Casualty has revealed Amanda Mealing will be taking a break from the BBC medical drama after playing Connie Beauchamp for seven years.
Amanda joined the Casualty cast in 2014, but she previously played Connie in Casualty’s sister-show Holby City.
The actress has tackled multiple hard-hitting explosive storylines as Connie.
From car crashes and rescue missions to thought provoking storylines addressing cancer, paranoia, euthanasia and drug addiction, Connie has rightly earned her title as clinical lead and matriarch of the Emergency Department and the respect that comes with it.
It has been a turbulent few months for Connie.
After dealing with the breakdown of her relationship with Jacob and having steered the hospital through the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and back to full health, Connie will have a well-earned break.
She will be putting her personal life ahead of her career for once.
Casualty: Amanda Mealing talks about Connie
Speaking about her break, Amanda said: “It has been the most remarkable privilege to play Connie for the last 18 years. When she first hit our screens there were a few female leads that weren’t ‘the wife of…’, ‘the mistress of…’ or needed ‘rescuing.’
It has been the most remarkable privilege to play Connie for the last 18 years.
“Most important for me is knowing that Connie has inspired so many women and young girls to seek careers, seek independence and strive to be their best.”
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Deborah Sathe, Senior Head of Content Production for Holby City and Casualty says: “We are going to miss Amanda playing chief of the ED Connie. Connie has led the ED, her team, and our Casualty audience through COVID.
“The quest to restore Casualty to our screens was not an easy one, and we owe a huge debt to Amanda and the whole team for delivering some of the most extraordinary episodes Casualty has ever broadcast.
“We look forward to welcoming Connie back in due course.”
Connie will be on-screen until late March.
Reaction to Connie’s exit
As the news of Connie’s exit reached Casualty fans, they revealed they’re “gutted” she will be off screen.
https://twitter.com/camangusmurray/status/1366342519190126592
https://twitter.com/KiraWheater/status/1366339800995872771
https://twitter.com/Incognitobxtch/status/1366339903840256002
The next episode of Casualty airs Saturday March 6 at 8.20pm on BBC One.
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