Casualty is gearing up for possibly its most dramatic episode ever this weekend, marking 30 years of TV medical emergencies.

We’re set to see an already terrifying car crash involving long-running character Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) and her daughter Grace (Emily Carey) take an even worse turn when the air ambulance that comes to help them is hit by a drone.

The BBC One show bases all of its incidents on situations that have actually happened in real life – check out some of its most traumatic episodes to date.

Casualty 30th anniversary Charlie Fairhead played by Derek Thompson
Charlie (Derek Thompson) could be one of those in the Casualty disaster firing line (BBC)

End Of The Line

This two-part instalment from 2003 must have blown the budget for the series, featuring a major train crash with carriages flipping over and passengers escaping over the roof. The drama continued when a nearby bridge started to collapse.

Farmead Menace

Casualty Robyn Miller Amanda Henderson
Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson) will be involved in the 30th anniversary drama (BBC)

Another two-parter, this one from 2008 saw the A&E crew put in mortal danger when they went out to a call at an estate where a teen had been throwing fireworks. An explosion sent a fireball hurtling towards the medics, who were left scrambling to escape the crumbling building.

The Golden Hour

Back on the transport theme, Casualty showed a horrifying motorway crash in 1997 when a driver drifted off at the wheel, causing a pile up and ultimately an explosion on an oil tanker. The pyrotechnics in this episode were something to behold.

Kansas

This time, Casualty went back out on location to act out a music festival disaster in 2012. Viewers saw the spectacle of the main stage going up in flames, the exit tunnel collapsing and panic reigning at the over-sold event.

Boiling Point

In an early episode from 1992, a riot got out of hand and when some of the casualties turned up at the hospital, tensions continued to run high. It ended in chaos when some of the rioters fire bombed an ambulance, sending flames tearing through the department on the eve of nurse Lisa ‘Duffy’ Duffin’s wedding.