The stars of Casualty and Holby City are hopeful that some of the people who usually "ignore" the shows will give them a chance for the upcoming crossover event.
The linked-BBC dramas are coming together for the first time in over a decade for two specials episodes on Saturday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 5 when a cyber attack plunges Holby City Hospital into a blackout that causes total chaos.
In advance of this TV event, Digital Spy and other media recently chatted with Casualty's Amanda Mealing (aka Connie Beauchamp) and Holby City star Guy Henry (aka Henrik Hanssen) — and they expressed hopes that the crossover would change perception of both shows, especially in light of Casualty's recent successes at the NTAs and BAFTA TV Awards.
"I think, unfortunately, in the industry, there’s a great snobbery – a great snobbery – particularly about continuing drama," Mealing told us. "And we are put together with soaps, just because we’re on almost every week. But we are not.
"There’s a quite-clear definition of a soap which is: so many episodes; the number of cast; and, you know… But I think the standard of drama, on the budget, and doing it 52 weeks a year, is incredible – cast and crew."
She continued: "It’s very, very, very easy as an actor to pick up a really good script and do that part. It’s very, very easy because it’s all written for you. It’s much harder when you’re working on four episodes at the same time, to give absolutely everything to each one – which every member of the cast does, and is brilliant at doing that. And to keep it at a certain standard every week is tough.
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"You know, the crew – I always say… obviously now, because I’m directing. You know, making a short film or even making a feature, I would use this crew, because they are able to produce really, really good work on a really tight schedule. So the standard on both sides of the camera is really good."
Henry concurred, adding that he's long felt that "Holby in particular, actually, does get rather ignored" at times.
"I think people — like myself, as I said earlier, when I came into it, and found how good it could be, I was surprised," he admitted. "I bet if you cobbled together some bits of some of the very best of it – not all the time, of course, but some of the very best of it, and you showed it to some people who have not seen it, they might be very surprised about the standard.
"So yes, I do think it does get a bit ignored, yeah."
Mealing chimed in: "And I think because they’re both long-running shows, and, you know, they’re reliable and, of course, are on every week. In terms of press and media, both shows tend to be ignored, until we do the big, big episodes."
Casualty and Holby City's crossover will kick off on Saturday, March 2 and conclude on Tuesday, March 5 on BBC One.
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