Plan to move Casualty out of Bristol was a "done deal"

City MPs claim the decision to move TV drama Casualty out of Bristol was a "done deal" despite months of campaigning to keep the show in the city.

As first reported by the Bristol Post yesterday, the BBC said it was looking at moving the show to its Welsh drama stable to sit alongside prime-time shows such as Dr Who last year as part of a major restructuring programme.

It went out to consultation on the plans - but the process has been branded a sham by Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy.

She said: "I think this was a done deal many months ago.

"I think they were going through the motions.

"This is a devastating announcement. What are they going to do to fill that hole and make sure Bristol remains a creative hub?"

Bristol West MP Stephen Williams said: "I am disappointed but not surprised by this decision. The BBC has seemed set on this move ever since it was first suggested a year ago. I made my views clear to the BBC then and several times since.

"I have been a fan of Casualty for twenty years and have enjoyed spotting all the Bristol based scenes. It is important that we have contemporary drama with West Country accents shown on BBC1.

"The show was also the anchor for a lot of Bristol independent technical production crews and gave opportunities for budding actors in small parts and walk on roles."

The BBC claims the show will "enjoy significant benefits" from joining the Cardiff production unit and "will play a significant part in fulfilling our commitment to building a creatively sustainable centre of excellence for drama in Wales".

Last year it committed to moving half of all network TV production out of London by 2016. Bristol will become one of the regional "centres of excellence" with the focus being thrown on to its natural history unit.

A BBC spokesman said: "We have previously said that moving Casualty will play a significant part in fulfilling our commitment to building a creatively sustainable centre of excellence for drama in Wales and, more broadly, it will accelerate the development of the creative sector there.

"Casualty will now enjoy significant benefits in joining the wider drama production community including Doctor Who, Torchwood, Pobol Y Cwm and The Sarah Jane Adventures."

The decision to move Casualty has been condemned by South West Screen, the development agency for film, television and digital media in the region,

Chief Executive Caroline Norbury said: "As a key campaigner to keep Casualty in Bristol, South West Screen is very disappointed by this decision. The move will be a huge loss for Bristol, as Casualty contributes £25m to the local economy annually, as well as providing a solid production infrastructure, which attracts other shows such as Mistresses, Skins and Lark Rise to Candleford to the region.

"Whilst we are disappointed with today's decision, we are now keen to work with the BBC on ensuring the future growth of drama production in the city and we are already in talks with the BBC on how we may best achieve this."

South West Regional Development Agency spokesman Chris Garcia said: "This is the wrong decision for the BBC, the wrong decision for Casualty and the wrong decision for Bristol.

"We are obviously extremely disappointed by the decision to move Casualty to Cardiff . We have worked hard to avoid this move, but the BBC failed to properly recognise the important contribution the location and people of Bristol have made to the success of this very popular programme."

A series of warehouses in St Philip's house the sets which millions of viewers know as the inside of fictitious Holby Hospital's accident and emergency unit.

Cast and crew are regularly spotted out and about filming scenes on the Floating Harbour and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

As well as the economic impact the move will have on the city it is also feared that it will have a knock-on effect on Bristol's cultural reputation.