Casualty boss on the future for Jan after devastating episode
Jan had a really tough time of it.
Casualty favourite Jan Jenner (played by Diane Botcher) has been struggling with her life as a paramedic over recent weeks and in tonight's (10th December) powerful, improvised episode, the beloved character almost hit breaking point.
Jan had been run ragged throughout the special episode which highlighted the conditions paramedics are working under and following a series of disasters and heartbreaking call-outs, her stress levels were so high that she accidentally knocked over a woman with her ambulance.
Of course, Jan was devastated - thankfully the patient will make a recovery - and when she headed home after a tough day, she broke down to her wife.
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Viewers may be wondering if Jan's future as a paramedic is in question after what's been a devastating few weeks for the favourite on the long-running series.
However, Casualty boss Jon Sen exclusively spoke about Jan's future to RadioTimes.com - and there's heartening news for fans.
"Obviously off the back of this, we are looking at Jan's struggles. Obviously she's got a wife and Ffion and we portray their domestic lives, tangentially into their professional lives. I think she'll go through struggles, but Jan will get through that.
"We're endeavouring to carve the entire series of Casualty up into mini-series, so this comes at the end of one of those. It's the combination of a Jan story when she's been under immense pressure, she's struggled to really control her team and to keep the morale up and Sah has gone off to take some time because she found the pressure too much.
"So Jan's really struggled to keep her team together, and the irony is that having done all this, then it's Jan herself who kind of suffers under the pressures."
Speaking about why Jan was crucial for this innovative episode which explores the impact of the current climate on paramedics, Sen explained it was because she has historical knowledge about how better it used to be.
"Jan is one of our most popular paramedics. She portrays a character who's been in the paramedic service for a significant number of years. She's seen it change and during the episode she reflects on it briefly.
"We focused on Jan not only because she's an incredible leader who runs that paramedic team, but because she's got an historical perspective about being in the ambulance service for so long.
"We wanted to particularly show Jan in this light, not least because she's battling as a leader, but she ends up falling foul of a mistake herself."
Additional reporting by Lewis Knight.
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Authors
Helen Daly is the Associate Editor for Radio Times, overseeing new initiatives and commercial projects for the brand. She was previously Deputy TV Editor at a national publication. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Media & Journalism from Newcastle University.
