Doctors is a British medical soap opera, first broadcast on BBC One on 26 March 2000. 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, both in Birmingham. Episodes are filmed three months prior to transmission. The soap is typically broadcast on weekdays at 1:45 pm on BBC One, as well as having classic episodes broadcast on Drama. It takes three annual transmission breaks across the year: at Easter, during the summer and at Christmas.
Lucy Benjamin is an English actress. After appearing in various television series including Close to Home (1989–1990), Press Gang (1989–1993) and Jupiter Moon, she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lisa Fowler in 1998, for which she received a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the 2001 National Television Awards.
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 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 have 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. Emma Reid is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Dido Miles. Emma made her first appearance on 2 October 2012, and since her arrival, her storylines in the soap have included her romances with character including Howard Bellamy, Lena Baker, Jasmine Dajani and Aashiq Sawney, dealing with her husband's assisted suicide, having a miscarriage, grieving over Howard following his sudden death and being the victim of a homophobic assault.
Dido Miles is an English actress. She is known for her role as Emma Reid on the BBC soap opera Doctors, for which she has won two awards for at the RTS Midlands Awards. From 2001 to 2002, she starred in the CBBC children's series Oscar Charlie.
Sarah Moyle is an English actress, known for her roles as Linda Fawcett in various stage productions of Jerusalem and Valerie Pitman in the BBC soap opera Doctors. Moyle also portrayed the recurring role of Caroline Swann in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. For her role as Valerie in Doctors, Moyle won the award for Best Comedy Performance at the 2019 British Soap Awards.
Ruhma Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Bharti Patel. Ruhma's storylines in the programme have included her relationship with Heston Carter, dealing with her partial deafness, supporting her children through various issues with the police, mourning the loss of Heston after his shock death and being suspended from her job.
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.
Scarlett Kiernan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Kia Pegg. Details surrounding Pegg's casting and Scarlett's characterisation were announced in March 2022. She was introduced on 7 April 2022 as an applicant for a receptionist position. Scarlett is depicted as a truthful and short-tempered person who shocks the staff at the Mill with her honesty. She is always shown to have a bright and clashing sense of style, something that Pegg was initially shocked by. Eventually, Pegg began liking the clothes which she felt had impacted her real-life wardrobe and she began suggesting clothes and accessories for Scarlett to wear. Scarlett is hired despite her "feisty attitude" and is initially shown to struggle with the job when she gives the staff members attitude and argues with patients. However, as she settles into the Mill, she befriends with her colleagues and show a more likeable side of herself, while also feuding with fellow newcomer Princess Buchanan.
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.
"Three Consultations and a Funeral" is an episode of the British television soap opera Doctors, broadcast on BBC One on 24 May 2021. The episode is a self-contained two-hander starring series regular Dido Miles as Dr. Emma Reid, as well as guest star Lucy Benjamin as Jan Fisher. It is set over the timeframe of a month and features Emma trying to help Jan with a problem that she will initially not talk about. In her three consultations, Jan eventually reveals more details about her marriage to Emma, who realises that Jan is a victim of domestic abuse.
