BBC hospital drama Casualty could be heading

for the chop, with crew members told there are just more two series.

The show launched in 1986 and is the world’s longest-running

medical drama, but having been hit by “super-inflation in drama

production” and a string of cost-cutting measures, staff say they

have been told their contract renewals will be the last.

Filming of the 39th series is currently underway, but crew now expect series 40 to be the final outing.

An insider said: “Never mind on life support, it feels like Casualty has now received its death warrant.

“The official messaging is that all is well because the show was recently recommissioned for two more years.

“But when that new round of contracts were signed, the feedback was ‘two years, then we’re done’.

“To be honest, no one was very surprised.

“The writing has been on the wall for a while now.”

In September, The Sun told how bosses had slashed the number of episodes due to pressures amid the cost of living crisis.

As a result, a mid-series break was introduced, meaning Casualty was off-air from September 16 until December 30.