fresh – there are as many stories as there are people in the world, so I think it's got a very strong future ahead of it."
Do you think it’s got the longevity to go another 20?
"Yep, I reckon. I think it will."
Thanks for talking with me, Jane!
