IS CASUALTY THE NEXT CASUALTY?

Stars fear chop after Holby City axe

CASUALTY stars fear the series will be axed like its sister show Holby City.

The BBC is battling huge budget cuts that mean even high-profile shows are in danger of being dropped.

Actress Di Botcher, who plays paramedic Jan Jenning, admits they all feel “lucky” to still be on air.

She told the Daily Star Sunday: “Everything has a beginning, middle and an end. So we think we’re lucky to still be there. We feel that every day of the week.

“Nothing is guaranteed in TV. Every time I get a phone call from a producer, I think, ‘Oh, what’s happening here?’ I’m very happy to be still hanging on.”

Holby City was dropped by BBC chiefs in a bid to save cash.

It aired for the final time last month – ending after 23 years. Di, 62, said: “All of us at Casualty were all very, very sad when we heard about Holby City ending.

“We know quite a lot of the cast because there has been a certain amount of crossover through the years. We felt very sad for them.”

Casualty is the longest-running medical drama in the world. It first aired in 1986 and pulled in big ratings on Saturday nights.

The BBC is having to cut its spending by £1billion a year after a ruling over the licence fee in 2015.

It has already stopped shelling out to screen coverage of sporting events including Formula One and the rugby union Six Nations.

There are now fears that big-budget dramas and natural history shows are in danger.

Programmes that have already been axed include comedy The Mash Report and the Victoria Derbyshire show.

Last month the Beeb vowed to boost the proportion of staff from poorer backgrounds to 25% by 2027.

It comes after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries criticised the corporation.

In October she said: “They talk about lots to do with diversity, but they don’t talk about kids from working-class backgrounds.”