Amanda Mealing: Casualty exit will be 'reset' for Connie Beauchamp

Amanda Mealing says \'Casualty\' bosses are "resetting" Connie Beauchamp after her exit.

The 52-year-old star\'s alter-ego was written out of the show during the series finale over the weekend after confiding in Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) about her addiction to prescription drugs, before she was ordered to leave the emergency department.

Giving viewers hope for the character\'s future, Amanda told Digital Spy: "We are resetting Connie, which is really exciting for me. We\'ve seen her vulnerable side, but I am now pushing to get back into that strong, strident Connie that viewers love.

"I go back to work very soon, so she will be off screen for a while. But she will come back so much stronger.

"When you hit rock bottom, there\'s no one else left but you. You have to look at yourself, and that\'s what she does. She has a chance to look at herself."

Amanda - who originally appeared on sister show \'Holby City\' from 2004 to 2010 before joining the cast of \'Casualty\' four years later - explained her character\'s heart-breaking exit has seen her hit "rock bottom".

She added: "She knows that there is no one left to help her. She has to do something about it. This is her rock bottom and when you hit rock bottom, you have to admit to yourself where you are.

"And that\'s where the journey of recuperation begins. It is so sad to see this happen to such a beautifully strong, independent woman.

"I\'ve always been so proud to have an example of a woman who\'s independent of a man, which isn\'t the usual portrayal on film and TV."