Holby City, stylised as
Holby Ci+y, is a British
medical dramaA medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
television series that airs weekly on
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
The series was created by
Tony McHaleTony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
and
Mal YoungMal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
as a
spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from the established
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
medical drama
CasualtyCasualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, and premiered on 12 January 1999. It is set in the same hospital as
Casualty, Holby General, in the fictional city of
HolbyHolby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border...
, and features occasional crossovers of characters and plots with both
Casualty (in episodes broadcast as
Casualty@Holby CityCasualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
) and the show's 2007
police proceduralThe police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
spin-off
HolbyBlueHolbyBlue was a British police drama series that aired on BBC One from 2007 to 2008. Produced by the BBC, Red Planet Pictures and Kudos for BBC One, it is a spin-off of the successful BBC One medical drama Holby City, itself a spin-off of the long-running series Casualty.The first series was...
. Its first executive producers were Mal and
Johnathan YoungJohnathan Young is a British television producer. His credits include EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, The Bill and The Sinking of the Laconia....
, who were succeeded by
Kathleen HutchisonKathleen Hutchison is a British television producer, whose credits include Playing the Field, Holby City and Casualty @ Holby City.-EastEnders:...
from 2003 to 2004,
Richard StokesRichard Stokes is a British television producer and executive producer. He produced the first two series of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood for the BBC...
from 2004 to 2006, McHale from 2006 to 2010 and Belinda Campbell from 2010.
The show follows the lives of medical and ancillary staff at the fictional Holby City Hospital. It began with eleven main characters in its first series, all of whom have since left the show. New main characters have been both written in and out of the series since, with a core of fifteen main actors employed on the serial at any given time. In casting the first series, Young sought out actors who were already well known in the television industry, something which has continued throughout the show's history, with cast members including
Patsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
,
Jane AsherJane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
,
Robert PowellRobert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
and
Adrian EdmondsonAdrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
.
McHale was the show's lead writer for several years, and was the first British writer ever to become the showrunner of a major prime time drama. Under his tenure as executive producer, attempts were made at modernising the programme and appealing to a younger audience by taking on the
filmizingFilmizing is a process that makes video productions seem to have been shot on film. The term is generic and informal. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an un-intentional by-product of some optical techniques, such as telerecording.-Differences between...
technique and introducing musical montage segments into each episode. Twelve series of
Holby City have aired, and a thirteenth began airing on 19 October 2010. The show has run for over 500 hour-long episodes. It is filmed at the BBC's
Elstree Studios"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, and from 2004 to 2008 featured annual special episodes filmed on location abroad. From October 2010,
Holby City moved to
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
broadcasting.
Holby City has attracted comparisons to other medical dramas, often unfavourable, and figures within the television and entertainment industry including Broadcasting Standards Commission director Paul Bolt have accused the BBC of squandering the television licence fee on the programme. The series employs a team of researchers to ensure medical accuracy, and utilises surgeons from different disciplines to check scripts. Cast members are taught to perform basic medical procedures, and given the opportunity to spend time on real hospital wards for research.
Holby City has, however, been criticised for its lack of realism, with the
British Medical AssociationThe British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
denouncing its portrayal of organ donation and unrealistic impression of resuscitation, and an accident and emergency nurse at the 2008
Royal College of NursingThe Royal College of Nursing is a union membership organisation with over 395,000 members in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1916, receiving its Royal Charter in 1928, Queen Elizabeth II is the patron...
conference accusing the show of fostering unrealistic expectations of the NHS and fuelling compensation culture.
Holby City has been nominated for over 100 television awards, of which it has won six: the 2008 British Academy Television Award for "Best Continuing Drama", two
Ethnic Multicultural Media AwardsEMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
and three
Screen NationThe Screen Nation Film & TV Awards was founded in 2003 by , as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international film and television talent....
Awards. The show's first series averaged 9.27 million viewers, but apart from a rise in its fifth series, ratings declined year-on-year until 2009, with the eleventh series averaging 5.44 million viewers. The twelfth series saw as small rise to 5.62 million.
Development
Holby City was created by
Tony McHaleTony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
and
Mal YoungMal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
as a
spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from the BBC medical drama
CasualtyCasualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, which is set in the
emergency departmentAn emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
of the fictional Holby City Hospital. Young wanted to explore what happened to patients treated in
Casualty once they were taken away to the hospital's surgical wards. While
Casualty scope is limited to "accident of the week" storylines about patients entering hospital,
Holby City allowed the possibility of storylines about long-term care, rather than immediate life and death decisions. The series was commissioned by BBC One Controller Peter Salmon, and began airing on
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 12 January 1999.
Series producer
Richard StokesMajor Sir Richard Rapier Stokes MC was a British Labour politician who served briefly as Lord Privy Seal in 1951....
believes that the series' popularity stems from the fact the hospital setting presents numerous plotline opportunities, explaining: "You have licence to create life-and-death situations every week, something you cannot do in any other set piece. The interaction of the characters can be sexy and social issues also permeate the writing. But, basically, hospital drama is successful because the viewers will forgive all the yukky bits for the wonder of a life saved." The focus of the series has developed since its conception, expanding to cover extra wards, including a
gynaecologyGynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
ward, an
acute assessment unitAn acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
and a
maternityMaternity or motherhood is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child.It is specially related with the protection of the baby and the mother within and after the childbirth.-See also:...
ward. When the maternity ward and a special care baby unit were introduced during series four, Young explained that new wards were necessary to allow the crew to rotate sets, maximising filming potential.
Episodes of
Holby City cost around £370,000 to produce—more than the BBC
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, at £130,000 per episode, but less than
Casualty at £450,000 per episode, or
Dalziel and PascoeDalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
at £700–800,000 per episode. As
Holby City is a high-volume, year-round production, it has relatively low production costs. Set-up costs can be spread over many years and standing sets can be repeatedly re-used, which is not the case for shorter series or one-off dramas.
Young remained an executive producer of
Holby City until 2004, when he left the BBC to work for production company 19 TV. Former
Casualty producer
Johnathan YoungJohnathan Young is a British television producer. His credits include EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, The Bill and The Sinking of the Laconia....
was an executive producer for the duration of
Holby first series, before joining
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1999.
Kathleen HutchisonKathleen Hutchison is a British television producer, whose credits include Playing the Field, Holby City and Casualty @ Holby City.-EastEnders:...
served alongside Mal Young as co-executive producer from 2003 to 2004, when she left the series to become executive producer of
EastEnders. Hutchison was succeeded by former series producer Stokes, who remained working on
Holby City until 2006, when McHale returned to the series. McHale was the first British writer ever to become the showrunner of a major prime time drama. He resigned from the position in 2009, and was succeeded by Belinda Campbell in 2010. In February 2011, it was announced that Johnathan Young would return to the BBC from March, succeeding Campbell as executive producer of both
Casualty and
Holby City.
Writing
Holby City storylines are planned eight months in advance. The series utilises a number of scriptwriters, who are found and scheduled by script development editor Simon Harper. Harper receives around 20 speculative scripts a week, and also finds writers through the BBC Writers Academy, a course established in 2005 which guarantees its graduates the opportunity to work on prime time television. McHale teaches at the academy, and graduate Abi Bown went on to become a regular writer for
Holby City. Harper also recruits writers through the BBC's Continuing Drama Shadow Scheme, open to writers from all levels of experience. He believes that scripts which demonstrate synthesis between guest and serial storylines are "the spine of the show", and has stated that, "Good, cracking, intelligent, ballsy dialogue is a must," explaining: "It's about getting the characters voices because the characters drive these shows. It is a love for and investment in these characters and the consistency of those characters." Harper does not require that writers are necessarily familiar with the show, and would like to attract more female scriptwriters.
McHale wrote the series' first episode, and served as the show's lead writer. His 2006 promotion to executive producer was part of a bid by Controller of BBC Drama Production John Yorke to "put writers back at the heart of the process". Yorke called McHale's promotion "fantastic", explaining: "It means that for the first time you've got a writer running one of our big powerhouse BBC1 shows." Following McHale's resignation, his replacement as lead writer was Justin Young, who intends to introduce a more writer-led commissioning process from
series 13The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 October 2010, and ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 11 October 2011.-Episodes:...
onwards, with writers creating more of the theme and story of their episodes than was previously the case.
Medical accuracy
To ensure accuracy in scriptwriting, the serial employs a team of researchers to advise writers on nursing issues and health service politics. One medical advisor was given a cameo role in the series as an orthopaedic surgeon, and another, recovery nurse Rachel Carter, appears in
Holby City as a scrub nurse. Another adviser, a
heart surgeonCardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
, has occasionally left open-heart surgery to advise
Holby City writers over the telephone. The programme utilises surgeons from different disciplines, who check scripts for accuracy. Carter believes this is particularly important in case viewers copy procedures they have seen in the show, such as
CPRCardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
. Series star
Amanda MealingAmanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
commented: "We pride ourselves on being realistic. You need to know what you are doing and why. It is a complex and foreign thing to act out an operation. For training, I watched a number of real ones." Cast members are taught how to give realistic injections, monitor blood pressure and check a pulse, and some are given the opportunity to observe procedures in real hospitals. Original cast member
George IrvingGeorge Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...
observed
coronary artery bypass surgeryCoronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
performed at
PapworthPapworth Hospital is a heart and lung hospital in Cambridgeshire, England. It was home to the first successful heart transplant in the UK and one of the world's first beating-heart transplants.-History:...
and
Middlesex HospitalThe Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites...
in preparation for his role as
Anton MeyerAnton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
, while
Edward MacLiamEdward MacLiam is an Irish actor. He graduated from RADA in 2001 and is currently playing Greg Douglas in medical drama series Holby City. In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Medical drama series Holby City as Greg/Cal Douglas....
observed
laparoscopic surgeryLaparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery , bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as opposed to the larger incisions needed in laparotomy.Keyhole surgery makes use of images...
being performed before joining the cast as Greg Douglas in series twelve.
Filming and on-screen output
Holby City and
Casualty are both set in Holby General hospital, in the fictional county of Wyvern, in the southwest of England close to the Welsh border. The city exterior is represented by
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, though
Holby City is filmed at the BBC's
Elstree Studios"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in
Borehamwood-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. The
Casualty set in Bristol was not large enough to encompass the surgical ward and operating theatre required for
Holby City, and as a result, some crossover scenes in the first episode had to be shot twice, first on the
Casualty set and then again at Elstree, with cast members travelling between the two locations. In October 2007, BBC cutbacks led
The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
to report that the Elstree site would be sold, and
Holby City relocated to share a set with
Casualty, possibly in
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. In March 2009, the BBC confirmed that
Casualty would move to a new set in Cardiff, however in the following month,
The GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
announced that the BBC would retain Elstree Studios for at least another four years.
Several episodes of the series have been shot on location abroad. In 2004, the romance between nurse Jess Griffin (
Verona JosephVerona Joseph is a British actress. She played the role of Jess Griffin in the BBC drama series, Holby City between 2002 and 2006 but made reappearances during 2006, 2007 and 2010. In 2004, she appeared in the first series of the BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing with her professional...
) and anaesthetist Zubin Khan (
Art MalikArt Malik is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant-Ivory television serials and films...
) culminated in an episode set in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The following year, registrar Diane Lloyd (
Patricia PotterPatricia Caroline Potter is an English actress. Best known for her role as Diane Lloyd in the popular BBC medical drama Holby City, Potter has acted on stage, television, and in film. She married her partner, doctor Jim Down, in May 2007.- Personal life :Potter grew up on a farm in Kent with her...
) followed consultant
Ric GriffinKobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
(
Hugh Quarshie- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
) to
GhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
as part of the BBC's "Africa lives" series, a week of programmes bringing an exploration of African culture to UK audiences. In 2006, an episode shot in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
featured consultant
Elliot HopeElliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
's (
Paul BradleyPaul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
) wife Gina (
Gillian BevanGillian Bevan is an English actress, best known for her roles in British television shows and West End theatre....
) committing
assisted suicideAssisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
after her
motor neurone diseaseThe motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
worsened. A 2007 episode filmed in
DubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
focussed on
Holby registrars
Jac NaylorJacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
(
Rosie MarcelRosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
) and
Joseph ByrneJoseph Charles Mortimer Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by Luke Roberts. Joseph first appeared in the 3 January 2006 episode "Mother Love", series eight, episode twelve of the programme...
(
Luke RobertsLuke Roberts is an English actor, most notable for his role as Joseph Byrne on Holby City. He has previously appeared as Captain Dan Pieterson in the Sky1 drama Mile High and before that had a principal role in the short-lived third series of the TV classic Crossroads...
) meeting new nurse
Faye MortonFaye Lindsey Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Patsy Kensit. The character first appeared on-screen on 30 January 2007 in the episode "Into the Dark" - series nine, episode 17 of the program...
(
Patsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
), and in 2008, Joseph and consultant
Linden CullenLinden Cullen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Duncan Pow. Linden appeared from series ten to twelve - January 2008 to October 2010, as the head of Holby City Hospital's surgical admissions ward.-Creation:...
(
Duncan PowDuncan Pow is a Scottish actor best known in his role in Sky One's Dream Team, as Liam Mackay the captain of Harchester United F.C. and as Linden Cullen in the BBC1 medical drama, Holby City.-Early life:...
) travelled to
Cape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
when Faye experienced difficulties there. Series producer Diana Kyle stated in November 2008 that due to major BBC budget cuts, the series would not be filming abroad again for the "foreseeable future".
Holby City is shot using the
single-camera setupThe single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, is a method of filmmaking and video production. A single camera—either motion picture camera or professional video camera—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually...
. Filming occurs from 8 am until 6 pm daily, 50 weeks a year. From July 2007 onwards, the show took on the
filmizingFilmizing is a process that makes video productions seem to have been shot on film. The term is generic and informal. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an un-intentional by-product of some optical techniques, such as telerecording.-Differences between...
technique, giving episodes the impression of having been shot on film. Kyle stated that this was intended to attract a younger audience and modernise the programme, and that there had been a "very positive" response to the change. On 28 May 2010, the BBC announced that it would be launching a
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
(HD) simulcast of BBC One from the autumn, and that
Holby City would move to HD by the end of the year. The series moved to HD broadcasting, with a
BBC HDBBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
simulcast, from the start of series 13 in October 2010.
Music
The show's eleventh series saw musical montage or "songtage" segments become standard in each episode, introduced by McHale as a means of modernising the show. Although McHale initially considered commissioning original pieces, budgetary constraints limited choices to pre-existing tracks. The use of songtages was first popularised by the US medical drama
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, however McHale stated he was unaware of this until
Holby City had already adopted the technique. Music is generally selected by each episode's scriptwriter. If the writer is not specific about which songs should be used, the producers and director will select the music in post-production. Actors also have some input:
Hugh Quarshie- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
personally selected the music he believed his character
Ric GriffinKobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
would listen to in theatre. Asked in June 2010 whether she felt songtages were appropriate for a serious drama show, Kyle responded: "Yes – sometimes. On a multi-strand series such as
Holby, they are an excellent way of telling stories visually – a moment from each – to open or close an episode or create the passing of time in a concise way for the audience." Kris Green of entertainment and media website
Digital SpyDigital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
suggested that the number of songs used per episode could be "very jarring", to which Kyle replied: "We plan to use music carefully in the future – maybe 'songtages', as above – and sourced music within a scene, that is music actually playing in the scene itself, for example on a radio – but less incidental."
Broadcast
Holby City premiered on 12 January 1999 on BBC One. Twelve series of the show have since aired, and a thirteenth began airing on 19 October 2010. The show's first series ran for nine episodes. In June 2000, then
Director-General of the BBCThe Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC.The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
Greg DykeGregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
pledged extra funding for BBC One, some of which was used for extra episodes of
Holby City. The second and third series ran for 16 and 30 episodes respectively, with new episodes then airing on a weekly basis from the fourth series onwards. Series four to nine and eleven all ran for 52 episodes, while series ten ran for 53 episodes, including the stand-alone finale episode "Mad World", set outside the hospital. Young explained of the increase in series length: "Longer runs allow you to develop really strong storylines for the regular characters. As long as you do volume with passion, it'll work." The series reached its 500th episode on 13 April 2010.
Throughout
Holby City first series, episodes were 50 minutes long. From the second series onwards, episodes have been one hour in length. The show was originally broadcast on Tuesday nights at 8.10 pm, until a switch to Thursdays occurred for the second series, which began broadcasting in November 1999. Halfway through the third series in 2001, Holby reverted back to its original Tuesday night slot, but now at 8.05 pm. Finally, the show moved into the 8 pm timeslot, where it has since remained. The show is occasionally broadcast on a different day dependent on BBC scheduling. In 2007, the show temporarily moved to Thursday nights, allowing
HolbyBlue to air in the 8 pm Tuesday timeslot. In 2008, the BBC introduced a 7 pm repeat on Wednesdays on
BBC ThreeBBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
.
Characters
Holby City follows the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at Holby General. It features an ensemble cast of regular characters, and began with eleven main characters in its first series, all of whom have since left the show. The original cast encompassed
consultantsIn the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
Muriel McKendrick (
Phyllis Logan-Education:Logan was educated at Johnstone High School in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. After school, she graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with the James Bridie Gold Medal in 1977.-Career:...
) and
Anton MeyerAnton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
(
George IrvingGeorge Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...
),
registrarsA Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Nick Jordan (Michael French) and Kirstie Collins (
Dawn McDanielDawn McDaniel is a British actress who has played Kirstie Collins in Holby City, and she has appeared in Soldier Soldier, Murphy's Law and Doctors----Other work includes* LIFE BEGINS Granada* MURPHY'S LAW BBC....
),
senior house officerA senior house officer is a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality in the British National Health Service or in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised by consultants and registrars, who oversee their training and are their designated clinical supervisors...
Victoria Merrick (
Lisa FaulknerLisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
), ward sisters Karen Newburn (
Sarah PrestonSarah Preston , is an English actress, who is best known for playing Karen Newburn in Holby City, Celia Cobb in Doctors, and Amanda Parry in EastEnders....
) and Julie Bradford (
Nicola StephensonNicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
), nurse practitioner Jasmine Hopkins (
Angela GriffinAngela Griffin is a British actress and television presenter.-Acting career:She appeared in the popular long-running British soap operas Emmerdale and most famously in Coronation Street as Fiona Middleton from 1993 to 1998...
), senior staff nurse Ray Sykes (
Ian CurtisIan Curtis is a British actor, writer and director who is better known for his lead roles in Holby City where he played Ray Sykes and Soldier Soldier in which he played Corporal Mark Hobbs...
), theatre sister Ellie Sharpe (Julie Saunders) and ward clerk Paul Ripley (
Luke MablyLuke Mably is an English actor, best known for playing Scott Lucas in Sky One's Dream Team, Prince Edvard in The Prince and Me and White in the 2009 thriller Exam. He attended the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.-Movie career:Mably portrayed White in the thriller Exam under the direction...
). New main characters have been both written in and out of the series since, with a core of 15 main actors employed on the serial at any given time.
As of the
fourteenth seriesThe fourteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City is scheduled to begin airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 October 2011 and will run for 52 episodes.-Episodes:...
, the main cast encompasses consultants
Elliot HopeElliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
(
Paul BradleyPaul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
),
Ric GriffinKobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
(
Hugh Quarshie- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
),
Jac NaylorJacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
(
Rosie MarcelRosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
), Michael Spence (
Hari DhillonHari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City.-Background:...
),
Henrik HanssenHenrik Hanssen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor Guy Henry. He first appeared in "Shifts", the premiere episode of the programme's thirteenth series, broadcast on 19 October 2010...
(Guy Henry) and
Dan HamiltonDan Hamilton is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor Adam Astill. He first appeared in the series thirteen episode "Blue Valentine", broadcast on 15 February 2011. Dan is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, who works in the general surgery ward, Keller...
(Adam Astill), registrars
Sacha LevyDr. Sacha Levy played Bob Barrett a General surgical registrar who arrives in the twelth series of the medical drama Holby City. Sacha is the father of Chrissie's son, Daniel, and has un-reciprocated feelings for Chrissie.-Storylines:...
(Bob Barrett), Greg Douglas (
Edward MacLiamEdward MacLiam is an Irish actor. He graduated from RADA in 2001 and is currently playing Greg Douglas in medical drama series Holby City. In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Medical drama series Holby City as Greg/Cal Douglas....
),
Antoine MalickAntoine Malick is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City. He is portrayed by Jimmy Akingbola, and has appeared since the series thirteen episode "Running the Gauntlet", first broadcast on 4 January 2011. A maverick registrar with a volatile temper, Malick was created to...
(
Jimmy AkingbolaJimmy Akingbola is a British television, theatre and film actor. Born in 1978 in Plaistow, London to Nigerian parents, he was the youngest of four children...
), Sahira Shah (
Laila RouassLaila Abdesselam Rouass is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Amber Gates in the British television drama Footballers' Wives and as Sarah Page in the third season of Primeval .-Career:...
) and Luc Hemmingway (
Joseph MillsonJoseph Millson is an English actor and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup.-Theatre:* The Lifted Veil at the National * Pillars of the Community at the National...
), F2 doctor
Oliver ValentineOliver Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor James Anderson. He first appeared in the eleventh series episode "Proceed With Caution", broadcast on 9 June 2009. Oliver was introduced alongside his older sister, Penny , as a Foundation...
(
James AndersonJames Anderson is a British actor.After graduating with first class honours from Warwick University, Anderson trained at the Actors' Studio in New York City. He has since had roles for TV, the stage and independent film...
), F1 doctor
Frieda PetrenkoOlga Fedori portrays ward sister Frieda Petrenko. Introduced as the cardiothoracic surgery ward's night shift sister, Frieda transfers to day shifts on the Acute Assessment Unit to cover the maternity leave of sister Chrissie Williams . Frieda has an initially antagonistic relationship with F2...
(
Olga FedoriOlga Fedori is a Ukrainian-born actress, who works in English language films and programmes. She is best known for playing Frieda Petrenko in the BBC medical drama Holby City.-Early life:...
), ward sister
Chrissie WilliamsChristine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
(
Tina HobleyTina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
), senior staff nurse Eddi McKee (
Sarah-Jane PottsSarah-Jane Potts , is an English actress, best known for her roles as Saint in Sugar Rush, as Ellie, Abs' on/off girlfriend on Casualty and as Jo Lipsett in Waterloo Road. Potts is also the sister of actor Andrew-Lee Potts, best known for his part as Connor Temple in Primeval...
) and agency nurse Chantelle Lane (
Lauren Drummond-Background:Drummond was born and brought up in Cheadle Hulme in Stockport and attended Bramhall High School before completing a Performing Arts Course at Mid Cheshire College...
).
Casting
In casting the first series of
Holby City, Young—who had previously worked on the
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s
BrooksideBrookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
and
Family AffairsFamily Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
—selected actors who were already established names in the acting industry, particularly from a soap opera background. French had starred in the BBC's
EastEnders, while Stephenson and Faulkner had starred in
Brookside. Griffin had also appeared in
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's
Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. Young explained: "Some of the best performances on screen have come out of soaps in the past few years. There is a fantastic amount of talent on those shows." This propensity for hiring established actors continued as the soap progressed, with former
BrooksideBrookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
actress
Patricia PotterPatricia Caroline Potter is an English actress. Best known for her role as Diane Lloyd in the popular BBC medical drama Holby City, Potter has acted on stage, television, and in film. She married her partner, doctor Jim Down, in May 2007.- Personal life :Potter grew up on a farm in Kent with her...
cast as registrar Diane Lloyd,
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
actor
Denis LawsonDenis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
cast as consultant Tom Campbell-Gore, and
Family AffairsFamily Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
star
Rocky MarshallRocky Marshall is a British television and film actor, living near Battersea park.-Biography:He has starred in mainstream movies such as Mr Right, Hart's War, Re-Kill and Mean Machine...
cast as SHO Ed Keating. Later roles were awarded to comedian
Adrian EdmondsonAdrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, former film actress
Patsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
, and
Jesus of Nazareth star Powell. When
Jane AsherJane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
was cast in the recurring role of Lady Byrne in 2007,
Inside SoapInside Soap is a weekly UK magazine, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas shown in the United Kingdom....
magazine asked Kyle whether the production team intentionally sought out "well-known-names". She responded: "It's lovely when we have a new member of the cast come in and bring an audience with them. But we want the best actors, and the star names we cast are always the best – which is why we go for them."
There is a casting department at Elstree Studios which casts actors for
Holby City as well as
Casualty,
EastEnders and
Doctors. The programme also has two dedicated casting directors who bring in a shortlist of actors for the producer and director to audition. Some cast members who play main characters have made previous appearances in
Holby City in minor roles. Mealing appeared as the mother of a paediatric patient in the show's fourth series, Roberts appeared as the son of a medical professor in
Holby City seventh series, and Dhillon appeared as anaesthetist Sunil Gupta in 2001. Roberts believes that his single scene in series seven was enough for him to be called in for the part of Joseph, while in contrast, Dhillon does not believe that his role contributed to his casting as Michael, but instead worried that it would work against him.
Guest stars
Holby City has featured a number of famous guest stars.
Emma SammsEmma Samms is a British television actress best known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera General Hospital and for replacing Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon Carrington Colby on the primetime soap opera Dynasty.-Early life:Samms was born in Willesden, London, England, the...
,
Antonio FargasAntonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
,
Ronald Pickup-Life and career:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode...
and Leslie Philips made appearances within the show's first few series, and
Anita DobsonAnita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
,
Peter Bowles-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
and
Susannah YorkSusannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
all appeared in the fiftieth episode. Other notable guest stars include
Paul BlackthornePaul Blackthorne is a British actor on film, television and radio. Although born in Shropshire, England, he spent his early childhood on British Military bases in both England and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television commercials in England...
,
Suzanne ShawSuzanne Shaw is an English actress, singer and television personality...
,
Geoffrey HutchingsGeoffrey Hutchings was a British stage, film and television actor.-Early life and career:Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Education at Birmingham University before he became a member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic...
,
Richard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
,
Johnny BriggsJohnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006...
,
Terence RigbyTerence Christopher Rigby was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well-known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series Softly, Softly: Taskforce...
,
Michael ObioraMichael Obiora is an English actor and writer.-Career:Michael Obiora was born on 8 October 1986 in North-West London to Nigerian-Igbo parents...
, and
Lionel JeffriesLionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life and career:Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset. In 1945, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry...
.
Richard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
appeared as patient George Woodman in the Christmas episode "Elliot's Wonderful Life",
Eric SykesEric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
played Roger Ludlow, a patient with
Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and
Phill JupitusPhillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
starred as morbidly obese patient Andy Thompson.
Kieron DyerKieron Courtney Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. Born in Ipswich, he is an attacking midfielder who played youth football for his home club before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team...
was in four episodes as an injury prone footballer,
Denise WelchJacqueline Denise Healy is an English actress, dancer and television presenter.-Early life:Denise Welch was born in Ebchester, County Durham, to father Vin and mother Ann and has a younger sister Debbie...
had a recurring role as risk manager Pam McGrath, mother of nurse Keri,
Clarke PetersClarke Peters is an American actor, singer, writer and director best known for his role as Detective Lester Freamon on the HBO drama The Wire.-Early life:...
appeared for five episodes in 2009 as the father of nurse Donna Jackson, and
Graeme GardenDavid Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
had a recurring role from 2003 to 2007 as cardiothoracic consultant Edward Loftwood.
Antonio FargasAntonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
appeared in 2003 as Victor Garrison, a patient with
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
,
Sheridan SmithSheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
appeared for six episodes in 2001 as teenage stalker Miranda Locke, and
David SoulDavid Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
made two appearances as Professor Alan Fletcher. The BBC's William Gallagher wrote in a November 2001 column that Soul's guest-appearance had begun a trend for American actors appearing in UK shows.
In 2003, the BBC reached an agreement with the actors' union Equity to cease offering walk-on drama series roles to members of the public as prizes. When an untrained person won such a role in
Holby City in a competition, Equity complained to the broadcaster that such prizes were "demeaning" to actors, depriving them of paid employment. The competition winner was allowed to visit the
Holby City set, but did not appear on-screen as a result of the policy change.
Casualty@Holby City
Reflecting
Holby City origins as a spin-off from
Casualty and the closely related premises of the two programmes, the BBC has screened occasional crossover mini-dramas entitled
Casualty@Holby City, featuring a number of characters from each of the two casts. Prior to the commissioning of
Casualty@Holby City, the two shows had occasionally crossed-over storylines and cast members before; for instance developing a romance between
Holby City Ben Saunders (
David PaisleyDavid Paisley is a Scottish actor, especially well known for roles as midwife Ben Saunders in Holby City, Ryan Taylor in Tinsel Town and most recently Rory Murdoch in River City.-Career:...
) and
Casualty Tony Vincent (
Lee WarburtonLee Warburton is a British actor, known for several ongoing television roles.He appeared in Coronation Street as Tony Horrocks, Natalie Barnes' drug addict son, played gay male nurse Tony Vincent in Casualty and its spin-off Holby City in 2003, and played Melanie Costello's violent boyfriend...
). The first full crossover was spearheaded by
Casualty executive producer Mervyn Watson, and
Holby City McHale. Logistical difficulties arose from the fact the two series are usually produced 120 miles apart, and work on both shows had to be halted for two weeks to release a number of cast members to appear in the special. A second crossover was commissioned in 2005 as part of the BBC's DoNation season, aiming to raise public awareness of
organ donationOrgan donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
and help viewers make an informed decision about whether to sign up to the Organ Donor Register. An interactive episode of
Casualty@Holby City was one of the headlining shows of the season, allowing viewers to vote by phone to determine the outcome of a fictional organ donation. The third
Casualty@Holby City crossover aired in October 2005. The four-part storyline tackled the issue of youth violence, following the events of a turbulent A&E demonstration at an inner-city school. Based on the success of the 2004
Casualty@Holby City Christmas special, another crossover was ordered for Christmas 2005. Rather than dividing the episodes between the two series' crews as had previously been standard, this crossover operated as an entirely separate production, with Kyle producing and Paul Harrison directing.
In February 2010, another crossover occurred when
Casualty Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) was operated on by
Holby City Elliot Hope after suffering a heart attack. The storyline was, however, broadcast as regular
Casualty and
Holby City episodes, rather than under the
Casualty@Holby City title.
Casualty series producer Oliver Kent commented that, while it is "fantastic" to be able to produce crossover episodes, they are logistically difficult, and it is unlikely that another
Casualty@Holby City episode will be produced in the "foreseeable future". In September 2010,
Holby City nurse
Donna JacksonDonna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
(
Jaye JacobsJaye Jacobs is a British actress.-Career:She is most famous for her role as fun loving nurse, turned Ward Sister, Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series Holby City from 2004 to 2011...
) appeared in
Casualty, and Kent hopes that characters from the two shows will begin to crossover two or three times a year.
HolbyBlue
On 27 April 2006, the BBC announced the commissioning of
Holby Blue, a police procedural spin-off from
Holby City created by
Tony JordanTony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
. Jordan contemplated that "soap snobs" may hold the series in disdain for using the
Holby brand, but concluded: "After much thought, I remembered who I was as a writer, the joy I take from surprising an audience, by subverting expectation – and
HolbyBlue was born."
Holby City was moved to Thursdays for the duration of
HolbyBlue first series, with the spin-off broadcast on Tuesday nights at 8 pm. A two-part crossover episode with
Holby City was developed for the beginning of the show's second series, broadcast in 2008. The episodes were written by McHale and Jordan, and saw
Holby City registrar Jac Naylor accused of murder. Yorke compared the crossover to the American
CSI franchise, in that: "You really believe it’s a world." While the second series attracted 5.6 million viewers with its opening episode, by the end of May 2008 viewership had fallen to 2.5 million. In August 2008, the BBC announced that due to declining ratings,
Holby Blue would not be recommissioned for a third series.
Other appearances
In June 2002, cast members from
Holby City and
Casualty competed against the
EastEnders cast for the first
Sport ReliefSport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
fundraiser, in a segment dubbed "Sport in the Square". The teams competed in events such as taxi pulling, melon tossing and a beer keg relay. The competition was televised on BBC One, and the event as a whole raised £10 million. In October 2003, BBC One aired a "Kenyon Confronts" documentary by
PanoramaPanorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
reporter Paul Kenyon, investigating hospitals run by the
Private Finance InitiativeThe private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
. He discovered many problems within the hospitals, which were dramatised by the
Holby City cast in specially commissioned scenes. March 2004 saw the station air the documentary "Making It At Holby", as part of a BBC initiative to develop new acting talent. The documentary followed the casting process of
Holby City and
Casualty, from the audition stages to the filming of the selected actors' first scenes. Young explained his casting criteria, revealing: "I try to put my head into the head of a viewer and ask: do I want to spend three years in the life of this person?" The 17 November 2006
Children in NeedChildren in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
charity
telethon included a segment featuring the
Holby City cast performing a comical version of "
Hung Up"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
" by
MadonnaMadonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. The 16 November 2007
Children in NeedChildren in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
appeal again contained a musical performance from Holby City cast members.
Sharon D ClarkeSharon D Clarke is a British theatre and television actress and singer known for her role in the UK medical drama Holby City and for taking lead roles in many West End Musicals including originating the role of the Killer Queen in Ben Elton and Queen's hit musical We Will Rock You at the Dominion...
, backed by
Nadine LewingtonNadine Lewington is a British actress, most notable for her role as Dr Young on Holby City. Raised in Witham, Essex, Nadine is the eldest daughter of Tony and Sonia Lewington. She attended the Anglo European School, Ingatestone. She has one sister, Vania....
,
Rakie AyolaRakie Ayola is a Welsh actress, best known for her role as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first rose to prominence in the lead role of the 1993 Jeanette Winterson screenplay Great Moments in Aviation...
and
Phoebe ThomasPhoebe Thomas is a British actress.Thomas made a name for herself playing Holly Curran on Night and Day from 2001 to 2003. In 2005 she went on to star in the Five soap, Family Affairs, as homeless Jane Hughes...
performed a soul version of
Aretha Franklin'sAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
signature song, "
Respect"Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told...
". On 28 June 2008,
Holby City stars competed against their
Casualty counterparts in a special charity edition of
BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
game-show
The Weakest LinkThe Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
.
Holby City and
Casualty cast members united on 20 February 2010, performing a dance rendition of "
Jai Ho"Jai Ho" is a Hindi song composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar, for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. It accompanies a choreographed dance sequence at the end credits of the film. The song also features vocals by Mahalakshmi Iyer, Tanvi Shah, Vijay Prakash, and Sukhwinder Singh, who is...
" for
Let's Dance for Sport Relief.
Critical response
Holby City has attracted comparisons to other medical dramas, often unfavourable. In November 2002, John Whiston, then head of drama at
GranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, accused the BBC of producing "ersatz parodies" of ITV drama, commenting that: "With
Holby City cloned out of
Casualty, the BBC has even ended up copying itself." Paul Hoggart of
The TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
has written that the differences between the two shows are "mild", calling
Holby City: "
Casualty cute little sister".
Kevin LygoKevin Lygo is a British television executive, presently head of studios at ITV.Educated at Cranbrook School, Kent, Lygo studied music at Durham University. On graduation he was one of three trainees to join the BBC, alongside Peter Salmon and multi-award-winning film-maker Peter Kosminsky...
, director of television at Channel 4, referred to
Holby City as "sudsy drama", deeming it,
Casualty and
HolbyBlue "all decent programmes, but strikingly similar in many aspects of their tone and construction."
Holby City has also been unfavourably compared with the American medical drama
ER. Television producer
Paul AbbottPaul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today, following his work on many popular series, including Coronation Street, Cracker and Shameless,...
has commented that although he watches
ER, he does not watch
Holby City as: "it looks like you've crammed one hour's drama into 26 episodes." In October 2009, former
Holby City writer
Peter JukesPeter Jukes is a British author, screenwriter, playwright, literary critic and blogger.-Television:Jukes' television writing has mainly been in genre of prime time thrillers or TV detective fiction, with 90 minute or two hour long stories originally broadcast on the BBC, retransmitted abroad in the...
wrote a critical piece for
ProspectProspect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
magazine, contrasting the show negatively with the standard of American television dramas. Jukes wrote that
Holby City has become a soap opera, rather than a drama, and deemed the episodes he worked on "the most dispiriting experiences in [his] 25 years as a dramatist."
On several occasions, people within the television and entertainment industry have suggested that
Holby City is a waste of the television licence fee, with some suggesting that it ought to be cancelled. In August 2002, Paul Bolt, director of the Broadcasting Standards Commission criticised BBC programming as being "humdrum" and "formulaic", saying of
Holby City and the police procedural
Mersey BeatMersey Beat was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon's classmates at Liverpool Art College...
: "One begins to wonder what really is the point of the BBC bringing this to us. Let's have something a bit different." Then head of BBC drama
Jane TranterJane Tranter is an English television executive who has been the executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base since January 2009...
responded that Bolt's examples were "highly selective" as well as "hugely patronising to the millions of viewers who enjoy popular dramas like
Holby City – week in, week out". Young, who at the time held the position of head of drama serials, told
The Guardian: "Popular drama has always been singled out for criticism, but people are increasingly voting with their on-buttons." Also in 2002, David Cox of the
New StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
criticised BBC One's 2001 Christmas schedule, for airing
Holby City against a contemporary version of
OthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. On this basis, Cox advocated the abolition of the licence fee, explaining: "The BBC was invented in a period when the elite decided what the population should know. If that has gone, then the licence fee should go too." At the 2003
Edinburgh International Television FestivalThe Edinburgh International Television Festival, founded in 1976, is held annually over the British August bank holiday weekend at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre....
, BSykB chief executive
Tony BallTony Ball is a British television executive, chairman of Kabel Deutschland and former CEO of BSkyB.-Career:Ball joined Thames Television on graduation as a broadcasting engineer. he was later a founding director of Champion TV, which launched the UK's first dedicated sports channel, The Sports...
called for stricter restrictions on how the BBC spent licence payers' money, suggesting that
Holby City be sold to the channel's commercial rivals, with the proceeds used to develop more original programming. The BBC refused Ball's suggestion, responding in a statement: "This speech clearly reflects BSkyB's view that programmes are merely a commodity to be bought and sold." In June 2004, Charles Allen, chief executive of
ITV plcITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
questioned the amount of funding spent on lengthened episodes of
Holby City, and in January 2010,
Janet Street-PorterJanet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
of
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, opined
Holby City had "come to the end of [its] natural life" and should be cancelled.
Holby City was praised by campaigners for the
Royal National Institute for Deaf PeopleAction on Hearing Loss, formerly known as The Royal National Institute for Deaf People is a charitable organization working on behalf of the UK's 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people. The head office of RNID is in Islington, Central London . Its President is Lord Ashley of Stoke. The Chief...
(RNID) in October 2003, when an episode which coincided with "Learn To Sign Week" used deaf actors, and featured characters communicating through
British Sign LanguageBritish Sign Language is the sign language used in the United Kingdom , and is the first or preferred language of some deaf people in the UK; there are 125,000 deaf adults in the UK who use BSL plus an estimated 20,000 children. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands,...
. RNID chief executive John Low stated: "Too often individuals have to rely on family members or friends to communicate complicated personal information to professionals. This is the reason the RNID is calling on the government to channel funding into the training of British Sign Language interpreters who could then be available to NHS staff treating deaf patients." Stokes commented: "The writer had a great story he wanted to tell – for us, that's what matters first and foremost." A 2008 report into ethnic diversity on television, commissioned by Channel 4, cited
Holby City as a positive example of "diverse British programm[ing]". Five years previously in 2003, former BBC host Sir Ludovic Kennedy complained that ethnic minorities were over-represented on television, prompting a BBC spokeswoman to explain that
Holby City has more ethnic characters as it is set in an area where minorities account for up to 30% of the population. According to the 2001 census, the population of Bristol - where Holby City is set - is 88% white and 12% ethnic minorities.
Realism
The show has been criticized for its lack of realism. Former nurse Vici Hoban commented in February 2004 that there existed three stereotypes with regards to nurses: "sex object, doctor's handmaiden, or angel". She felt that media portrayal had increased these misconceptions, observing that with "the syringe-toting serial killer Kelly in
Holby City, realism has never been top of TV's agenda." However, Hoban felt that the worst offender at the time was the Channel 4 medical drama
No AngelsNo Angels is a critically acclaimed British television comedy drama series, produced by the independent production company World Productions for Channel 4, which ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2006. It was devised by Toby Whithouse.-Premise:...
, which she described as: "so inaccurate that it makes
Holby City look like a factual documentary."
No Angels creator
Toby WhithouseToby Whithouse is an English actor, stand-up comedian and screenwriter. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series Being Human. He also created the Channel 4 television drama series No Angels , and has written for BBC One's Hotel Babylon and...
defended his series, stating that
Holby City presents an unfair representation of nursing, deceiving viewers into believing that nursing "is a nice, clean job full of handsome doctors." Whithouse observed that the content of
Holby City is defined by the watershed, describing real nursing work in contrast as "very post-watershed". In November 2009, Antony Sumara, CEO of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, wrote a column criticizing
Holby City for misrepresenting real hospital life.
Tom SutcliffeThomas Sutcliffe is a British journalist and arts broadcaster.Sutcliffe studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
of
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reviewed a December 2009 episode poorly, finding it "astonishing" that any patients leave Holby General alive, as the staff are "so busy looking stricken or lovelorn at each other".
In December 2003,
The Times Libby Purves wrote a critical opinion piece, observing that
Holby City medical staff are often depicted getting drunk in clubs, but afterwards are able to function properly at work, and that as a result, alcohol "is made to look innocent". In October 2004, Canon
Kenyon WrightCanon Kenyon Wright is a retired Episcopalian clergyman who chaired the Scottish Constitutional Convention, that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1997.-Life and career:...
, chair of Alcohol Focus Scotland, criticised an episode of
Holby City which saw doctors downing tequila slammers, stating that it glamorised irresponsible drinking. Similarly, in October 2007, drinks' industry body the
Portman GroupThe Portman Group is a trade group composed of alcoholic beverage producers and brewers in the UK.-History:It was set up in 1989 as part of a campaign to raise awareness of alcohol-related issues, and its members account for the majority of alcohol products sold in the UK...
made an official complaint to communications regulator
OfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
about a scene in
Holby City which depicted two medics drinking five shots of tequila following a stressful day at work. The body's chief executive David Poley claimed that in failing to show the negative consequences of this action, the series was presenting a "highly irresponsible portrayal of excessive and rapid drinking". Ofcom received a total of eight complaints about the incident.
Holby City has also been accused of medical inaccuracies. The
British Medical AssociationThe British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
denounced a January 2004 episode of the serial which portrayed
organ donationOrgan donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
being carried out despite withdrawal of consent by the patient's relatives. Dr Michael Wilks, chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee stated: "This simply would not happen, but its portrayal, even in a drama, is totally irresponsible and risks causing huge damage to the already struggling transplant programme." The British Medical Association later opined that the show was giving viewers an unrealistic impression of resuscitation by typically presenting only two outcomes, death or total recovery. Andrew Thomson, a Dundee GP, deemed this "a terrible distortion of the truth." In a follow-up story for
The Times, Vivienne Parry highlighted the fact that in reality, less than half of patients who require resuscitation survive the initial catastrophe and only a third of those live to leave hospital. At the
Royal College of NursingThe Royal College of Nursing is a union membership organisation with over 395,000 members in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1916, receiving its Royal Charter in 1928, Queen Elizabeth II is the patron...
(RCN) conference in Bournemouth in April 2010,
Holby City was accused of fostering unrealistic expectations of the NHS, encouraging patients to believe in miracles and fuelling compensation culture. Accident and emergency nurse John Hill stated: "In A&E it is sometimes a fact that sadly we cannot get people through the trauma they have received. Unfortunately, unlike in
Holby City, I am a mere mortal and cannot perform miracles. But many relatives believe because of that, you can. And the injury lawyers assure them that if you don't they will get recompense for it."
Impact
In October 2000, Dr John Ryan, an Accident & Emergency consultant at the
Royal Sussex County HospitalThe Royal Sussex County Hospital is an acute teaching hospital in Brighton, England. Together with the Princess Royal Hospital , it is administered by the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust...
in
BrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
criticised the number of patients visiting the department for minor ailments without first contacting their
GPA general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
. Ryan attributed this phenomenon to patients viewing
Holby City and
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
medical drama
ERER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, and falsely perceiving hospitals as glamorous. A three year Belgian research project, presented at a
British Psychological SocietyThe British Psychological Society is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. The BPS is also a Registered Charity and, along with advantages, this also imposes certain constraints on what the society can and cannot do...
meeting in September 2008, claimed that watching
Holby City and similar medical dramas such as
Casualty and
ER had a subliminal influence on fear of illness. 1,300 teenagers were questioned on their viewing habits, and those who watched more medical dramas were found to be up to 10% more fearful about their health, with females more affected than males. Dr Jan Van Mierlo of
Hasselt UniversityHasselt University is a university with campuses in Hasselt and Diepenbeek, Belgium. It was founded in 1971, as the Limburgs Universitair Centrum...
stated that further research was needed into the long-term impact of television.
In 2008,
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
strategists identified four archetypes based on TV programmes to help the party target swing voters. Alongside "
Top Gear man", "
Apprentice generation" and "
Grand DesignsGrand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
couple", they identified "
Holby City worker", a middle-ranking health service employee. The following year, strategists identified "
Holby City womanHolby City woman was a voter demographic which was identified by Conservative Party strategists in the United Kingdom as a key group of voters of the Conservative Party in the 2010 General Election. The term is taken from the fictional BBC hospital drama Holby City, which is set in South West...
" as a key voter demographic who may help the party win the 2010 General Election. The "Holby City woman" is a female voter in her 30s or 40s, employed in a clinical or clerical position or some other public sector job. She is a swing voter in General Elections, who has voted for the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in previous elections, though her identification with the Labour Party is not strong. The "Holby City woman" archetype is modelled on the character of
Faye MortonFaye Lindsey Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Patsy Kensit. The character first appeared on-screen on 30 January 2007 in the episode "Into the Dark" - series nine, episode 17 of the program...
.
In January 2009, Jill Berry, president of the
Girls' Schools AssociationThe Girls' Schools Association is the professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools in the UK and overseas and is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council .-History:...
and head teacher at the
Dame Alice Harpur SchoolDame Alice Harpur School is an independent girls school in Bedford, United Kingdom, for girls aged 11-18. In September 2010 the junior department of the school merged with the junior department of Bedford High School...
in Bedford, attributed medical dramas such as
Holby City as an inspiring force in increasing numbers of female students deciding to pursue careers in medicine. Berry explained: "The girls see that as an exciting and dynamic way of life. They see it as making a difference to people's lives. It gives them a sense sometimes of the pressures, responsibility and adrenaline. Such TV programmes can be good, as long as they give a realistic impression." Similarly, consultant surgeon Andrew Raftery uses clips from
Holby City as part of the
University of SheffieldThe University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
Outreach and Access to Medicine Scheme, to inspire pupils from under-represented social and educational backgrounds to pursue careers in medicine.
Awards and nominations
Holby City has been nominated for over 100 awards, of which it has won six. The series has received five nominations for the
British Academy Television AwardsThe British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
, winning one. Minkie Spiro was nominated for the "Best New Director (Fiction)" award in 2003 for her work on the series. The show itself was nominated for the "Best Continuing Drama" award in 2004, 2005 and 2006, winning in 2008. McHale commented on the win: "It's fantastic not being the bridesmaid", hoping that the award would help to make the serial "less of a guilty pleasure".
Holby City received multiple BBC Drama Award nominations between 2002 and 2006. Its best results saw the show voted fifth "Best Drama" in 2004 and 2006.
Amanda MealingAmanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
was voted fourth "Best Actress" in 2006 for her role as
Connie BeauchampConstance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
, and the "
Casualty@Holby CityCasualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
" moment where doctor Jim Brodie (
Maxwell CaulfieldMaxwell Caulfield is a British film, stage, and television actor who is based in the United States, known for his roles as Michael Carrington in Grease 2 and as Miles Colby in The Colbys and its parent show Dynasty . He has more than 70 film, stage and television credits. He starred in Ronald F...
) sacrifices his life for midwife Rosie Sattar (
Kim VithanaKim Vithana is a British actress who played Rosie Sattar in Holby City from 2003 to 2005, Doctor Bannerjee in Coronation Street, Yvonne in Always and Everyone, and she has also been in Casualty, Cracker, Love Hurts, Dangerfield, Specials and North Square...
) was voted viewers' fourth "Favourite Moment" of 2004. The series has been nominated for the "Best Drama" award at the
Inside Soap AwardsThe Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
on six occasions—in 2004, then concurrently from 2006 to 2010.
Holby City has received multiple long-list nominations at the
National Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
(NTAs) and
TV Choice Awards. Mealing was short-listed for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award at the 2005 NTAs, and for the "Best Actress" award at the 2008
TV Choice Awards. At the 2000 Royal Television Society Awards, Sean De Sparengo and Richard Gort were nominated for the "Best Graphic Design – Titles" award for their contribution to the series. The show itself was nominated in the "Soap and Continuing Drama" category at the 2007 awards.
Holby City was nominated "Best Serial Drama" at the 2008
Digital Spy Soap AwardsThe Digital Spy Soap Awards was an event that honoured the successes in British soap operas in 2007-8. It was hosted by the entertainment website Digital Spy....
, and in 2009,
Stella GonetStella Gonet is a Scottish theatre, film and TV actress.- Career :Gonet trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and is known for playing Beatrice Eliott, one of the two lead roles, in three series of the television drama, The House Of Eliott and Chief Executive Officer Jayne...
was nominated for the "Acting Performance in TV (Female)" award at the British Academy Scotland Awards for her role as CEO
Jayne GraysonJayne Grayson is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Stella Gonet. The character first appeared on-screen on 10 July 2007 in episode "Under the Radar" - series 9, episode 39 of the programme...
. In 2010, the series was shortlisted in the "Best Television Continuing Drama" category at the
Writers' Guild of Great BritainThe Writers' Guild of Great Britain, established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds .-Activities:...
Awards.
At the
Ethnic Multicultural Media AwardsEMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
,
Angela GriffinAngela Griffin is a British actress and television presenter.-Acting career:She appeared in the popular long-running British soap operas Emmerdale and most famously in Coronation Street as Fiona Middleton from 1993 to 1998...
won "Best Actress" in 2000 for her role as nurse Jasmine Hopkins, and was nominated "Best TV Actress" in 2002, alongside co-star
Thusitha JayasunderaThusitha Jayasundera is a Sri Lankan actress based in the United Kingdom.Thusitha played Tushura 'Tash' Bandara in the BBC Hospital Drama Holby City for three years. She later played Ramani DeCosta in the ITV1 police drama The Bill....
for her role as registrar Tash Bandara. In 2004,
Art MalikArt Malik is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant-Ivory television serials and films...
won the "Best TV Actor" award for his role as anaesthetist Zubin Khan. Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal of
The Times criticised Malik's award, opining that: "A show such as
Holby City doesn't merit any recognition." The show has won three
Screen NationThe Screen Nation Film & TV Awards was founded in 2003 by , as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international film and television talent....
Awards, and received nominations for a further seven.
Jaye JacobsJaye Jacobs is a British actress.-Career:She is most famous for her role as fun loving nurse, turned Ward Sister, Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series Holby City from 2004 to 2011...
won the "Emerging Talent" award in 2005 for her role as nurse
Donna JacksonDonna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
. In 2006,
Rakie AyolaRakie Ayola is a Welsh actress, best known for her role as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first rose to prominence in the lead role of the 1993 Jeanette Winterson screenplay Great Moments in Aviation...
and
Hugh Quarshie- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
were nominated for the Female and Male "Performance in TV" awards for their roles as
Kyla TysonKyla Tyson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rakie Ayola. She appeared from 7 February 2006 to 9 December 2008, from the series eight episode "I'll Be Back" to the series eleven episode "Sweet Bitter Love"...
and
Ric GriffinKobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
respectively. Sharon D. Clarke won the 2007 "Female Performance in TV" award for her role as Lola Griffin, while
Ginny HolderGinny Holder is an actress best known for playing Thandie Abebe-Griffin on the BBC medical drama series Holby City.-References:...
was nominated in the same category for her role as Thandie Abebe, and Ayola received an Honourable Mention. Also in 2007,
Roger GriffithsRoger Griffiths is a British actor who has had several roles in television.He first rose to prominence opposite Lenny Henry as Gareth Blackstock's foil Everton Stonehead in Chef!...
was nominated for the "Male Performance in TV" award for his role as Harvey Tyson, and Quarshie received an Honourable Mention in the same category. Quarshie went on to win "Favourite Male TV Star" in 2008. Also in 2008, Jacobs was nominated for the "Favourite Female TV Star" award, Ayola was nominated in the "Female Performance in TV" category, and the show itself was nominated for the "Diversity in Drama Production" award.
Ratings
| Series |
Episodes |
Premiere |
Finale |
Viewers
(in millions) |
Notes |
| 1 |
9 |
|
|
9.27 |
|
| 2 The second series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 25 November 1999, and concluded on 9 March 2000.-Production:...
|
16 |
|
|
8.98 |
|
| 3 The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
|
30 |
|
|
7.82 |
|
| 4 |
52 |
|
|
7.67 |
|
| 5 |
52 |
|
|
7.78 |
|
| 6 |
52 |
|
|
7.68 |
|
| 7 |
52 |
|
|
7.04 |
|
| 8 |
52 |
|
|
6.42 |
|
| 9 |
52 |
|
|
5.87 |
|
| 10 |
53 |
|
|
5.62 |
|
| 11 |
52 |
|
|
5.44 |
|
| 12 |
55 |
|
|
5.62 |
|
| 13 The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 October 2010, and ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 11 October 2011.-Episodes:...
|
52 |
|
|
6.56 |
|
External links
- Holby City at Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
- Holby City at What's on TV
What's on TV is a weekly television listings magazine published by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.-Overview:What's on TV is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and competitions...