This article covers a real-world subject which should not be taken as part of the Holby universe.
Series 5 is the fifth series of Casualty. It aired between 7 September and 7 December 1990.
Significant events included a football riot, a gas explosion on a barge, Ted's death and Charlie getting shot.
Cast
- Mamta Kaash as Beth Ramanee (from episode 1)
- Nigel Le Vaillant as Julian Chapman (from episode 1)
- Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead
- Brenda Fricker as Megan Roach
- Cathy Shipton as Lisa "Duffy" Duffin
- Patrick Robinson as Martin "Ash" Ashford
- Ian Bleasdale as Josh Griffiths
- Geoffrey Leesley as Keith Cotterill (until episode 5)
- Caroline Webster as Jane Scott (from episode 2)
- Robson Green as Jimmy Powell
- Maggie McCarthy as Helen Green (episodes 1-15)
- Eamon Boland as Tony Walker
Episodes
| Episode | Series | Episode | Centric character | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "Penalty" | Charlie | 7 September 1990 |
| Starts with the funeral of Megan's husband Ted and she feels guilty she did not move to Cheltenham with him. Charlie takes her for a drink before returning to work, to find the staff playing a joke on Ash, which doesn't impress Julian Chapman, who seems to be making Beth Ramenee's life unbearable. An old man's brought in and Jimmy wins his confidence and finds he can't afford to feed himself properly and won't ask for help, so Charlie gets Tony Walker on his case but the old man leaves, refusing to co-operate. Ian and Colin are taunted by a group of football louts and are separated, with Ian being chased by them and ending up in casualty with an eye injury. Colin goes to the football match with a couple and the thugs who chased Ian, pick on him and fighting breaks out and Holby's put on standby to receive the casualties, amongst them, Colin's new woman friend. When the extent of her injuries are revealed, he vows to stand by her, as the boyfriend walks out.
Note: First appearance of Tony Walker, Helen Green, Martin "Ash" Ashford, Beth Ramanee and Julian Chapman. | ||||
| 54 | 2 | "Results" | Charlie | 14 September 1990 |
| Duffy's having sleepless nights with her young son and is relieved to hand him over to her child minder on the way to work. Keith Cotterill is called to a remote place where he and his colleague are threatened for their drugs and they find the tyres on the ambulance slashed. The two junkies end up in casualty after overdosing but the man's in a bad way and Keith spots the girl, who makes her escape but the police are called and arrest the thief. A lorry out of control, careers into a shop front, mowing down a man in front of his wife, and they are taken to Holby, where the staff fight a losing battle, trying to save him. Tony's called in to help her try and face up to her loss, having just moved from the traumas of city life in London. A drinking binge ends in tragedy, when so called friends take a mate out to celebrate his exam results and Charlie has to break the tragic news to his girlfriend, he's dead. | ||||
| 55 | 3 | "Close to Home" | Charlie | 21 September 1990 |
| Megan is woken by a crying child and when she investigates, she sees the mother leaving, alone, so she gets ready for work. As she goes to catch the bus, she passes Tony Walker, the Social Worker but he fails to get her attention. Jimmy, the porter, wakes up in a strange place after a night out on the tiles and has to rush off to work. He doesn't impress Julian Chapman by arriving unshaven but Charlie steps in and gives him his electric shaver, to spruce himself up. Debbie, a young mother of two children, has to leave the hostel because of the no eating policy but she has very little money to buy anything. She returns later and borrows a portable stove to heat some soup up for her son, Richie. As she attends to her baby daughter, Richie grabs the saucepan handle and he's badly scolded. When they arrive at Casualty, Charlie puts in a report to the Social Services because he thinks the child might be at risk. | ||||
| 56 | 4 | "Street Life" | Charlie | 28 September 1990 |
| A young woman is brought in after collapsing in a record store and then says she's alright. It later transpires that she and her boyfriend Pete used the ambulance service to help them get away with stealing cd's. They are both ordered to leave by disgusted members of staff. After being seen by Dr Beth Ramanee, Megan attends to the young man's burnt hand and finds out he can't read. Worried about losing his job because of it, she advises him on what to do, to overcome his handicap. David Clarke is ruled by his bedridden mother, Edith and has asked Tony Walker to find her a nursing home. His favourite pastime is phoning the sex lines and getting turned on. Tony calls to tell him it's not going to be easy to find her a placement and as they talk, the old lady falls out of bed and is rushed to Casualty, in a bad way. | ||||
| 57 | 5 | "Hiding Place" | Charlie | 5 October 1990 |
| On his way to work, Charlie's route is blocked by a long loader lorry backing into a yard but tragedy strikes when it crushes a man and he has to administer first aid. He's taken to casualty but he can't be saved and Tony Walker's being hounded by a mental patient, who's playing games with him and is threatening suicide. When he receives a phone call from him, he realises it's Wayne and the race's on to find him, but unknown to him, he's wandering round Holby, still swallowing pills. A mother brings in her young son Matthew, but he's fine and it's only when Tony recognises her as an ex-patient, the problem is revealed. He takes her to the canteen for a chat where he spots Wayne and gives chase but he eludes him as he hides in the casualty toilets. When he's found, he is in a bad way and a fight is on to save him. A girl with a nail in her foot, is treated by Beth, but when she removes it, the mother faints.
Note: Final appearance of Keith Cotterill. | ||||
| 58 | 6 | "Salvation" | Charlie | 12 October 1990 |
| Duffy has a run-in with a motorist, who almost knocks her down and then finds he was on his way to casualty where he turns on the charm and a friendship is struck. It's a friendship that's not going to last, as he is terminally ill and she visits him after he's been admitted. Jimmy's in trouble again as Julian complains to Charlie and Harry, a porter falls ill and the staff are shocked when he dies. A spat of drunks are allowed to sleep it off but tragedy almost strikes when one of them is discovered by Jimmy to be a diabetic and found just in time. A mother brings her teenage daughter in and the team face a dilemma when prevented from treating her, because her father is bound by religious beliefs. A car race on the open road turns into disaster for two yuppies when Celia's badly injured and Stuart seems more concerned she keeps quiet rather than how she is. | ||||
| 59 | 7 | "Say it With Flowers" | Charlie | 19 October 1990 |
| Charlie reaches rock bottom following the death of a close friend and struggles in to work, but when Megan sees the state he's in, she tells him to leave. He goes to the local and strikes up a friendship with Lucy and then goes home to catch up on sleep, which is interrupted by Julian calling on him and words are exchanged. Joe, a minicab driver, chats up Duffy as she attends to his head wound, but another patient has reason to be scared of him. Duffy coaxes her to talk and finds he raped her, she relates her own ordeal, to persuade her to report him to the police. Mandy is on a modelling assignment, when a high heel shoe causes her to fall and the scenery falls on her and she's badly injured. She arrives in a state of shock and Julian's diagnosis is the possibility she has paralysed her left shoulder and her sister Lizzie, sees their lucrative modelling career ending. | ||||
| 60 | 8 | "Love's a Pain" | Tony | 26 October 1990 |
| Duffy's let down by her child minder and is grateful to receptionist Helen's offer of help but then her mother arrives and agrees to take him. Julian has to operate on stab victim Reg to save his life, as his mother, Mavis arrives and Tony's got problems trying to fetch Reg's daughter Tina. When she finally turns up with a friend, Megan convinces her she's not to blame for his accident but her Gran does and they argue and she leaves. On her return the two agree to unite for Reg's sake and go to intensive care to see him. A wife gets caught with her boss by an unsuspecting husband and when he goes berserk, they all end up in casualty. Julian attends to John's injuries and he admits his affair with Diane, caused Gordon to attack him. As Gordon talks to Diane and the children, they're told John's dead and the police arrest him for murder. A young woman's attempted suicide is thwarted again but when her father arrives. | ||||
| 61 | 9 | "A Will to Die" | Charlie | 2 November 1990 |
| Duffy's at her wits end trying to cope with the pressures of work and motherhood and is relieved, when her mother takes Peter away to give her a break, but Megan decides they should have a girls night out. Josh and Jane bring in a young black remand prisoner, who's been sexually assaulted and Beth intervenes on his behalf, to prevent him being sent back. Jimmy finds his chess mate pal, Frank has been admitted, who refuses to help himself, until his estranged mother arrives and they are reconciled and she offers him a home. A mother and daughter cause concern but tragedy strikes when the youngster takes an overdoes and dies. A gas explosion on a boat has horrific effects on Jenny, who's having an affair with her best friend's husband and has to be transferred to the burns clinic for further treatment. The wife turns up and having got over the shock of the affair, goes with Jenny and leaves Peter to fend for himself. | ||||
| 62 | 10 | "Big Boys Don't Cry" | Charlie | 9 November 1990 |
| Josh and Lily are faced with a life threatening situation when they answer a call to an isolated house and are confronted by an axe-man. Inside, they find his elderly father dead but they have to box clever to get out alive. They convince the son that they have to get the patient to hospital but as they drive off, the madman tries to stop them. He later turns up at A&E with his axe and smashes the windows in the entrance and then drives off. He's later arrested by the police and brought into A&E for treatment. Megan gets a visit from Tony's wife Eileen, and finds out he's been lying to her. When a young couple bring their young baby daughter in and she's found to have a broken leg and other old injuries, suspicion falls on the mother but Dr Beth Ramanee has other ideas. She clashes with consultant Julian Chapman and the paediatrician Esther Macauley. When Tony Walker arrives, he too, clashes with Esther and later persuades Beth to get a second opinion.
Note: Final appearance of Tony Walker. | ||||
| 63 | 11 | "Remembrance" | Charlie | 16 November 1990 |
| Squatters are thrown off an allotment and end up in casualty where Brian's head wound is attended to and girlfriend, Jody's told she is pregnant. Julian crosses swords with Beth as he takes over one of her cases because Charlie thought she could hand it but his efforts to save the old lady are not entirely appreciated. Her son Howard and his wife Caroline, argue over her treatment but her death pushes them further apart. Jimmy is in trouble with Duffy and Charlie when his girlfriend Andrea, who has a drug problem, reveals he stole the drugs from their department. She eventually tells the truth and clears Jimmy, although Charlie always knew he was innocent. A spillage in a factory causes problems for three men who are overcome by fumes and the young Indian lad, manages to pull Ron and Sam out before collapsing. Ron blames the lad for the accident but has to apologise when he is told he owes his life to him. | ||||
| 64 | 12 | "All's Fair" | Charlie | 30 November 1990 |
| Julian joins friends for a fun day of war games and Julian's off-duty dress causes some surprises. A diabetic woman, brought into casualty, suffering from a blackout, finds Ash a comfort. Megan and Beth try to unlock a family secret that could explain a young girl's suicide attempt, Jane and the father tells Megan that his wife died of cancer three years ago. Leigh Clarke's brother Scott, having been hit by a van, tries to cover up the truth by removing him from the scene of the accident before calling for an ambulance. | ||||
| 65 | 13 | "A Reasonable Man" | Charlie | 7 December 1990 |
| A schizophrenic man arrives after a road accident but it transpires he has murdered his wife's friend. He panics at the sight of a policeman and pulls a gun from a briefcase, taking Megan hostage in CRASH. He insists that a porter (Charlie in Jimmy's uniform) takes out a dead body on a trolley. Megan stays calm but the police and the man's wife's shouts make him panic and fire the gun, wounding Charlie in the chest.
Note: Final appearance of Megan Roach and Helen Green. | ||||
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