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.
Christopher Timothy is a British actor and narrator. He is known for his roles as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small, Mac McGuire in the BBC One daytime soap opera Doctors and Ted Murray in the BBC One primetime soap opera EastEnders.
Charlie Stubbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Bill Ward. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 10 November 2003 and last appearance on 15 January 2007.
Julia Parsons is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Diane Keen. She was introduced as the ex-wife of Mac McGuire who begins working as a receptionist at the Riverside Health Centre alongside him. She met with Doctors producers in September 2002 where she was offered the role of Julia for a three-month stint. She made her onscreen debut on 13 January 2003 and her storylines throughout her tenure see Julia get remarried to Mac, become the practice manager of the surgery and expanding their endeavours, getting accused of blowing up their surgery, a second divorce from Mac and meeting a new love interest in Martin Millar.
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.
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.
The third series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 3 September 2001 and 22 May 2002. It consisted of 129 episodes. The series saw multiple castings due to a large amount of cast exits in the previous series. These included new regulars Ariyon Bakare, Tabitha Wady, Natalie J. Robb, Tom Butcher and Nicole Arumugam, amongst other recurring cast members. Wady and Arumugam departed from their roles at the conclusion of the series. The series received an average of 2.5 million viewers.
The fifth series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 1 September 2003 and 14 June 2004. It consisted of 182 episodes. The series saw Natalie J. Robb leave her role as Jude Carlyle after three years on the series. She was followed by original cast member Maggie Cronin, who departed from her role as Kate McGuire. It also saw the castings of two new receptionists: Akemnji Ndifornyen as Nathan Bailey), who also doubled as the estranged son of established Ben Kwarme, and Andrea Green as Sarah Finch. The series five episode "Say a Little Prayer" also became Doctors' first win at the British Soap Awards, claiming the Best Single Episode accolade in 2004. Finch then won the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer a year later for her role as Sarah.
The seventh series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 18 April 2005 and 13 April 2006. It consisted of 185 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery. This was the first series of Doctors to have Will Trotter as executive producer, following the resignation of original executive producer Mal Young at the end of the previous series.
The eighth series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 24 April 2006 and 13 April 2007. It consisted of 185 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery. The series saw the departure of the last remaining original cast member when Christopher Timothy quit his role as Mac McGuire. Fellow original Maggie Cronin reprised her role as Kate McGuire to aid in his exit storyline. Alongside Timothy, numerous other regulars departed in the series, which resulted in the castings of new regular cast members Donnaleigh Bailey, Stephen Boxer and Martha Howe-Douglas.
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.
