Doctors is a British medical soap opera, first broadcast on BBC One on 26 March 2000, and concluded on 14 November 2024. Filmed in Birmingham and set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff of both an NHS doctor's surgery and a university campus surgery, as well as the lives of their families and friends. Initially, only 41 episodes of the programme were ordered, but due to the positive reception, the BBC ordered it as a continuing soap opera. Doctors was filmed at the Pebble Mill Studios until 2004; production then relocated to the BBC Drama Village, where it filmed until 2024. Episodes are filmed three months prior to transmission. The show was typically broadcast Mondays to Thursdays at 2:00 pm on BBC One, as well as having classic episodes broadcast on Drama. It took three annual transmission breaks across the year: at Easter, during the summer and at Christmas.
Dr. Jimmi Clay is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Adrian Lewis Morgan. The actor joined the cast shortly after his role in Holby City came to an end. Morgan was a fan of the soap and was pleased to audition for a regular part. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 September 2005 and has gone on to become the programme's longest serving cast member. Upon his introduction, Jimmi is portrayed as being recently separated from his wife and being new to the medical profession. Jimmi has obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and Morgan carried out his own research into the disorder to help his portrayal. He later admitted that Jimmi's OCD had begun to impact his own life.
Dr. Daniel Granger is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Matthew Chambers. Daniel was introduced as a general practitioner at the Mill Health Centre on 18 June 2007. His storylines in the programme have included his addiction to gambling, on-off relationship with Zara Carmichael, becoming a father and suffering from post-natal depression, briefly going to prison and becoming a partner at the Mill Health Centre. Chambers departed the soap in 2023 after 16 years in the role.
Rob Hollins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Chris Walker. Rob was introduced as a police sergeant at Letherbridge police station and made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 24 July 2009. Rob is the husband of Karen Hollins, a receptionist at the fictional Mill Health Centre, as well as the father of Imogen and Jack Hollins. Rob is depicted as a dependable family man and it has been noted that whenever another character needs advice, Rob would always be there to help. Rob's storyline in the programme has included disagreeing with Karen on aborting their baby, accidentally causing his wife's amnesia, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), becoming a foster parent, being accused of police brutality, and the breakdown and reconciliation of his marriage. Rob's PTSD was explored over the duration of a year with the climax coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Week in 2018, with the storyline being revisited in 2021.
Valerie Pitman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Sarah Moyle. Valerie was introduced as a temporary receptionist at the fictional Mill Health Centre on 15 October 2012. Valerie is depicted as a kind, nosy and humorous character who enjoys getting involved in other people's lives. Her backstory involves growing up as an only child with no friends who dresses differently to other people, so since she feels like an outsider, she is desperate to be part of a unit of loved ones. Moyle was originally contracted on the soap as a recurring character, but after a positive reaction from viewers, she was promoted to a regular cast member. One of the storylines that accredited to her popularity was an issue-led storyline that saw Valerie diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma. Moyle felt honoured to be given the storyline and found it interesting to play the storyline from a comedic perspective.
Dr. Al Haskey is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Ian Midlane. He first appeared during the episode broadcast on 13 November 2012. His storylines in the programme have included being accused of stalking Jas Khella, his friendship with colleague Jimmi Clay, dealing with his mother's dementia, his tumultuous relationships and being attacked by a patient.
Bear Sylvester is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Dex Lee. Lee began filming for the role in June 2019 and Bear made his first appearance on 18 November 2019, in scenes that show him attending an interview to become the practice manager at the fictional Mill Health Centre. Bear's initial scenes show him struggling with the job for unknown reasons, but he is eventually diagnosed with dyslexia. He is also shown to have an issue with colleague Jimmi Clay and it transpires in the years prior to his arrival, Jimmi gave abortion advice to Bear's girlfriend.
Izzie Torres is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors. Izzie has been played by four actresses since her onscreen arrival; Jasmin and Nicole Parkinson between 2008 and 2011, Maizey Corbett in 2012, and Bethan Moore from 2018 to 2022. Her storylines in the programme have included being left in the Mill Health Centre as a baby, being kidnapped, her feud with Zara Carmichael, becoming an environmental activist, coming out as pansexual and being the victim of online trolling. When Moore was cast in the role, her age meant that Izzie could be given more mature storylines and she later received a nomination for the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2019.
William Price is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sid Sumner in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. Prior to joining Hollyoaks, Price appeared in various theatre productions including Goodnight Mister Tom and To Kill a Mockingbird. For his role as Sid, he was nominated for a National Television Award for Serial Drama Performance.
Luca McIntyre is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Ross McLaren. Luca is introduced to the series on 24 February 2021 following the departure of nurse Ayesha Lee the year prior. McLaren's acting credits confirmed that he had been contracted as a series regular on the soap. McLaren felt thrilled to be cast on Doctors and has described Luca as a cheeky and lovely character who would "go the extra mile" to help a patient. Luca's introduction sees him feature in a standalone centric episode that explores his background, including experiencing homophobia in his former workplace and suffering a car accident that ends the life of his boyfriend Billy Parker. His background also involves a religious upbringing and a bad relationship with his mother, and later scenes in the series reveal that Luca is HIV-positive, which he initially receives a negative response to from patients of the Mill Health Centre.
Dr. Princess Buchanan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Laura White. Details surrounding her casting and Princess' characterisation were announced in February 2022. She was introduced on 2 March 2022 as a trainee doctor at Sutton Vale Surgery, as part of a storyline that sees the partners at the fictional Mill Health Centre perform a takeover of her surgery. Princess is initially depicted as a hardworking and ambitious doctor who is keen to learn medicine and progress her career, but over her tenure, she was developed into an antagonist on the soap. Her scheming included flirting with various staff members to further her career, manipulating Valerie Pitman and Sid Vere into completing work for her, covering up mistakes with patients and blackmailing Scarlett Kiernan, all of which contribute towards a suspension.
![Doctors cast in 2002, all of whom departed before 2024. (Back row, L-R: Marc Eliot (Tom Butcher), Helen Thompson (Corrinne Wicks), Jude Carlyle, Faith Walker ([Eve Fontaine]), (Natalie J. Robb), Kate McGuire (Maggie Cronin), Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy), Ben Kwarme (Ariyon Bakare). Front row, L-R: Kali Hamanda (Nicole Arumugam) and Katrina Bullen (Tabitha Wady). Doctors cast 2002.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Doctors_cast_2002.jpg/250px-Doctors_cast_2002.jpg)