The actors who play the paramedics on long running BBC medical drama Casualty see their fair share of action and are usually the ones caught up in dramatic rescues and stunts. It’s a coveted role and they all have one thing in common – and surprisingly it’s not stunt training. On a recent visit to the set of the show in Wales with other media Express.co.uk met the show’s vehicle co-ordinator who has been working on the programme for 35 years. Asked if cast members such as Michael Stevenson, who plays Iain Dean or Charles Venn who plays Jacob Masters, had to do any special training to drive the ambulances for the scenes where they are seen on screen he revealed there is one key thing they all need.

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“They have to have what we call a C1 licence because of the weight of the vehicle. But that’s all they need,” he explained. A C1 driving licence in the UK allows you to drive vehicles between 3,500kg and 7,500kg.

He also revealed they are restricted as to how and when they can film “blue light” scenes for the show. These are scenes where the ambulance sirens are in full flow as the team race to an emergency.

“On a closed road, a closed set we can have the blue lights on. But any other time we can’t use the blue lights,” he said.

This is why sometimes viewers see the paramedics flick the switch for the sirens and hear the sound but never actually see the blue light flashing.

That’s not the only secret of Casualty’s ambulance bay. The famous entrance to Holby City Hospital has seen thousands of ambulances come and go over the decades.

However the actual doorway, which is a proper working door and not a plywood set, has a building right beside it blocking the path ahead.

This means the ambulances can’t drive up and exit the space or turn around as they would in a real hospital so the team employ some TV trickery to ensure it looks as if it operates as a normal ambulance parking bay.

Senior Producer Mat McHale revealed they back the ambulances out and reverse them back in so they face the other way ensuring people watching at home maintain the illusion the vehicle has driven further up and turned.

The result is seamless shots that make the Holby City entrance area appear far bigger than it is.