Casualty unexpectedly brought back Sophia Peters (Kellie Shirley) during its high-octane 40th anniversary episodes – for what proved to be utterly devastating scenes.
The long-running BBC One soap celebrated four decades on air with a special double-bill, which saw the doctors and nurses come together following a catastrophic explosion at St James’ hospital.
Dylan Keogh (Wiliam Beck) was the doctor in charge as he assigned his colleagues tasks before tending to patients as and when they arrived at Holby ED.
He got the shock of his life, however, when he saw one of the patients, realising it was his ex and former colleague Sophia, who was last seen on our screens last year.
Dylan was determined to save her but devastatingly she died in subsequent scenes.
Former EastEnders star Kellie Shirley, who played the role of Sophia between 2024 and 2025, reprised the part for the 40th anniversary episodes, which saw her character meet a tragic end.
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‘As an actor, you always want the juiciest stuff to be challenged with – and you can’t get any juicer than an epic death scene!’, she told Metro. ‘And to be asked to return for the 40th anniversary was lovely.’
With Sophia having been revisited during the milestone episodes, here is everything you need to know about her time in the ED.
Who is Sophia Peters in Casualty?
Sophia arrived in the ED back in 2024 as a psychiatric liaison nurse, making her debut in the Storm Damage boxset and appeared in handful of Public Property offerings too.
Kellie described Sophia as ‘likable,’ and ‘relatable’.'[She] knows her stuff, she’s got a good sense of humour, she’s a terrible flirt – I can relate to that. She thinks Dylan is a bit blunt but because he’s so good at his job, it’s a little bit of an aphrodisiac for Sophia!’’
Sophia worked in mental health and developed quite the dynamic with Dylan. The two characters clashed a bit at first but a connection was soon forged, creating quite the ‘will they / won’t they’ situation audiences.
Kellie told Metro at the time that she found the dynamic ‘fun to play’. ‘They’ve got similarities and I think Sophia brings something out in Dylan that viewers haven’t really seen before,’ she enthused.
Not long into their relationship, Sophia discovered that she was pregnant and informed Dylan, who was left in shock.
He subsequently told her that he’d like to be a dad, unaware that she’d had a termination. Sophia departed Holby amid the Public Property boxset after landing a job at St James.
In the 40th anniversary specials, St James hospital was the site of the explosion, which is what caused Sophia’s fatal injuries.
Casualty’s 40th anniversary specials are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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