Irish actress Brenda Fricker has been frank about her mortality.
Hit BBC staple Casualty is back and the series is recognised as the longest-running primetime medical drama in the world.
The drama made its debut in 1986, with the original cast made up of 10 main characters including consultant Ewart Plimmer (played by Bernard Gallagher) and senior house officer Baz Samuels (Julia Watson).
Another main character was, state-enrolled nurse Megan Roach, with Dublin actress Brenda Fricker playing the character in 65 episodes. She bowed out of the series in 1990, saying she felt her character had “lost” her “wonderful sense of humour”.
Fricker returned for a final appearance as Megan in August 2010, when the character took a lethal cocktail of drugs to end her life after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
View 3 ImagesBrenda Fricker on the Tommy Tiernan Show in 2021
The 81-year-old actress has been very open about her personal life and in 2021, she spoke on the Tommy Tiernan Show about how she had battled severe depression for much of her life and had been hospitalised many times.
She admitted she had not done much work for about 10 years, as she said she wanted “a rest”.
When asked how the “inside of her head” was, she shared: “I went to the doctor and he said I’m going to put you on stronger antidepressants, because I am a bit of a recluse.”
In 2024, she starred in experimental documentarian Tadhg O’Sullivan’s first fiction drama The Swallow. As part of a solitary performance, she starred as an unnamed elderly woman reminiscing about her life.
In February 2026, it was announced the actress was to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin, with her name name set to be inscribed on the Roll of Honorary Freedom of Dublin.
According to the Irish Independent, the award recognises “a lifetime of artistic contribution and the pride Fricker has brought to the capital and to Ireland”.
View 3 ImagesBrenda Fricker has been open about her physical and mental health
Dublin Lord Mayor Ray McAdam said: “Brenda’s Academy Award winning performance in ‘My Left Foot’ was a landmark moment for Irish acting and Irish cinema.
“But what makes her career so special is the body of work that followed, marked by honesty, depth and a rare ability to bring warmth and toughness in the same breath.
“Her performances have helped tell Irish stories and have become part of family life across generations.”
The Oscar-winning actress recently opened up about her health and in 2025 she issued a heartbreaking update, telling The Guardian: “I’m having a dreadful death.”
The Home Alone 2 star explained: “I’ve never known tiredness ever in my life. Weary. Will I ever get up again? I’m just dying, every day in pain.”
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In a separate interview for Irish radio station RTE1, she told host Brendan O’Connor: “I can’t remember not wanting to die.”
Her memoir, She Died Young: A Life in Fragments, includes some harrowing moments in her life including self-harming and dealing with her depression.
Casualty airs on Saturdays on BBC One at 8.45pm