The special will be be titled All I Want for Christmas and will serve as “a tribute to the miracle of blood, brought to life with all the tension and emotional depth that Casualty delivers so well”, according to the BBC.

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The Christmas special episode will follow the ED team as they continue their hard work over the festive period. But they are soon faced with an emergency blood shortage.

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Stevie (Elinor Lawless) battles to save the lives of patients while Iain (Michael Stevenson) risks his own to ensure the hospital doesn’t go without.

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Casualty’s newest instalment will be format-breaking, in line with other memorable episodes – such as the celebration of 75 years of the NHS, which aired last year.

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The upcoming special will feature real-life testimonies from contributors who have been directly impacted by UK blood donation, plus interviews with key workers who help run the country’s blood service.

In one of the new images, Stevie can be seen holding a blood bag and standing in front of a Christmas tree baring a serious expression, while another snap sees Iain looking worried as he sits the driver’s seat of an ambulance with Christmas lights twinkling in the background.

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There is also a new image of paramedics Jacob (Charles Venn) and Teddy (Milo Carke) standing in the middle of a road in very cold weather conditions, and another shows an ambulance driving through the wintry weather.

The Christmas episode, written by Erin Kubicki and directed by Steve Hughes, will include several guest stars alongside the regular cast, including Lucy-Jo Hudson, who played in Katy Harris Coronation Street alongside Poldark and The Crown star Tristan Sturrock.

Also appearing are Breathtaking’s Joseph Charles, Waterloo Road’s Katy Carmichael and DI Ray star Valerie Antiwi, alongside Father Brown actress Zoe Brough.

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“We’re so excited for viewers to see this incredible Christmas special, which genuinely made me gasp,” said BBC Drama’s Commissioning Editor Rebecca Ferguson, who described the episode as “tense, thrilling and super-charged with emotion”.

The special was first teased when the most recent run of the drama ended in September, with a cryptic teaser trailer made available to view in full on the BBC website after airing at the end of the season finale.