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.
George Layton is an English actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series Doctor in the House and its sequels Doctor at Large, Doctor in Chargeand Doctor at the Top, that of Bombardier 'Solly' Solomons in the first two series of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, and as Des the mechanic in early episodes of Minder. He also appeared in two episodes of The Sweeney and played Norman Simmonds in EastEnders as well as a few early appearances as himself on the light entertainment BBC1 consumer show That's Life!.
Gary Beadle is a British actor, best known for playing Paul Trueman in EastEnders and Gary Barwick in Operation Good Guys.
Sharon Delores Clarke is an English actress and singer. She is a three-time Olivier Award winner, and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama Holby City, and as Grace O'Brien in Doctor Who. Clarke has also played lead roles in many West End musicals, and originated the roles of the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.
Douglas William Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in Robin Hood (2010), Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return and Diana (2013), Penny Dreadful (2016), Catastrophe (2018), Joker and Lost in Space (2019), and The Great (2020–2023).
Elyes Gabel is an English actor, musician and filmmaker.
Richard James Lumsden is an English actor, writer, composer and musician. He has made regular appearances on TV and film throughout his career. Notable series include Channel 4's Emmy-award winning Sugar Rush, Is it Legal, Wonderful You and The Singapore Grip. He played Ray in Radio 4's long-running comedy Clare in the Community.
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.
Scot Williams, is an English actor, writer, and producer for stage, film and television.
Linden Cullen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Duncan Pow. He made his first appearance in the series ten episode "Stolen", broadcast on 15 January 2008. The character was the head of Holby City Hospital's surgical admissions ward. He was killed off at the end of the twelfth series on 12 October 2010.
Neil Reidman is a British film and television actor.
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.
Vanessa Lytton is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Leslie Ash. The character first appeared on-screen on 13 October 2009 in the episode "The Spirit Dancing" - series eleven, episode fifty-two of the programme. Her role in the show is that of chief executive officer of the Holby City Hospital Primary Care Trust, making her the only regular character who is not a medic by profession. Vanessa was created by Holby City's executive producer Tony McHale as a replacement for former CEO Jayne Grayson. Ash was cast in the role after a five-year break from acting, due to complications arising from MSSA. As Ash is disabled, Vanessa walks with the aid of a walking stick. Ash has praised Holby City producers for their willingness to cast a disabled actress, though faced some media criticism for accepting the role, as she had previously received £5 million compensation for loss of earnings from the hospital at which she contracted MSSA. Vanessa is a "scheming", "conniving and calculated" executive, whose storylines have seen her clash with several members of the hospital's senior staff. In June 2021, it was announced that Ash would be reprising her role in Holby City's sister show Casualty.
Persephone "Penny" Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actress Emma Catherwood. She appeared from 2009–11, in the programme's eleventh to thirteenth series. Penny was introduced alongside her younger brother, Oliver, as a Foundation House Officer 1 (F1) on surgical rotation at Holby City Hospital. She eventually progressed to F2 level, before being killed off in the aftermath of a train crash; her death occurring off-screen.
The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 October 2010, and ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 11 October 2011.
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.
Manjinder Virk is a British actress, director and writer. She has appeared in the television series Holby City (1999), Doctors (2000), The Bill (2004), The Ghost Squad (2005), Runaway (2009), Skins (2010), Monroe (2011), Hunted (2012) and Midsomer Murders.
The twenty−ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2014, and concluded on 23 August 2015. The series consisted of 46 episodes. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer.
Mary-Claire Carter is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Niamh McGrady. She first appeared in the eleventh series episode "Spin", broadcast on 22 September 2009. The character was introduced by Tony McHale. Between her arrival and January 2013, Mary Claire appeared on a recurring basis, sometimes with months between appearances, as an agency nurse on Keller and AAU wards. McGrady was promoted to a regular cast member in early 2013 by newly appointed executive producer, Oliver Kent - alongside the introductions of three characters. Her first appearance, as a regular cast member, aired on 23 April when Mary-Claire received a staff nurse job on the AAU ward. She is characterised as a blunt and easily distracted character, yet a brilliant nurse. Her strong point is not diplomacy, but scratch beneath the surface and you'll find a heart of gold. McGrady has described her as "cheeky, flirtatious, and trouble."
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.
