“Casualty really deserves these Awards!”
This year marked the end of Casualty’s 30th anniversary celebrations – and what better way to top off the milestone than with two Inside Soap Awards? The cast were over the moon to nab Best Drama Storyline for last August’s big helicopter crash… “I think we deserve it, because we did such an extraordinary thing,” reckons star Jaye Griffiths, aka Elle. “Although I knew what was going to happen, the episode still took my breath away when I tuned in!” “There was definitely a buzz after we’d finished filming,” agrees Crystal Yu, who played Lily until recently. “It just feels like Casualty is constantly pushing boundaries – and being part of this show is something I’ll always be very proud of.”
And that wasn’t the only thing the cast had to celebrate – it was a special night for George Rainsford (Ethan), who collected the gong for Best Drama Star. “It’s been a really amazing 12 months for me, and I’ve had some challenging stuff to do,” he tells us. “The most memorable bit, although not necessarily in a good way, was Cal’s exit – it was very emotional for me. I joined at the same time as Richard Winsor [who played Cal] and we lived together, so it was genuinely very sad when he left.”
Cal may be gone, but George is still great pals with Richard – though he’s yet to break it to him that he’s won this Award!
“You know what brothers are like – he’ll only get jealous,” quips the star. “It’s technically half his anyway, because I’ve spent so much time crying over him!”