Whether you were aware or not, Casualty once again broke new ground with tonight’s brilliantly-told Jade focused episode – and here’s why.
Saturday night’s visit to the ED, after six weeks away, took viewers on a journey through Jade’s world, on the most game-changing, overwhelming day of her life. The episode, penned by deaf writers Charlie Swinbourne and Sophie Woolley, gave us a personal and authentic insight into what it’s like being a deaf nurse in a busy ED.
Crucially, Jade has never been defined by her invisible disability – and never will be – but tonight’s edition (July 11) gave us an astonishing insight into her deafness for the first time in her two-year history on the show.
The scenes were written, directed and filmed with Jade’s deafness at the forefront – and some of the challenges that she faces because of this. But even more importantly, the episode was brought to life by a pioneering team, which included two deaf writers, a deaf director – John Maidens, and two deaf actors, Sophie Stone (Susie) and, of course, Gabriella Leon, who gave us one of the performances of her career tonight as Jade.
