The twenty−ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2014, and concluded on 23 August 2015. The series consisted of 46 episodes. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer.
Fifteen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series with three long-serving cast members departing during this series. Jane Hazlegrove reprised her role as paramedic Kathleen "Dixie" Dixon in the premiere episode, following a three month absence. Sunetra Sarker, William Beck and Michael Stevenson reprised their roles as ED consultants Zoe Hanna and Dylan Keogh, and paramedic Iain Dean in October 2014. Charles Venn joined the show's main cast in summer 2015 as senior staff nurse Jacob Masters.
This series featured three webisodes. The first two webisodes were a two-parter focusing on main character Noel Garcia pursuing his dream career of being a radio DJ, while the final webisode of the series focused on main characters Zoe Hanna and Max Walker's respective pre-wedding celebrations. On 2 July 2014, it was announced that Casualty would be airing three standalone episodes.
The standalone episodes were noted as being "independent from the main series story arc", as well as making "no reference to ongoing plotlines". An inside source told Casualty the cast and crew called the episodes "Holby Noir". The first episode aired on 15 November 2014, a week later than originally planned, while the second episode aired on 28 March 2015, with the final episode airing on 11 July 2015. In August 2014, series producer Erika Hossington revealed that she had made updates to the style of the show, by looking at, and changing, the cameras the show were shooting on, the format the show was shooting in, and also the lightbulbs used in the studio.
During series twenty-nine, Casualty was awarded the Best Soap and Continuing Drama accolade at the 2015 Royal Television Society awards ceremony. The show also won the Best Drama award at the 2015 Inside Soap Awards. Throughout the series, the show was also shortlisted under the Best Family Drama award at the 2015 TV Choice Awards, however it was beaten by Call the Midwife. In addition to this, the Casualty production team were shortlisted under the Best Television Soap and Continuing Drama category at the 2015 BAFTA awards. Actor Lee Mead was nominated under the category Newcomer for his portrayal of his character Lofty Chiltern at the National Television Awards 2015, however did not win the award.
Production
Oliver Kent continued his role as executive producer, while Erika Hossington remained as series producer. This series consisted of 46 episodes. In addition to this, this series featured three webisodes. The first two webisodes, "Radio Holby", were a two-part story that aired on 18 October and 25 October 2014, following the broadcast of episodes seven and eight respectively.
The story featured receptionist Noel Garcia (Marshall) deciding to pursue his dream of being a radio DJ while "hoping to boost the atmosphere of the ED" as he takes over the hospital's radio station. The webisodes were created by the show's junior editorial team with Ross Southard leading the idea. Hossington praised the behind-the-scenes team and expressed her delight at the webisodes being commissioned, saying, "Everyone who worked on the webisodes stepped up a level, and with their passion, enthusiasm and dedication totally focused on making the best finished project.
The end result is a real treat for our website visitors and fans." The final webisode, "Mrs Walker-To-Be", centered around the characters of Zoe Hanna (Sarker) and Max Walker (Davis) as they went on their respective pre-wedding celebrations and was published online on 22 August 2015, following the broadcast of episode forty-five.
On 2 July 2014, Radio Times revealed plans for the show to air three standalone episodes. The standalone episodes were noted as being "independent from the main series story arc", as well as making "no reference to ongoing plotlines". It was reported that an inside source from the show branded the standalone episodes as "really stylish", as well as calling the episodes "Casualty Noir".
More information about the standalone episodes were revealed in August 2014, during an interview with series producer Erika Hossington, who said that the episodes were devised to "give the audience a treat of a different kind". In addition to this, the episodes were created by former show scriptwriters, in an attempt to "tempt back some of Casualty writing alumni who had gone onto bigger and better things".