'It has been the most remarkable privilege to play Connie,' says the Casualty legend. Connie was originally seen in Holby City before joining Casualty in 2014.
Casualty star Amanda Mealing has revealed she’s taking a break from the show after eighteen years playing Connie Beauchamp.
In good news for fans, it appears that Amanda will be back one day as Connie, although it’s not been revealed when she will return.
Amanda joined Casualty in 2014 having previously played Connie in Holby City. Connie has become a Casualty icon, taking centre stage in a string of massive storylines. There’s been car crashes, rescue missions, and hard-hitting storylines involving cancer, euthanasia and drug addition.
Connie has recently suffered the trauma of her break up with Jacob (played by Charles Venn). Now, having helped the hospital through the Covid-19 pandemic, Connie will head off for a well-earned break.
Amanda has spoken warmly about how much she’s enjoyed playing Connie. And, how she believes the character has inspired young women to seek careers.
Talking about her departure, Amanda says: “It has been the most remarkable privilege to play Connie for the last 18 years. When she first hit our screens there were few female leads that weren’t ‘the wife of...’, ‘the mistress of...’ or needed ‘rescuing’. 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.”
Deborah Sathe, Senior Head of Content Production for Holby City and Casualty, adds: “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 onto our screens in due course.”
Connie will remain on screen until late March.
Casualty continues on BBC1.
