Casualty’s Lucy-Jo Hudson left ‘sobbing’ after reading special script

BBC Casualty star Lucy-Jo Hudson was moved to tears as she read her script for the Christmas special. The Leeds-born actress made a comeback to the Holby City emergency department, 14 years after her last appearance on the show.

However, she had no idea about the significant impact her participation in the All I Want For Christmas episode would have. The episode, which aired on December 21, provided viewers with a glimpse into the realities of a functioning hospital dealing with low blood supplies.

Over the years, Casualty has consistently offered viewers an insight into the behind-the-scenes chaos that patients often don’t see. This time, the show’s influence led to a remarkable increase in people registering to donate blood.

Viewers heard from individuals who had previously depended on blood donations, highlighting the importance of donating to save lives. The show also received commendation for its sensitive handling of the infected blood scandal, which saw over 30,000 people in the UK receive HIV and hepatitis C infected blood between the 1970s and 1980s.

Speaking about her role on the show, Lucy-Jo, 41, who portrayed Adele in the special, said: “It was amazing, they haven’t done a Christmas special for about seven years, when I read it and read the bits of the documentary style inserted into the drama, I thought ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,’ I was blown away by it, I thought it was very relatable,” reports the Mirror.

Lucy-Jo Hudson has opened up about the impact of incorporating real-life experiences into the drama she’s involved in, saying: “The fact that we brought in real life people who have gone through what we’re dramatising, I felt it was mega and something different. It set up the whole new series.

In a recent storyline, viewers watched as Adele’s young daughter, Leah, exhibited signs of meningitis, such as a headache and fatigue, only for the plot to take a harrowing turn when Leah was diagnosed with leukaemia and needed an urgent blood transfusion. Lucy-Jo, a mother herself, related deeply to the role: “I’ve got kids myself, so you instantly resonate with the fact ‘This could be me, this is other mums out there,” she reflected.

“You’ve seen that in the special, you’ve seen that with the mother whose daughter has been diagnosed and how traumatic it is. I loved how it was written, I took my daughter in thinking ‘She’s not great, maybe its chickenpox or measles, or she’s got a viral bug. Never, ever did she expect to hear the C word – you don’t hear it or you don’t see it much, children getting diagnosed with it.'” The actress also touched on the harsh reality faced by many families: “You don’t want to hear or see that kids are going through such horrific times but it is, there are children out there.”

She then shared her knowledge of a young boy named Mighty Max who has been battling a similar condition from a young age, expressing her heartfelt desire to shield children from suffering: “You don’t want it for the kids, you just want to take it away from them. So to read it, I was sobbing, I resonated with my kids and thought ‘God, if this was me with mine, how do you cope? ‘”.

Lucy-Jo Hudson, speaking on the heart-rending moment her character Adele found out her daughter had a life-threatening illness in the crowded emergency department, reflected on the sensitive portrayal: “I think the doctor, Ellie who played the doctor, she didn’t want to spoil it for Adele or the daughter, she wanted to wait til after Christmas. But it was so chaotic in the hospital with the big accident on the motorway, it was a case of ‘We need to move, this is happening’ but she understands that they’re all human beings and she’s got to take care of her emotions.”

Lucy-Jo then described the delivery of the diagnosis as abrupt, explaining, “So it was a case of how do I say it, it sort of just happened – it was a there and then, it happened in the corridor.”

Reflecting on the authenticity of the scene, the actress shared that several fans reached out to her, saying, “I’ve had loads of people saying they experienced this years ago when the children were younger,” and noted that their children had “come through it.”

Lucy-Jo concluded by underlining a mother’s deep intuition, stressing how a mother never expects such shattering news on Christmas Day.

Lucy-Jo Hudson has expressed her gratitude as fans have been eager to donate blood, telling how her inboxes are flooded with messages. “My inboxes have been inundated with people saying they’ve tried to get through to donate blood, or there’s a 45 minute wait on the phone,” she said.

She was touched by the response, noting that the call to action was implicit: “Which is amazing because the message got out without saying donate blood – specifically the message behind it and the education behind it made you feel like ‘I need to help, I need to do it.'”.

The actress, who resonated with her character’s child cancer storyline, also revealed her personal connection to the issue of blood donation. Unbeknownst to the show’s producers and writers, Lucy-Jo herself required blood transfusions last year while dealing with chronic anaemia.

She reflected on her own health journey: “When I got it, I instantly thought ‘Oh my God, this is me, in need of that,’ I’ve lived for years not feeling very well for all sorts of reason, just thinking it’s life, stressed, kids and being busy – you never plan to put yourself first.”

She highlighted the critical nature of blood donations, especially during the busy holiday season. “It wasn’t until I actually did need the transfusion, I realised how poorly I was. If they hadn’t had the blood there and then, you just don’t know – you don’t realise. Especially that time of year, Christmas time when everyone’s busy, preoccupied, they’re all getting Christmas sorted, there’s more accidents because it’s darker is getting colder and there the ice and snow and people don’t have the time to give as much. Then in the New Year, resolutions, ‘Going to start giving blood again’, Christmas time is when people are so preoccupied with Christmas, that is when we really need it, around the winter time, the winter months.”

“I think it was good that we put it out at Christmas time, to make people realise this is going on, there is a need, massively around Winter, obviously it’s needed all year round but I think they’re kind of low in the winter months,” said Lucy-Jo. She confessed she felt “blessed” to have played a role in a show that raised awareness for so many, explaining her desire for it to come across as “real” on screen.

Despite feeling uncomfortable watching herself, she viewed the series with her partner to see how the storyline unfolded. “It was amazing, we were all so engrossed watching it because it was such a fabulous story,” she expressed.

BBC Casualty star Lucy-Jo Hudson was moved to tears as she read her script for the Christmas special. The Leeds-born actress made a comeback to the Holby City emergency department, 14 years after her last appearance on the show. However, she had no idea about the significant impact her participation in the All I Want For Christmas episode would have.…