What’s on TV – 27 July 2019

TVweek

14

A

fter a patient

ended up in

intensive care

last week when

Connie (Amanda

Mealing) mixed up two

unlabelled syringes

and directed Duffy to

administer the wrong

one, Connie’s been

haunted by her actions.

If ever there was a

time for Connie to come clean

about her anxiety issues and

diazepam addiction, it’s now. So

this week she writes a resignation

letter... until she gets another idea

• why not blame it on Duffy, who
  has early-onset dementia?
  ‘Connie plays on Duffy’s
  decision-making and memory
  recall of the incident. She
  plants doubts,’ says Cathy
  Shipton, who’s played
  iconic nurse Duffy since

1986. ‘Connie pulls Duffy’s
      strings so finely that it’s
      enough for Duffy to just
      run with it. In fact, Connie
      uses Duffy’s husband,
      Charlie, as well!’
      With trouble-
      shooter Ciaran
      Coulson (Rick
      Warden)

looking for answers and the ED

rife with gossip, Connie stealthily

gets rid of the unlabelled syringes.

She then manipulates Charlie

(Derek Thompson) into thinking

Duffy’s dementia is worse than

they thought, but that she’s going

to nobly take responsibility and

resign as clinical lead!

‘Ciaran needs evidence of

Connie’s inability to be clinical

lead. He’s counting on Duffy to

be his witness, but she doesn’t

even know if she can remember!’

explains Cathy. ‘The truth is,

Duffy remembers it correctly and

Connie gave her the bum steer!’

Worried about Duffy’s

dementia worsening,

Charlie and Duffy have

a difficult heart-to-heart.

Will she decide to quit?

‘Connie could be struck

off for what’s she’s doing.

She’s addicted and needs

help,’ says Cathy.

How far will

Connie go to save

her own skin? n

C A S UA LT Y

Saturday, 8.25pm

BBC1Drama

Hollywood stars

re-create a celebrated

Life is a cabaret! musical partnership

re-create

c arr t!! musicalpartn

Creative bond... Sam and

Michelle play Bob (above

and left) and Gwen

new

T

he story of the

troubled relationship

between legendary

stage and film director

Bob Fosse and his musical-

theatre icon wife, dancer

Gwen Verdon, is told in

this glossy drama, which is

packed full of musical hits.

Spanning five decades,

the eight-parter, which

starts with a double bill,

shows how their marriage

was rocked by Bob’s

depression and infidelities.

The all-star cast is led by

Michelle Williams (Gwen), in

her first return to TV since

Dawson’s Creek, and Oscar-

winner Sam Rockwell (Bob).

‘It’s a dense, complex

story,’ says Sam. ‘Someone

said Bob and Gwen were

almost like twins in a way.

I think they had a kind of

June Carter/Johnny Cash,

Ike and Tina Turner thing.’

Turnaround

It’s 1969 when the drama

kicks off as Bob, having lost

Universal Pictures millions

of dollars with his musical

flop Sweet Charity, is given

the golden opportunity to

direct Liza Minnelli in the

1972 film Cabaret.

But on set in Munich, he

has an affair with a German

translator and the effect

on Gwen is devastating.

‘I knew it was on the

minds of the producers

that they were

thinking about

how to include

Gwen’s stor y,’

says Michelle.

‘There’s this big

gap in her career

because she

wanted to be

present for their

daughter.’ n

FOSSE/VERDON

Friday, 9pm & 9.50pm,

available as a box set on BBC

iPlayer after the first episode

has aired BBC2 Drama

Words:

Hannah Davies, Elaine Reilly

Photos:

BBC

Connie pushes her to

the edge to save her own neckÉ

The end for Duffy?

In trouble... Charlie is

concerned about Duffy.

Inset: Devious Connie

More atwhatsontv.co.uk/casualty

Investigation...

Ciaran tries to

uncover the truth