Children's Hospital | |
---|---|
Genre | Docu-soap [1] |
Theme music composer | Debbie Wiseman |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 12 |
No. of episodes | 114 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jeremy Mills [2] |
Producers | Richard Bradley [3] Tracy Cook |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One |
Original release | 19 October 1993[3] – 26 February 2003 |
Children's Hospital is a British television fly-on-the-wall documentary series based at the Sheffield Children's Hospital, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. [4] It was broadcast on BBC One between 19 October 1993 and 26 February 2003.
According to scholar Annette Hill, the series had "all the hallmarks of a docu-soap", saying its "personal, melodramatic stories appeal to viewers, with more than 8 million tuning into the first series, despite widespread criticism from the press." [5] Peter Lee-Wright observes that the series marked a transition in fly-on-the-wall documentaries by shifting the emphasis from the practical considerations onto the "human dramas being played out ... [capturing] the pain of the children ... and their parents' rollercoaster rides." [6]
The theme music was composed by Debbie Wiseman. The music was released as a CD single in 1997, containing full orchestral and piano versions of the theme, alongside the shorter versions used for the opening and closing sequences. [7] The orchestral version was also released on the compilation album World of Sound . [8] A new solo piano performance, titled "Ray of Sunshine", of the theme was included on the 2011 album Wiseman: Piano Stories. [9]
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 October 1993 | 21 December 1993 | 10 |
2 | 20 October 1994 | 22 December 1994 | 10 |
3 | 7 January 1997 | 3 June 1997 | 20 |
4 | 3 September 1997 | 10 October 1997 | 6 |
5 | 21 April 1998 | 17 June 1998 | 12 |
6 | 7 September 1998 | 9 November 1998 | 10 |
7 | 27 April 1999 | 8 July 1999 | 10 |
8 | 18 January 2000 | 29 February 2000 | 6 |
9 | 27 June 2000 | 1 August 2000 | 6 |
10 | 13 June 2001 | 15 August 2001 | 8 |
11 | 26 June 2002 | 7 August 2002 | 6 |
12 | 22 January 2003 | 26 February 2003 | 6 |
Entitle | Air Date |
---|---|
(Update) | 22 December 1997 |
Philadelphia | 8 December 1999 |
Russia with Jeremy Spake | 10 December 1999 |
Christmas Special | 20 December 1999 |
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