Bodies is a British television medical drama produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. Created by Jed Mercurio, the series first broadcast on 23 June 2004, and is based on Mercurio's book of the same name. The series is centred on specialist registrar Rob Lake, who starts in a new post in the Obstetrics and gynaecology department at the fictional South Central Infirmary, under the guidance of consultant obstetrician Roger Hurley.
Hat Trick Productions Limited is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. The company's logo is depicted as a rabbit pulling a man out of a hat instead of the other way around.
A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over the production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing. In scripted comedy and drama TV shows, the showrunner also usually serves as the head writer. The role of a showrunner is not present on all television series, especially outside the US; this article describes the nature of the role where it is present.
David Peter Renwick is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer. He created the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek. He was awarded the Writers Guild Ronnie Barker Award at the 2008 British Comedy Awards.
Clare Julia Hawes, known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including Our Mutual Friend (1998) and Tipping the Velvet (2002), Hawes rose to fame for her portrayal of Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks (2002–2004), followed by her co-lead performance as DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). She is also known for her roles in Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty as DI Lindsay Denton (2014–2016) and in BBC One drama Bodyguard (2018), in which she played Home Secretary Julia Montague.
Kenneth Charles Cope is an English retired actor and scriptwriter. He is best known for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Jed Stone in Coronation Street, Ray Hilton in Brookside, Sid in The Damned and as a member of the Carry On Team.
William Mellor is an English actor, singer and model. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks, Gaz Wilkinson in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanner in No Offence, Steve Connolly in Broadchurch, Georgie in Barking! and Ollie Curry in White Van Man. He appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Harvey Gaskell. In 2024, he appeared as sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, about the British Post Office scandal.
Ultimate Force is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS. The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four series were produced. The series starred Ross Kemp as central character Staff Sergeant Henry 'Henno' Garvie. The show was initially described as a star vehicle for Kemp, who had been lured away from the BBC to ITV with a multimillion-pound contract. Kemp appeared in every episode of the four series.
Michael John Elphick was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1983 film Gorky Park. With his gruff Sussex accent and lip-curling sneer, he often played menacing hard men.
Cardiac Arrest is a British medical drama series produced by World Productions for BBC One. It aired from April 1994 to June 1996. The show focused on the lives and challenges of junior doctors working in a hospital setting and was known for its realistic and sometimes dark portrayal of the medical profession. The series was controversial owing to its cynical depiction of doctors, nurses and the National Health Service (NHS), although it has often topped polls of the UK medical profession as the best medical drama of all time.
Tony Grounds is a British playwright and screenwriter, who has worked extensively in television. Described by The Independent as "the best TV writer of his generation", Grounds has written for all four of Britain's main channels.
Gerald Gary Mercurio is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mercurio was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Television Society and the Baird Medal by RTS Midlands.
The Bill is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, Woodentop, broadcast on 16 August 1983.
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress. She is best known for her multiple roles in The Bill, as Sheron Dawson in Benidorm, and Gail in Two Doors Down.
Christopher John Hall is an English television producer. He has produced dramas primarily for the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 networks, and worked for major British production companies, including Kudos, Carnival Films, Hat Trick Productions, World Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions.
Line of Duty is a British police procedural and serial drama created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It first began broadcasting on BBC Two on 26 June 2012. The programme performed well and was quickly commissioned for additional series that aired in 2014 and 2016. After becoming the highest-rated series on BBC Two in 10 years, Line of Duty was promoted to BBC One beginning with the fourth series in 2017 and fifth in 2019, securing commissions through a sixth series, which concluded on 2 May 2021, after the programme had aired a total of 36 episodes.
Bodyguard is a British political thriller television series created and written by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions as part of ITV Studios for the BBC. The six-part series centres around the fictional character of Police Sergeant David Budd, a British Army war veteran suffering from PTSD, who is now working for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service. He is assigned as the principal protection officer (PPO) for the ambitious Home Secretary Julia Montague, whose politics he despises. The series draws attention to controversial issues such as government monitoring of private information and its regulation, the politics of intervention and terrorism, and PTSD.
Stephen, also titled Conviction: The Case of Stephen Lawrence, is a 2021 British three-part limited crime drama TV series. It is the sequel to the 1999 TV film The Murder of Stephen Lawrence. It stars Steve Coogan, Sharlene Whyte and Hugh Quarshie. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Joe Cottrell Boyce and directed by Alrick Riley. The series was produced for ITV by HTM Television, a joint venture between Hat Trick Productions and the producer Jed Mercurio.
DI Ray is a 2022 British police procedural television series, known in Canada as D. I. Ray. The series was created and written by Maya Sondhi and produced by Jed Mercurio. DI Ray stars Parminder Nagra in the title role as a detective inspector in a fictitious Birmingham-based police force. The cast also includes Gemma Whelan and Jamie Bamber. The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022. The second series aired from 16 June 2024.
Breathtaking is a British medical drama television series, written by Rachel Clarke, Jed Mercurio, and Prasanna Puwanarajah, based on Clarke's 2021 memoir of the same name on the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It stars Joanne Froggatt and was directed by Craig Viveiros.
