Charlie Fairhead makes an impossible promise to his colleagues in Casualty episode All-Time High (BBC One, 8.30pm, Saturday, August 20 2022 - See our TV Guide for listings). Will he quit when it all proves too much? Elsewhere, David Hide puts his career on the line!
See our spoilers below for more…
Charlie Fairhead: Mission impossible?
Senior nurse Charlie Fairhead returns to Holby this week after a relaxing holiday in Greece - only to be greeted by an ED at breaking point. There’s a severe shortage of beds, ambulances are queuing up outside, patients are in corridors, and everyone’s stressed.
With staff morale at an all time low, a chipper and refreshed Charlie (Derek Thompson) vows to turn things around. Over the course of a challenging shift, the NHS veteran rallies the team, manages to secure additional staff, clears Resus, and gains an extra bed. But his victory is short-lived…
The ED remains overwhelmed following a fire at the local docks, waiting patients are dangerously deteriorating, and paramedic Sah Brockner (Arin Smethurst) is assaulted by a grieving father.
There’s further trouble, when Charlie realises that during all the commotion, he’s failed to treat his desperately ill friend Toni West (Tenko star Josephine Lloyd-Welcome).
Can she be saved in time?
By the end of this demoralising shift Charlie’s optimism is spent and his faith in the NHS is in shreds.
Has he had enough?
David bribes a convicted criminal
David Hide is on a totally different mission to Charlie, but it’s equally important to him…
Desperate to understand why his son, Ollie, turned mass killer, this week David (Jason Durr) puts his career on the line looking for answers!
When convicted poisoner Tara Buckley (The Grimleys’ Ruby Snape) is brought into the ED he bribes her with cigarettes in exchange for insights into her murderous motives. But his questioning becomes frenzied and he’s ordered to leave!
At home, David takes shocking and irreversible action. Should his friends be keeping a closer eye on the grieving and confused medic?
Also in Casualty this week…
Paramedic Iain Dean is as frustrated as everyone else with the state of the health service this week. When clinical lead Dylan Keogh (William Beck) offers to make space for one of his patients, Iain (Michael Stevenson) offers to give him a kiss in gratitude. But later, that loving feeling is lost, when a tragic and potentially avoidable death, rocks the ED.
Nurse Jacob Masters (Charles Venn) is a tower of support to patients, patients’ families, and his colleagues. But will the relentlessness of life on the frontline take its toll?
Elsewhere, it looks like Rash Masum (Neet Mohan) and Paige Allcott (Shalisha James-Davis) have hit rock bottom in their relationship…
And Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) doesn't appreciate Charlie’s holiday gift!
Oh Charlie! Everyone knows you should get an oversized Toblerone from the airport gift shop.
This episode of Casualty airs on Saturday, August 20 2022 at 8.30pm on BBC One. The episode is available on iPlayer after transmission.
