THERE’S a reason Casualty has been on our screens for 27 years – hospital A&E departments are naturally dramatic places.

So it is no wonder that, despite featuring fewer explosions and staff romances, the real-life 24 Hours in A&E has also been a hit with viewers and critics, picking up a Royal Television Society award for best documentary series.

Mark Raphael, C4’s documentary commissioning editor, certainly doesn’t find it difficult to explain the programme’s appeal.

He said: “On the one hand, it delivers the most amazing access to life-and-death stories that make up the daily work of the hard-working staff at King’s College Hospital’s emergency department.

“But, because all the cases come from just one 24-hour period, just as in real life, profoundly moving stories are cheek-byjowl with quirky and downright funny cases. And for the same reason, no two episodes are quite alike.”

This week’s edition also serves as a coming-of-age story as the patients seem to be reflecting on the process of becoming men.

First is 26-year-old Nicholas, who has been punched in the face during a random attack, leaving him with a fractured, dislocated jaw.

As he cannot close his mouth or speak, it is up to his long-term girlfriend Holly to tell us whether or not he is a regular in A&E.

“He’s definitely not the fighting type,”

she says. “When I first met him, for sure, he was a boy. Sometimes I feel a bit like a mum – ‘can you slow down? Don’t run or you’re going to hurt yourself’.”

So she may want to look away as consultant craniofacial surgeon Rob uses his “magic thumb” to put Nicholas’ jaw back in place.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tyrell comes in with a big toe injury he picked up playing football. The blackened nail is going to have to be removed, but luckily his father, Adrian, is on hand to remind him that it is all a rite of passage, as experiencing pain is one of the things that separates men from boys.

We are also introduced to 26-year-old Ho, who brought his 78-year-old grandmother, Amoui, into King’s after finding her collapsed in her flat, and is now trying to support her the way she has supported him.

“It was a shock when I found my grandma...

I’ve never seen her so fragile before.

She’s a tough lady. She looked after me always and so I felt I have the responsibility to go and look after her.”