Holby City is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999; the show ran until 29 March 2022. It follows the lives of medical and ancillary staff at the fictional Holby City Hospital, the same hospital as Casualty, in the fictional city of Holby, and features occasional crossovers of characters and plots with both Casualty and the show's 2007 police procedural spin-off HolbyBlue. It began with eleven main characters in its first series, all of whom subsequently left the show. New main characters were then periodically written in and out, with a core of around fifteen main actors employed at any given time. In casting the first series, Young sought actors who were already well known in the television industry, something which has continued throughout its history, with cast members including Patsy Kensit, Jane Asher, Robert Powell, Ade Edmondson and John Michie.
Casualty@Holby City (styled as CASUAL+Y @ HOLBY CI+Y) is a series of 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 broadcast until 26 December 2004. As of 27 December 2005, four crossover specials have been aired, comprising nine episodes total. Although further crossovers of storylines and characters have since occurred, they have not been broadcast under the Casualty@Holby City title.
The first series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 January 1999, and concluded on 9 March 1999. The show was created by Mal Young and Tony McHale as a spin–off from the BBC medical drama Casualty, intended to follow the treatment of patients from Casualty as they were transferred onto the hospital's surgical wards. McHale served as the programme's lead writer throughout the first series, which ran for nine episodes. Young cast actors who were already established names in the acting industry, particularly from a soap opera background. Several cast members shadowed real surgeons and nurses in preparation for their roles to increase the show's realism. The series received mixed reviews from critics. It was compared favourably with Casualty, but received negative reviews in which it was contrasted poorly with the American medical drama ER. The series première attracted 10.72 million viewers, falling to 8.51 million by the series finale.
The eighth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 October 2005, and concluded on 17 October 2006.
The twelfth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 20 October 2009. The series deals with the repercussions of the death of ward sister Faye Byrne's son Archie, including the resignation of consultant Connie Beauchamp and the return of former registrar Thandie Abebe-Griffin. It also focuses on staff members' romantic and family lives. F1 Oliver Valentine becomes romantically involved with registrar Jac Naylor and ward sister Daisha Anderson, and his sister Penny embarks on a secret romance with a heart transplant patient. Consultant Linden Cullen is reunited with his estranged daughter Holly, nurse Donna Jackson decides to adopt her half-niece Mia, sister Chrissie Williams gives birth to a son, Daniel, and Faye becomes pregnant by her estranged husband Joseph. The series includes a crossover episode with sister show Casualty and it also has the highest number of episodes to date, as the series contains a small number of episodes which air during the same week.
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.
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 5 June 2001.
HolbyBlue was a British police procedural drama series that ran for two series from 2007 to 2008. The show revolves around the daily lives of a number of police officers working at Holby South police station. The cast for series one included Jimmy Akingbola as PC Neil Parker, Joe Jacobs as PC William "Billy" Jackson, David Sterne as Sergeant Edward 'Mac' McFadden, Cal Macaninch as DI John Keenan, James Hillier as Sergeant Christian Young, Kacey Ainsworth as Inspector Jenny Black, Richard Harrington as DS Luke French, Zöe Lucker as Kate Keenan, Chloe Howman as PC Kelly Cooper, Kieran O'Brien as PC Robert Clifton, Tim Pigott-Smith as DCI Harry Hutchinson, Sara Powell as Rachel Barker and Elaine Glover as PC Lucy Slater. Velibor Topić and Julie Cox joined the cast in a recurring capacity as drug baron Neculai Stenga and Mandy French, Luke French's wife. By the end of series one, Pigott-Smith and Topic both departed the show. Series two saw the introductions of Oliver Milburn as DCI Scott Vaughan and James Thornton as Constable Jake Loughton. Stephanie Langton took over from Julie Cox in series two to continue playing the role of Mandy.
"New Lands, New Beginnings" is the 38th episode of the tenth series of the UK medical drama Holby City. It was written by the programme's creator, Tony McHale, directed by Fraser Macdonald, and premiered on BBC Scotland on 23 June 2008.
The fourteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 October 2011 and concluded on 9 October 2012. The series ran for 52 episodes.
The fifteen series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 16 October 2012. The series ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 8 October 2013. Many characters departed and arrived during the series.
"Hello, I Must Be Going" is the thirty-fourth episode of the thirtieth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty, and the 995th episode of the overall series. The episode was written by Jeff Povey and directed by Steve Hughes, and premiered on BBC One on 7 May 2016. The episode features the departure of established character Zoe Hanna, an ED consultant, who left the show after nine years. Sarker's departure was kept secret until transmission in order to surprise viewers. Producers were upset when Sarker announced her decision to leave, but ensured writers created a good story for the character.
The twentieth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2018, and concluded on 27 December 2018. The series consists of 52 episodes; a decrease from the previous series. Kate Hall serves as the series producer, while Simon Harper continued his role as the executive producer. Fifteen cast members reprised their roles from the previous series. Four actors departed during the series, including long-standing cast member James Anderson. Catherine Russell reprised her role as Serena Campbell from episode six. Throughout the series, multiple characters returned for guest stints, including Zosia March, Bernie Wolfe and Mo Effanga.
"Man Down" is the thirty-fifth episode of the twentieth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City, and the 938th episode of the overall series. The episode was written by Michelle Lipton and directed by Tracey Rooney, and premiered on BBC One on 28 August 2018. The plot sees Sacha Levy, who has depression, contemplate suicide on the roof of Holby City Hospital after the death of long-term patient Connor Barrat, with who he has bonded with. The episode features flashbacks to scenes set at key moments within the previous year, which are portrayed from Sacha's perspective. Lipton reread scripts from the past year when developing the flashbacks.
The twenty-first series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began Airing on BBC One on 2 January 2019 in the United Kingdom. The series consists of 53 episodes. Kate Hall acts as the series producer for episode one and was replaced by Jane Wallbank from the following episode; Simon Harper is the executive producer. The series is billed as an anniversary year for the drama as it celebrates twenty years since its launch. The series also features a crossover episode with sister show Casualty, an episode written by the show's co-creator Tony McHale and the show's 1000th episode, due to be broadcast in November 2019. Thirteen actors reprise their roles from the previous series and former cast members return for guest stints throughout the series. Three new regular characters were also introduced, while Nic Jackman was promoted to the main cast in his role as foundation doctor Cameron Dunn.
The twenty-second series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began on BBC One on 7 January 2020 in the United Kingdom. The series consists of 44 episodes. Jane Wallbank is the series producer, and Simon Harper is the executive producer. The series features an episode dedicated to Holocaust Memorial Day, a topical last-minute insert about the COVID-19 pandemic and a COVID-19-themed episode. Production for the drama was suspended between March and July 2020 due to the pandemic, which led to two transmission hiatuses during the series. Fifteen regular cast members reprised their roles from the previous series, four of which depart during the series, including long-serving cast members Hugh Quarshie and Rosie Marcel. Guy Self returns for a short stint and Raf di Lucca appears in a single episode, having been previously killed-off. The series also features the introduction of the show's first regular transgender character, Louis McGerry, and a guest appearance for actor and television personality John Barrowman as Drew Nicholson-Heath.
