It's the end of an era. We've known for months now that Duffy's days in Casualty were numbered, but her demise tonight was a true tear-jerker nonetheless.
Cathy Shipton's final scenes in the role aired on Saturday February 1 as she was taken off for organ donation following a devastating brain bleed that the medical team were unable to treat.
Back in October, bosses announced that Cathy was leaving the show after three decades of playing the sweet-natured nurse, who has been living with dementia since her diagnosis last year.
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Right from the very moment she was diagnosed, viewers had been speculating whether this was an exit story for the long-serving character – with confirmation finally coming towards the end of last year. Even though the exact nature of Duffy's exit was still kept under wraps until transmission, it's been apparent for a while that there wasn't going to be a happy ending.
If we go right back to 2018, Duffy's story marked a major shift in the show's storytelling. Much like Iain Dean's depression, which, for a long time actually co-existed alongside it, Duffy's acceptance of her dementia, and subsequent decline, was part of an objective to plant longer-lead stories.
"There was a kind of move between the show to take on long-lead stories – stories that last longer than one episode or a month," Cathy explained to Digital Spy recently. "These stories were going to play out over a long period of time, like Iain's depression story. They approached me and asked what I thought."
For the past 33 years, Casualty viewers have been tuning in on a Saturday night (or later on catch-up) and expecting to see a certain format: a stunt, a high-stakes situation, a patient dilemma – usually intertwined with that of a show regular.
It's audacious, action-packed and pacey, but, in the same way that television consumption habits have changed over the years, so is the way it's being delivered.
Casualty exists in a peculiar space in TV land, with its genre invariably misunderstood. Is it a soap? A drama? Both? No one really knows. While the open-ended serial nature of the narrative suggests it should be in the former category, the series-block style and weekly scheduling places it in the latter.
There was also once a time where we could tune in, having not watched the BBC medical drama for months, and pick up from where left off. But with its soapy competitors – including sister show Holby City – tackling longer-term, issue-based stories, Casualty's former strength started to become its weakness.
However, through Duffy story, Iain's depression, and even Dylan's alcoholism, Casualty has managed to carve a space for itself, holding its own against the increasing demands the industry now faces.
It was a long and winding road up to Duffy's dementia diagnosis. Although she had been struggling with unsettling symptoms for a while, Duffy was placed on anti-depressants, with doctors initially believing that her noticeable changes in behaviour were mental-health related.
By the time Duffy underwent more extensive investigations, she was no longer with her beloved husband Charlie – having uncharacteristically cheated on him with her ex-flame Bill.
When the couple eventually reunited, it suddenly all felt very poignant. These two have always been end-game, but now a literal end appeared to be in sight. And that is where this story really started to take shape. It took Chuffy three decades to decide they wanted to be together forever, but only three years in and it was all being taken away from them. It felt cruel, causeless and really, really sombre.
Crucially, though, the pair's past had taught them an invaluable lesson about their future. They vowed to not waste anymore time, even reaffirming their love for each other in a vow renewal. It was heartwarming, with the Casualty boss Loretta Preece even comparing it to a love story, but one with no fairytale ending.
As the months went on, so did the intensity of Duffy's deterioration, with Casualty touching on the many challenging aspects that this inevitably brought. From the financial constraints of full-time help, to care-home difficulty, to grieving the loss of someone who is still alive – Casualty's pragmatic approach to telling this story candidly and carefully meant that we saw it all, no matter how uncomfortable it felt.
Reminding us of what show we were watching, one particular story strand reflected the strain on the NHS through Charlie and Duffy's eyes: they had both invested their whole adult lives into caring for others through the NHS, but sadly found that it wasn't always there for them when they needed it.
Duffy's story gathered momentum when she suffered a TIA late last year, and it's been a fairly quick descent ever since. We knew Duffy's time in the show was numbered, but the nature of her final scenes still felt sudden, shocking and painfully sad – primarily due to the tragic way in which she lost her life.
When Emmerdale tackled dementia through Ashley Thomas a few years ago, they had him experience a moment of lucidity before he passed away peacefully at home. And if we're honest, we expected Duffy's exit scenes to be not entirely dissimilar.
However, Casualty opted out of giving Duffy a more peaceful exit, instead choosing to reflect the other side, where the often grim realities were present all the way to the end. Tragically, Duffy actually suffered a fateful and final seizure when Charlie wasn't in the room – highlighting the fact that life doesn't always tie up neatly.
While this was difficult to watch, it also felt raw and refreshingly realistic – with moving footage flashbacks to Duffy's happier times providing us with the nostalgic goodbye element instead. Having Duffy wheeled off for organ transplant also felt like a powerful enough message in itself: she'll continue to save lives even after she's gone.
Of course, it'd be wrong to praise the boldness of Duffy's exit without also addressing the fact that Casualty is losing one of its most legendary characters, while simultaneously leaving another with a very uncertain future. Killing off a character, especially one that is so deeply rooted in the show's history, is always a brave move – and not always one that is well-received with the audience.
On this occasion though, it felt necessary. Interestingly, Cathy herself was also pushing for this type of final ending for her alter-ego; one that offered both her and the fans a sense of completeness.
"When they were talking about the story, I asked if they'd take it to the end for Duffy," she said. "I hadn't said this to them but I already knew when I went back four years ago that I wouldn't want to stay forever. I also knew that I'd want to have a story where the character died so we could shut the door completely."
But as for what all this means for stalwart Charlie? Cathy isn't so sure. "He's going to go through the wringer," she said. "Poor Derek is having to grow his beard out for the story and he's also dishevelled and very lonely."
While we can't imagine an ED where Charlie is without Duffy, both Cathy and Derek certainly rose to the occasion when it came to giving the couple their bittersweet end.
With gut-wrenching performances, this story has brought Casualty's two longest running characters right back to where they should be – at the centre of the show. And tonight's episode has ensured that's where they will always remain.
Casualty continues on Saturday, February 8 on BBC One.
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