Bbc Casualty pulled from screens tonight as Six Nations reshapes the schedule — 6 huge spoilers for next week

Casualty will not air tonight (21 February) as the channel takes a mid-series break to accommodate live Six Nations rugby. The broadcaster begins coverage at 4pm, with kick-off forty minutes later, and commentaries will come from Gabby Logan and John Inverdale at the Principality Stadium. Regular viewers are advised the show will return next week (28 February).

Casualty: tonight's episode off air and the replacement schedule

The medical drama is taking a short mid-series pause to make room for the Wales v Scotland Six Nations fixture in the third round of the competition. The rugby broadcast begins at 4pm and kicks off forty minutes later at the Principality Stadium, with Gabby Logan and John Inverdale on commentary duties. The evening lineup that follows the match includes Gladiators at 7: 15pm, a comedy variety show an hour later, and the new drama The Walsh Sisters at 9: 15pm ahead of the news.

When the series returns — what to expect on 28 February

The show resumes after a week-long break with the latest episode from the current boxset, titled 'Learning Curve'. Expect a tense day in the ED as Flynn Byron (Olly Rix) prepares for another visit from the CQC (Care Quality Commission). Holby has been noted as having come under fire in recent months for several avoidable deaths and questionable workplace practices, placing everyone on high alert for the reinspection.

Six big plot spoilers coming when Casualty returns

• Kim Chang (Jasmine Bayes) is struggling: she jogs into work, makes herself sick, and celebrates a notification showing 500% of her daily movement goal — but then her vision blurs while treating patients.
• Matty Linlaker (Aron Julius) faces personal turmoil after Dylan reveals he is Matty's biological dad; Matty calls Dylan a "perfectly adequate mentor, " has not told his mum, and Dylan remains emotionally detached.
• Flynn believes the CQC will not reinspect that day, only to be surprised when Ceri arrives in the evening after consultants Stevie and Dylan have left; Ceri is initially impressed by the changes Flynn has made and has a flashback to working in an ED during COVID.
• Under CQC scrutiny, Kim and Matty treat a head-injury patient; Matty is keen to perform a lumbar puncture while Flynn is occupied. Kim reads instructions from her phone, but her worsening vision leads her to give Matty the wrong orders, jeopardising both patient safety and the inspection.
• Teddy Gowan (Milo Clarke) and Jacob Masters (Charles Venn) clash over PC Ashley Sullivan's (Hannah Traylen) arrest of Blake Gardner (David Ajayi); Jacob has filed a complaint, Teddy defends that Ashley is not racist, and after a fraught callout the pair begin to make amends — Teddy tells Ashley Jacob will drop the complaint if she apologises, though the outcome is unclear.
• Siobhan McKenzie (Melanie Hill), who survived a sexual assault, suffers another setback: police arrest a suspect after the rapist's DNA is found on her uniform, but DI Hughes later reports the suspect, Chris, was a patient — and Cam realises he had asked Siobhan to treat Chris when he was in the ED, which could undermine the evidence and complicate Siobhan's path to justice.

Content warning: upcoming storylines include discussion of sexual violence.

Tensions in the ED: investigations, mistakes and strained relationships

Next week's episodes lean into procedural pressure and personal failings. The CQC reinspection and Flynn's efforts to present a safe department sit alongside residents making high-stakes clinical choices. Matty and Kim's mistake while under observation raises questions about supervision and the potential consequences of independent practice. Meanwhile, staff relationships — from Dylan's attempt at distance to Teddy and Jacob's fractured trust over Blake's arrest — feed into an atmosphere of scrutiny.

Wider scheduling trend: sport displacing soaps and continuing dramas

Viewers are already feeling the wider impact of sport on schedules. The annual pattern of prioritising major sporting events is said to be intensified this year by the World Cup, and disruption has already begun with the Winter Olympics and the Six Nations. Just weeks after a rival broadcaster launched a soap "power hour" on January 5 with a special that merged Coronation Street and Emmerdale, episodes have been cancelled to accommodate rugby coverage, and that disruption is expected to continue through the summer.

Decisions around international football coverage will also reshape schedules: the broadcaster will not send pundits Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates to the United States until at least the quarter-finals and will instead broadcast from Salford, officially citing financial and environmental reasons. The rival broadcaster has secured a studio in Brooklyn for commentators Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods. Critics note that Wimbledon and other events will dominate the main channel, and claim that at least 70% of TV viewers are fairweather fans who tune in only once a year. There is further concern that when sport shunts ongoing dramas, extra episodes are not always made available later, effectively cutting episodes from long-running series and frustrating loyal audiences.

How to watch when it returns

The programme normally airs on Saturday evenings on the channel and is also made available on the broadcaster's streaming service, where episodes are released at 6am on the day of transmission. Tonight's absence is temporary, and the series resumes on 28 February with several high-stakes storylines that will test staff, patients and the department's future under CQC scrutiny.