Casualty
In 2019, BBC1's Casualty featured a character with cystic fibrosis, 21-year-old Effie. Warning: this page contains spoilers.
Effie featured in an ongoing storyline, involving her relationship with doctor Ethan Hardy and her time spent on a CF clinical trial. While the actress who plays Effie, Abigail Hardingham, does not have CF, last January the Trust was contacted by a researcher working on Casualty and were asked to offer guidance from both people with cystic fibrosis and medical professionals on how to portray the condition, as well as advice to Abigail on how to represent someone with cystic fibrosis.
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I’ve seen Casualty and want to help
Real people like Caitlin and Lola are taking part in ground-breaking clinical trials thanks to our Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform, a UK-wide initiative to create the infrastructure and provide the funding needed to support the running of CF clinical trials and increase the opportunities for people living with CF to take part. In turn, this will help to ensure that the latest treatments that are being developed can be accessed by the people with CF who so desperately need them as soon as possible. Donate today to help support our work.
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I want to find out more about the issues raised in Casualty
Casualty reaches a weekly audience of almost 5 million people across the UK, and we know that the inclusion of Effie’s story is a valuable way to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis to millions of people who might never have been aware of it otherwise. While we were happy to offer advice on the best way to portray cystic fibrosis from both a medical and personal perspective, Casualty is ultimately a TV drama and many parts of it are going to constructed for the purposes of entertainment.
Take a look at our page on commonly raised topics to find out more about some of the issues raised in the series, including haemoptysis (coughing up blood), getting onto a clinical trial and other issues raised in fictional portrayals of cystic fibrosis.
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Talking about cystic fibrosis
If you are someone with cystic fibrosis, or know someone with the condition, you might find that you end up having conversations with people about Casualty, and this might involve having to talk about some challenging subjects. We've created a discussion guide to help you to talk about the issues raised in fictional representations of cystic fibrosis.
Research we fund
We fund research to tackle some of the most pressing issues in CF today. Find out how your donations are making a difference.
What is CF?
Cystic fibrosis, or CF, affects the lungs, digestive system and other organs, and there are over 10,600 people living with it in the UK.
Contact us
Get in touch with us to speak to someone on our Helpline, find out about an event or speak to our Press Team.