It's a strange autumn for the Holbyverse, as both trusty hospital shows Casualty and Holby City off air.
Just like Holby City, Casualty became, erm, casualty of the filming suspension earlier in the year, ending its current series in August after running out of its stockpile of pre-lockdown episodes.
But when will Casualty be back on our screens and what can we expect? Here's everything we know so far...
Why did Casualty go off air?
Saturday, August 22 marked the moment that the BBC medical decided to park its current series, due to the UK lockdown disrupting filming earlier in the year.
Earlier in the spring, BBC soaps Casualty, Holby, EastEnders and Doctors were all forced to halt production because of the pandemic. ITV and Channel 4 soaps also had to suspend filming prior to the country going into total shutdown later in the month.
As Casualty films approximately four months in advance, this meant that they had a handful of pre-lockdown editions to keep them on air until the summer. Casualty also took a six-week break back in May, allowing it to stay on air further into the year than it would have done.
Although this kept things ticking along nicely through the summer, Casualty eventually had to take another, much longer, hiatus at the end of August – and it's yet to come back on air.
The show's final episode left us on a cliffhanger with Jacob and Connie finally giving into the palpable spark between them, after very long years apart.
When will Casualty be back?
Casualty might be gone but it certainly hasn't been forgotten. The good news is that cast and crew are back filming in Cardiff – and have been for at least four weeks now.
On Monday, September 7, Casualty bosses confirmed that they were back up and running in production and like Holby, were working on a very special episode to come back with.The special edition will reveal the full extent of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the Emergency Departments.
Given that Casualty films up to four months in advance, it's likely we won't see it back on screens until early 2021.
Speaking about Casualty's return, Kate Oates, Head of Continuing Drama at BBC Studios, said: "We are thrilled to be back in production with BBC's longest-running medical show.
"The writers, Casualty teams, cast and crew are back on set with stories that reflect the extraordinary times we are living through. We can't wait for the audience to see them and to be back in the Saturday night schedule."
Casualty spoilers - what will happen when it returns?
Although there's no confirmed date for Casualty's much-anticipated return as of yet, we have already had some early teasers for what we can expect when it does.
First up, is the show's groundbreaking coronavirus special we mentioned above, which will explore how the pandemic and its aftermath put pressure on all of the staff, with many of them facing significant professional and personal challenges throughout.
Connie, Jacob, Charlie, Fenisha and Faith will be among those taking centre stage in the groundbreaking scenes.
Clinical Lead Connie Beauchamp will find that her personal leadership qualities are pushed to their very limit when several of her team fall ill with the virus in the line of duty.
As Connie tries to rally the troops as they watch the news coming in from Italy of mass casualties and overwhelmed hospitals, she is hit by a personal challenge when her lover Jacob falls ill with the virus.
There is also the big question of whether their newly-reignited passion can survive social distancing and the high pressure, unprecedented circumstances. Could their rekindled romance be over before it's even begun?
With the support of Charlie, who is also devastated by the impact of the coronavirus on local care homes, Casualty has revealed that Connie will be left reflecting on her leadership in these most challenging of times, as they face their most gut-wrenching decision to date.
Viewers will also see that paramedic Lev has decided to move out of the family home during the lockdown to protect his vulnerable young son Luka, who is recovering from cancer.
Without her husband at home, Faith is left to come to terms with Dylan's earlier accusation that Lev had an illicit affair, but who does she really believe?
Paramedic Fenisha has so far managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from Ethan, her baby's father, and her boss Jan – but the big question is whether she can continue to do so in a pandemic.
It's also important to note that the Casualty production team have developed comprehensive production protocols to ensure that the series is produced in a safe and responsible manner.
Social distancing will be adhered to in accordance with current government guidelines and the high standards that audiences expect will be achieved through inventive techniques and careful planning.
When Casualty returns, the episodes will be airing at the slightly shorter duration of 40 minutes.
Casualty missing episode - why was it shown last month?
Although Casualty has been off air since August, fans were treated to a one-off special episode last month. That's because, back in May, the BBC made the difficult decision to skip an episode of Casualty, due to parallels with the real-life situation.
The edition, named 'Code Orange' was previously scheduled to air during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but eventually aired at a later date in September.
The scenes saw the Emergency Department going into lockdown following a chemical attack, while Ethan and Will went head to head over Fenisha, and Marty faced some difficult decisions.
Casualty usually airs on Saturday evenings on BBC One.
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