As Casualty bosses admit the show was an attack on Thatcher, can you recognise these superstars whose careers were launched on the show?

The creators of the BBC medical drama Casualty have finally admitted that the show was designed as an attack on Margaret Thatcher‘s health policies.

Paul Unwin and Jeremy Brock, who launched the show in 1986, say they were inspired to write the drama because of what they saw as the Conservative government’s dire neglect of the NHS.

The two men have come clean at last about the show’s political origins in an interview to mark its 40th birthday next Sunday.

On today’s edition of Radio 4’s The Reunion, presenter Kirsty Wark asks Unwin directly if the show was designed to be critical of Mrs Thatcher’s Government.

He replies: ‘Yes. In fact, our original pitch began with the line, “In 1948, a dream was born. In 1985, the dream was in tatters”. Pretentious? A little bit. 

‘But we did really mean it, and we really did feel the BBC was behind us in trying to say this great national institution was under real pressure.’

Even the programme’s title had political undertones. TV bosses initially planned to call the programme Front Line or City Hospital, before realising the name Casualty was more in keeping with its political agenda.

Brock said: ‘I think Casualty came up as a consequence of us realising there was a lovely double meaning in the title. 

Pictured: Cast members from Casualty appearing in the show’s 40th anniversary special

Paul Unwin and Jeremy Brock said the show was inspired by the neglect of the NHS during Margaret Thatcher’s time in government

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‘You had the casualties who came in and then you had the staff who were the casualties of a system that was under-funding them and putting them under incredible pressure.’

Catherine Shipton, who played Nurse Duffy, one of the show’s most popular characters, recalled producer Geraint Morris telling staff about the show’s mission statement. 

She said: ‘Geraint gave us this speech. It just felt like a huddle. This was a maverick group of people, and he said this is anti-cuts, pro-NHS, that is what we are doing here.

‘It just chimed with everything I personally believed, and I just thought I can’t believe that every word that’s going to come out of my mouth, I’ll believe it.’

Although Casualty was an instant hit, many viewers agreed with Edwina Currie, the then junior health minister, that it was too negative about the state of the NHS. 

At the time, the BBC refuted suggestions of political bias, claiming the show was just honest.

The political heat which surrounded the show in its early days had serious consequences for Peter Salt, a real-life nurse who was also its medical consultant.

He was warned that his NHS career might be affected if he continued with the television role.

He told The Reunion: ‘My career nearly ended or abruptly came to a stop very early on.

‘When the show started the hospital authorities were saying, “This is great. Shining a light on the hospital is very, very good”.

‘As soon as the Government started getting their tuppence worth in, I was approached and told, “Are you sure you want to keep doing this? You might want to be running this department one day”.’ Salt said he interpreted that as a threat.

Casualty, which aired its 41st series earlier this year, is one of the world’s longest-running dramas. Over the years, it has helped launch the careers of some of the world’s biggest stars.

Titanic star Kate Winslet, Lord Of The Rings actor Orlando Bloom and Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley all appeared in the show when they were complete unknowns.

Ms Winslet was only 17 when she appeared as an anxious babysitter in a 1993 episode.

Catherine Shipton recalled a young actress who had little time for the on-set banter which occurred between takes.

She said: ‘She [Kate] was about 17. She was very concentrated… She would just take herself to one side and stay in the zone and not enter into the banter. 

‘But I did sense somebody who loved her profession and who worked really hard at her profession.’

The Reunion is on BBC Radio 4 today at 10am and is available via the BBC Sounds app.

The broadcaster is also promising a ‘gripping’ 40th anniversary Casualty double-bill special that ‘centres on a high-stakes major incident that throws Holby into chaos’. It will be aired on BBC iPlayer on Saturday.