Casualty Is Coming Back Sooner Than You Think—Here’s When

Casualty just wrapped its latest boxset chapter, 'Supply and Demand', and the show did not tiptoe out. The final beat had the ED trying to bring back Ngozi Okoye after a brutal spiral: she relapsed at the airport, hit her head, and the plan to leave Holby with her son Obi went sideways fast. It is the kind of twist that makes you sit there for a second and think: did they really just do that?

What actually happened in the finale

Here is the clean version. Ngozi, who has been battling alcoholism, was set to fly out of Holby with Obi. Before takeoff, she relapsed, suffered a head injury at the airport, and the episode closed with the team fighting to resuscitate her back at the hospital. No tidy resolution, just a lot of fans worried she might be gone.

Also worth flagging: the 'Supply and Demand' boxset is a hybrid. It bundled the last four episodes of season 39 and the first eight episodes of season 40. It is a very BBC iPlayer way to package a run, and yes, it makes the in-between pause feel even longer.

So, when is Casualty back?

Not soon. The BBC says Casualty will return at the end of 2025 on BBC One and iPlayer. That is a long break, even by this show’s on-and-off scheduling standards.

What the BBC teased for the comeback

The BBC has already put out a teaser clip to set the tone. Expect:

• Big rescues and set-piece emergencies
• Heartbreak (because of course)
• Flashes of violence
• New faces joining the cast

The big shift: Holby to Wales

Here is the inside-baseball part. Ahead of season 40, the BBC confirmed the show is moving away from the long-time fictional setting of Holby to a new fictional hospital in Wales. This came via a commissioning document full of the word 'tenderers' — procurement-speak for the companies pitching to make the show — and it lays out exactly what the BBC wants the next era to look like.

"We are asking tenderers to include authentic representation of Wales and reflect the reality of the Welsh NHS."

In plain English: it is a location and tone shift, not a total reboot. The BBC’s line is that the move is not about ripping up the series; the new Welsh hospital should still feel like Casualty. They also expect fan-favourite characters to continue alongside the opportunities a new base gives them to bring in fresh cast.

In the meantime

If you need a fix during the drought, previous episodes are streaming on iPlayer now. And yes, I am also counting the days until we find out what happens to Ngozi.