List of Holby City episodes (series 12)
Encyclopedia
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
.
The series began with 15 roles receiving star billing
. Executive producer
Tony McHale
and actresses Rebecca Grant and Phoebe Thomas
announced their intentions to leave the show during the course of the year. Actresses Leslie Ash
, Amanda Mealing
and Tina Hobley
took several-month breaks from filming, and actresses Ginny Holder
and Anna-Louise Plowman
reprised their roles as Thandie Abebe-Griffin and Annalese Carson respectively. The series received mixed to negative reviews from critics. It was criticised as presenting an inaccurate portrayal of real hospital life, and deemed a soap opera
rather than a drama series by former Holby City writer Peter Jukes
. It attained strong ratings, however, and was regularly the most-watched show in the 8 pm Tuesday timeslot, frequently drawing a quarter of the audience share.
and aired on BBC One
in the United Kingdom. In December 2009, executive producer
and series co-creator Tony McHale
announced his intention to stand down, after four years producing the show. McHale was the first British writer ever to become the showrunner of a major prime-time drama, and the BBC's controller of drama John Yorke praised him for his success. McHale stated: "I've had a terrific four years on Holby and am thrilled with what we've achieved. [...] I know the show will go on from strength to strength." McHale was succeeded as executive producer by Belinda Campbell, and as lead writer by Justin Young, who intends to introduce a more writer-led commissioning process from series thirteen onwards. Young aims for writers to create more of the theme and story of their episodes than was previously the case. The series featured a number of different directors and writers. Each director worked on at least two episodes, except Robert Del Maestro and Edward Bazalgette, who directed one episode each. Dominic Keavey was the series' most frequent director, working on eight episodes. Graham Mitchell
was the series' most frequent writer, writing six episodes.
Holby City twelfth series aired in the 8 pm timeslot on Tuesdays across the United Kingdom, except in Scotland, where the series has no fixed timeslot. As a result, several episodes originally aired on BBC Scotland
before their broadcast in the rest of the United Kingdom. The episode "Take No Prisoners" originally aired on 10 May 2010 on BBC Scotland. In the rest of the United Kingdom, the episode was rescheduled from 11 May to 12 May 2010 due to extended news coverage of the 2010 UK General Election, and the BBC received 83 complaints over the rescheduling. Episodes were repeated on BBC One on the Monday morning following their original broadcast.
" and "Dirty Little Secret" by Sarah McLachlan
, "Sweet About Me
" by Gabriella Cilmi
,"Can't Speak French
" by Girls Aloud
, "Don't Bring Me Down" by Sia
, The Blue Danube
by Johann Strauss II
, "Golden Slippers" by Lester Bradley & Friends and "Svefn-g-englar
" by Sigur Rós
. Asked whether she felt songtages were appropriate for a serious drama show, series producer Diana Kyle responded: "Yes - sometimes. On a multi-strand series such as Holby, they are an excellent way of telling stories visually - a moment from each - to open or close an episode or create the passing of time in a concise way for the audience." Kris Green of entertainment and media website Digital Spy
suggested that the number of songs used per episode could be "very jarring", to which Kyle replied: "We plan to use music carefully in the future - maybe 'songtages', as above - and sourced music within a scene, that is music actually playing in the scene itself, for example on a radio - but less incidental."
. A new set of crossover episodes written by Casualty lead writer Mark Catley were planned for February 2010. In the event, however, the episodes which saw Casualty Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) operated on by Holby City Elliot Hope
(Paul Bradley
) after suffering a heart attack were broadcast as regular Casualty and Holby City episodes, rather than under the Casualty@Holby City title. Casualty series producer Oliver Kent commented that, while it is "fantastic" to be able to produce crossover episodes, they are logistically difficult, as Casualty is filmed in Bristol, while Holby City is filmed in Elstree. In June 2010, Kent announced that the two shows would crossover again in September, for the launch of Casualty 25th series
. He explained that Holby City nurse Donna Jackson
(Jaye Jacobs
) would appear in the first episode of the new season of Casualty, at the bequest of Cately, who again wrote the episode. Kent deemed it unlikely that another Casualty@Holby City episode would be produced in the "foreseeable future", but hoped that characters from the two shows would begin to crossover two or three times a year.
(Rosie Marcel
) offers to donate a kidney to her mother, who abandoned her as a child, and Chrissie
(Tina Hobley
) gives birth to a son. Marcel stated that she was "really proud" of the storyline, and grateful for the opportunity to show a different side of her character, explaining: "Everybody always has had their family dragged into things on the show, apart from me. It's actually been five years since I started and now we're finally getting to meet Jac's family. It's exciting." Hobley also enjoyed her storyline, commenting that after Chrissie's first baby died and she then suffered a miscarriage, Chrissie was "due some happiness". Actress Amanda Mealing
stated on the show reaching 500 episodes: "It's a huge achievement. Holby always had a good, high standard and that's not easy thing to do when you're on every week for an hour. We're always pushing it and making it better, too. To still be around for the 500th episode is testament to the passion that we all have."
The series began with 15 roles receiving star billing
. Amanda Mealing
portrayed Connie Beauchamp
, a consultant
on the cardiothoracic surgery
ward, Darwin. Paul Bradley
played Elliot Hope
, also a cardiothoracic consultant, and Luke Roberts
played Joseph Byrne
, a registrar
on Elliot's firm. Hari Dhillon
played consultant general surgeon
and Director of Surgery Michael Spence. Hugh Quarshie
acted as Ric Griffin
, also a consultant on the general surgery ward, Keller. Rosie Marcel
portrayed Jac Naylor
, a general surgical registrar. Emma Catherwood
and James Anderson
appeared as Penny and Oliver Valentine, siblings and F1 doctors. Duncan Pow
played Linden Cullen
, a consultant on the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit
. Robert Powell
played Mark Williams, the unit's consultant nurse, and Tina Hobley
played his daughter, ward sister Chrissie Williams
. Patsy Kensit
and Rebecca Grant played ward sisters Faye Byrne and Daisha Anderson, and Jaye Jacobs
and Phoebe Thomas
played staff nurses Donna Jackson
and Maria Kendall
.
Two actresses departed during the course of the series, with Grant leaving in March 2010, and Thomas departing during the summer. Kensit, Mealing and Roberts also resigned from the show during its twelfth series, however their characters will not depart until series thirteen. Prior to her resignation, Mealing took a three month break from the show to spend time with her family and travel to Bangladesh
. Hobley took four months maternity leave, which coincided with her character's own maternity leave, and actor Alex Macqueen
left his recurring role of anaesthetist Keith Greene
, having appeared in Holby City since 2005.
To compensate for the departing characters, several new characters joined the show during the course of the series. After appearing briefly as Chrissie's one night stand, Bob Barrett
became a main cast member playing locum consultant Sacha Levy. Meanwhile, having made a one off appearance as surgeon Greg Douglas in February 2010, Edward MacLiam joined the cast on a permamanet basis from June 2010. Olga Fedori
was promoted to the main cast as Frieda Petrenko, while La Charné Jolly was cast as eager new nurse Elizabeth Tait (Holby City)
. Actors are given the opportunity to shadow real doctors as preparation for their roles. MacLiam spent time with one of Holby City medical advisors, and observed laparoscopic surgery
being performed.
The series featured several recurring characters, and numerous guest stars. Ginny Holder
reprised her role as Thandie Abebe-Griffin, Ric's wife who last appeared in the show's ninth series. Shelagh McLeod
appeared as Judith Marchant, a clinical matron who began a relationship with Mark. Judith was written out of the series in January 2010, but McLeod felt things were left "open ended", suggesting there could be a happy ending for them. She briefly reprised her role in March 2010, as the relationship between Judith and Mark concluded. Leslie Ash
played hospital CEO
Vanessa Lytton
. In December 2009, it was announced that Ash would take a several-month break from the series, returning later in 2010. In June 2010, Anna-Louise Plowman
reprised her role as Annalese Carson, wife of Michael Spence. Joshua Bowman had a semi-recurring role, portraying cardiothoracic patient Scott James, who became romantically involved with Penny. Riann Steele appeared as nurse Lauren Minster, and Rick Warden played locum consultant Toby Geddes, described as "hugely irritating" by Scott Matthewman of The Stage
. On 29 June 2010, Jane Asher
announced that she would be reprising her recurring role as Lady Byrne, mother of Joseph, for a storyline involving Faye's pregnancy.
wrote a critical piece for Prospect
magazine, contrasting Holby and Casualty negatively with the standard of American
television dramas. Jukes wrote that Holby City has become a soap opera, rather than a drama. Tom Sutcliffe
of The Independent
reviewed a December 2009 episode poorly, finding it "astonishing" that any patients leave Holby General alive, as the staff are "so busy looking stricken or lovelorn at each other". Sutcliffe criticised the themes of "bedside relationship counselling" and "intercollegiate rivalry", and commented: "Anyone in search of a comedy masterclass should watch, but, you know, I don't think this is meant to be a spoof either." Janet Street-Porter
, also of The Independent, felt that that Holby City had "come to the end of [its] natural life" and should be cancelled.
In November 2009, Antony Sumara, CEO of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, wrote a column criticizing Holby City and Casualty for misrepresenting real hospital life. Based on Sumara's critisim, Carol Cooper of The Sun
wrote an article assessing an episode of the show for its medical portrayal, and found that while Elliot Hope and Oliver Valentine demonstrated "excellent" bedside manner, several medical examinations and procedures were carried out incorrectly, including staff members failing to call a pediatrician before performing an emergency Caesarean. Sophie Borland of the Daily Mail
highlighted the crossover storyline with Casualty as an example of Holby City lack of realism, observing that Charlie Fairhead collapses from cardiac arrest
but is revived and returns to work several weeks later, whereas in reality, only around one third of resuscitated patients survive.
Andrew Billen of The Times
reviewed the show's 500th episode, noting that he had lost interest in the series following the departure of Anton Meyer
(George Irving
) in 2002. He deemed the cast a "bizarre old mix", but concluded: "I could fall in love with this nonsense all over again." In June 2010, Stuart Heritage of The Guardian
commented: "Holby City stopped being interesting or fun about three seconds after its first episode started over a decade ago. It now exists purely as a sort of unwatched convalescent home for forgotten soap actors."
, however lost to rival BBC One drama Waterloo Road
. It was shortlisted in the "Best Television Continuing Drama" category at the 2010 Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards, with a group nomination for McHale, Young, Catley, Mitchell, Dana Fainaru, Martha Hillier, Chris Murray
, David Lawrence
, Veronica Henry, Peter Lloyd, Joe Ainsworth
, Abi Bown, Andrew Holden
, Ian Kershaw, Sebastian Baczkiewicz, Rob Williams, Al Smith
, Claire Bennett, Jake Riddell, Nick Warburton
, Sonali Bhattacharyya, Rebecca Wojciechowski, Tom Bidwell, Dan Sefton, Paul Mari, Nick Fisher and Sally Abbott. The series was longlisted for the "Best Drama" award at the 2010 National Television Awards
, with "Best Drama Performance" nominations for Roberts and Marcel, and a "Best Newcomer" nomination for Fedori, who progressed to the shortlist. It was additionally nominated in the "Best Soap/Continuing Drama" category at the 2011 Broadcast Awards.
Coronation Street in the same timeslot, winning a 31% audience share and leaving Holby City with an 18% share. Heavy snowfall on 5 January 2010 led to a surge in TV viewing, and the Holby City episode "Talk to Me", which aired that night, received a higher than usual 6.8 million viewers. The series' lowest ratings occurred on 1 June 2010, when Holby City was watched by 3.81 million overnight viewers, adjusted up to 4.28 million in the weekly ratings. The episode, "Taking Over", aired against Britain's Got Talent
on ITV, which attained 9.75 million viewers and a 39.2% audience share, leaving Holby City with a 15.1% audience share, down 40% on the channel's average audience share in the timeslot over the previous three months. Holby City was again down in the ratings on 6 July 2010, when the episode "Swimming With Sharks" aired against the first 2010 FIFA World Cup
semi-final match on ITV. Holby attained 4.05 million viewers and a 16.9% audience share, while the football was watched by 7.92 million viewers, a 35.3% share.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
television series Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series 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...
commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
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
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
and the return of former registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Thandie Abebe-Griffin. It also focuses on staff members' romantic and family lives. F1 Oliver Valentine becomes romantically involved with registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
and ward sister Daisha Anderson, and his sister Penny embarks on a secret romance with a heart transplant patient. Consultant Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Duncan Pow. Linden appeared from series ten to twelve - January 2008 to October 2010, as the head of Holby City Hospital's surgical admissions ward.-Creation:...
is reunited with his estranged daughter Holly, nurse Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
decides to adopt her half-niece Mia, sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
gives birth to a son, Daniel, and Faye becomes pregnant by her estranged husband Joseph
Joseph Byrne
Joseph Charles Mortimer Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by Luke Roberts. Joseph first appeared in the 3 January 2006 episode "Mother Love", series eight, episode twelve of the programme...
. The series includes a crossover episode with sister show Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
.
The series began with 15 roles receiving star billing
Billing (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
. Executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
and actresses Rebecca Grant and Phoebe Thomas
Phoebe Thomas
Phoebe Thomas is a British actress.Thomas made a name for herself playing Holly Curran on Night and Day from 2001 to 2003. In 2005 she went on to star in the Five soap, Family Affairs, as homeless Jane Hughes...
announced their intentions to leave the show during the course of the year. Actresses Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash is an English actress, best known for her role in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007....
, Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
and Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
took several-month breaks from filming, and actresses Ginny Holder
Ginny Holder
Ginny Holder is an actress best known for playing Thandie Abebe-Griffin on the BBC medical drama series Holby City.-References:...
and Anna-Louise Plowman
Anna-Louise Plowman
Anna-Louise Plowman is an actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Consultant Anaesthetist Annalese Carson in Holby City and Dr. Sarah Gardner in Stargate SG-1 who was possessed by the Goa'uld Osiris...
reprised their roles as Thandie Abebe-Griffin and Annalese Carson respectively. The series received mixed to negative reviews from critics. It was criticised as presenting an inaccurate portrayal of real hospital life, and deemed a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
rather than a drama series by former Holby City writer Peter Jukes
Peter Jukes
Peter Jukes is a British author, screenwriter, playwright, literary critic and blogger.-Television:Jukes' television writing has mainly been in genre of prime time thrillers or TV detective fiction, with 90 minute or two hour long stories originally broadcast on the BBC, retransmitted abroad in the...
. It attained strong ratings, however, and was regularly the most-watched show in the 8 pm Tuesday timeslot, frequently drawing a quarter of the audience share.
Episodes
"Episode #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Series #" refers to the episode's number in this particular series.| Episode # | Series # | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|
Crew and scheduling
The series was produced by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the United Kingdom. In December 2009, executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and series co-creator Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
announced his intention to stand down, after four years producing the show. McHale was the first British writer ever to become the showrunner of a major prime-time drama, and the BBC's controller of drama John Yorke praised him for his success. McHale stated: "I've had a terrific four years on Holby and am thrilled with what we've achieved. [...] I know the show will go on from strength to strength." McHale was succeeded as executive producer by Belinda Campbell, and as lead writer by Justin Young, who intends to introduce a more writer-led commissioning process from series thirteen onwards. Young aims for writers to create more of the theme and story of their episodes than was previously the case. The series featured a number of different directors and writers. Each director worked on at least two episodes, except Robert Del Maestro and Edward Bazalgette, who directed one episode each. Dominic Keavey was the series' most frequent director, working on eight episodes. Graham Mitchell
Graham Mitchell (writer)
Graham Mitchell is a television scriptwriter. He has written 27 episodes of The Bill, as lead writer including the 2005 live episode. He has also written for the Casualty, Mersey Beat, Holby Blue, Holby City, and The Body Farm...
was the series' most frequent writer, writing six episodes.
Holby City twelfth series aired in the 8 pm timeslot on Tuesdays across the United Kingdom, except in Scotland, where the series has no fixed timeslot. As a result, several episodes originally aired on BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
before their broadcast in the rest of the United Kingdom. The episode "Take No Prisoners" originally aired on 10 May 2010 on BBC Scotland. In the rest of the United Kingdom, the episode was rescheduled from 11 May to 12 May 2010 due to extended news coverage of the 2010 UK General Election, and the BBC received 83 complaints over the rescheduling. Episodes were repeated on BBC One on the Monday morning following their original broadcast.
Music
The series continued the technique of using musical montage or "songtage" segments in each episode, originally introduced by McHale as a means of modernising the programme. The opening episodes alone, "The Hands that Rock the Cradle" parts one and two, utilised "Ben's Song", "Answer", "AngelAngel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...
" and "Dirty Little Secret" by Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
, "Sweet About Me
Sweet About Me
"Sweet About Me" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Gabriella Cilmi from her debut album, Lessons to Be Learned . Co-written with and produced by Xenomania, it was released in April 2008 as the album's lead single. The song was used in commercials for Sure and Dove Bodywash in Europe, as...
" by Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Lucia Cilmi is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2008, Cilmi was awarded six ARIA awards including Single of the Year and Best Female Artist....
,"Can't Speak French
Can't Speak French
"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
" by Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
, "Don't Bring Me Down" by Sia
Sia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...
, The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
by Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, "Golden Slippers" by Lester Bradley & Friends and "Svefn-g-englar
Svefn-g-englar
"Svefn-g-englar" is a song by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, from their second album, Ágætis byrjun.-Overview:"Svefn-g-englar" was released as a single in 1999, featuring two studio recordings — "Svefn-g-englar" and "Viðrar vel til loftárása" , both from Ágætis byrjun — and two...
" by Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
. Asked whether she felt songtages were appropriate for a serious drama show, series producer Diana Kyle responded: "Yes - sometimes. On a multi-strand series such as Holby, they are an excellent way of telling stories visually - a moment from each - to open or close an episode or create the passing of time in a concise way for the audience." Kris Green of entertainment and media website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
suggested that the number of songs used per episode could be "very jarring", to which Kyle replied: "We plan to use music carefully in the future - maybe 'songtages', as above - and sourced music within a scene, that is music actually playing in the scene itself, for example on a radio - but less incidental."
Crossovers
Series twelve included a crossover storyline with Holby City sister show Casualty. Holby originally launched as a spin-off from Casualty in 1999, and the two dramas have occasionally crossed over in special episodes broadcast as Casualty@Holby CityCasualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City is the name given to 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...
. A new set of crossover episodes written by Casualty lead writer Mark Catley were planned for February 2010. In the event, however, the episodes which saw Casualty Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) operated on by Holby City Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
(Paul Bradley
Paul Bradley (actor)
Paul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
) after suffering a heart attack were broadcast as regular Casualty and Holby City episodes, rather than under the Casualty@Holby City title. Casualty series producer Oliver Kent commented that, while it is "fantastic" to be able to produce crossover episodes, they are logistically difficult, as Casualty is filmed in Bristol, while Holby City is filmed in Elstree. In June 2010, Kent announced that the two shows would crossover again in September, for the launch of Casualty 25th series
Casualty (series 25)
The twenty-fifth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 4 September 2010. The series is planned to feature several crossovers with spin-off show Holby City.-Cast:...
. He explained that Holby City nurse Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
(Jaye Jacobs
Jaye Jacobs
Jaye Jacobs is a British actress.-Career:She is most famous for her role as fun loving nurse, turned Ward Sister, Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series Holby City from 2004 to 2011...
) would appear in the first episode of the new season of Casualty, at the bequest of Cately, who again wrote the episode. Kent deemed it unlikely that another Casualty@Holby City episode would be produced in the "foreseeable future", but hoped that characters from the two shows would begin to crossover two or three times a year.
500th episode
On 13 April 2010, Holby City reached its 500th episode with "Bette Davis Eyes", in which JacJac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
(Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
) offers to donate a kidney to her mother, who abandoned her as a child, and Chrissie
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
(Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
) gives birth to a son. Marcel stated that she was "really proud" of the storyline, and grateful for the opportunity to show a different side of her character, explaining: "Everybody always has had their family dragged into things on the show, apart from me. It's actually been five years since I started and now we're finally getting to meet Jac's family. It's exciting." Hobley also enjoyed her storyline, commenting that after Chrissie's first baby died and she then suffered a miscarriage, Chrissie was "due some happiness". Actress Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
stated on the show reaching 500 episodes: "It's a huge achievement. Holby always had a good, high standard and that's not easy thing to do when you're on every week for an hour. We're always pushing it and making it better, too. To still be around for the 500th episode is testament to the passion that we all have."
Cast
Billing (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
. Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
portrayed Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
, a consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
on the cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
ward, Darwin. Paul Bradley
Paul Bradley (actor)
Paul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
played Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
, also a cardiothoracic consultant, and Luke Roberts
Luke Roberts (actor)
Luke Roberts is an English actor, most notable for his role as Joseph Byrne on Holby City. He has previously appeared as Captain Dan Pieterson in the Sky1 drama Mile High and before that had a principal role in the short-lived third series of the TV classic Crossroads...
played Joseph Byrne
Joseph Byrne
Joseph Charles Mortimer Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by Luke Roberts. Joseph first appeared in the 3 January 2006 episode "Mother Love", series eight, episode twelve of the programme...
, a registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
on Elliot's firm. Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City.-Background:...
played consultant general surgeon
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
and Director of Surgery Michael Spence. Hugh Quarshie
Hugh Quarshie
- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
acted as Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
, also a consultant on the general surgery ward, Keller. Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
portrayed Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
, a general surgical registrar. Emma Catherwood
Emma Catherwood
Emma Catherwood is a Welsh actress and former model best known for her role as Jo in My Kingdom and for her role in Holby City. Catherwood studied the Meisner technique in London, and has degrees in English literature and Art History.Catherwood began her career with Models 1, where she modelled...
and James Anderson
James Anderson (actor)
James Anderson is a British actor.After graduating with first class honours from Warwick University, Anderson trained at the Actors' Studio in New York City. He has since had roles for TV, the stage and independent film...
appeared as Penny and Oliver Valentine, siblings and F1 doctors. Duncan Pow
Duncan Pow
Duncan Pow is a Scottish actor best known in his role in Sky One's Dream Team, as Liam Mackay the captain of Harchester United F.C. and as Linden Cullen in the BBC1 medical drama, Holby City.-Early life:...
played Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Duncan Pow. Linden appeared from series ten to twelve - January 2008 to October 2010, as the head of Holby City Hospital's surgical admissions ward.-Creation:...
, a consultant on the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
. Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
played Mark Williams, the unit's consultant nurse, and Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
played his daughter, ward sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
. Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
and Rebecca Grant played ward sisters Faye Byrne and Daisha Anderson, and Jaye Jacobs
Jaye Jacobs
Jaye Jacobs is a British actress.-Career:She is most famous for her role as fun loving nurse, turned Ward Sister, Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series Holby City from 2004 to 2011...
and Phoebe Thomas
Phoebe Thomas
Phoebe Thomas is a British actress.Thomas made a name for herself playing Holly Curran on Night and Day from 2001 to 2003. In 2005 she went on to star in the Five soap, Family Affairs, as homeless Jane Hughes...
played staff nurses Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
and Maria Kendall
Maria Kendall
Maria Kendall was a fictional character on the BBC television series Holby City, portrayed by actress Phoebe Thomas. The character first appeared on-screen on 28 November 2006 in the episode It's Been A Long Day - Series 9, Episode 7 of the programme...
.
Two actresses departed during the course of the series, with Grant leaving in March 2010, and Thomas departing during the summer. Kensit, Mealing and Roberts also resigned from the show during its twelfth series, however their characters will not depart until series thirteen. Prior to her resignation, Mealing took a three month break from the show to spend time with her family and travel to Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Hobley took four months maternity leave, which coincided with her character's own maternity leave, and actor Alex Macqueen
Alex MacQueen
Alexander Tulloch MacQueen is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as Holby City, Hut 33, The Thick of It, and Keeping Mum....
left his recurring role of anaesthetist Keith Greene
Keith Greene
Keith Greene is a former racing driver from England. He raced in Formula One from to , participating in 6 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races....
, having appeared in Holby City since 2005.
To compensate for the departing characters, several new characters joined the show during the course of the series. After appearing briefly as Chrissie's one night stand, Bob Barrett
Bob Barrett
Robert Patrick Barrett was an American football offensive end in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills in 1960. He played college football at Baldwin-Wallace College.-See also:...
became a main cast member playing locum consultant Sacha Levy. Meanwhile, having made a one off appearance as surgeon Greg Douglas in February 2010, Edward MacLiam joined the cast on a permamanet basis from June 2010. Olga Fedori
Olga Fedori
Olga Fedori is a Ukrainian-born actress, who works in English language films and programmes. She is best known for playing Frieda Petrenko in the BBC medical drama Holby City.-Early life:...
was promoted to the main cast as Frieda Petrenko, while La Charné Jolly was cast as eager new nurse Elizabeth Tait (Holby City)
Elizabeth Tait (Holby City)
Elizabeth Tait played by La Charné Jolly, is a staff nurse who first appears in the twelfth series of Holby City. Elizabeth is a recent university graduate, who worries she will be made unemployed when redundancies are made within the hospital....
. Actors are given the opportunity to shadow real doctors as preparation for their roles. MacLiam spent time with one of Holby City medical advisors, and observed laparoscopic surgery
Laparoscopic surgery
Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery , bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as opposed to the larger incisions needed in laparotomy.Keyhole surgery makes use of images...
being performed.
The series featured several recurring characters, and numerous guest stars. Ginny Holder
Ginny Holder
Ginny Holder is an actress best known for playing Thandie Abebe-Griffin on the BBC medical drama series Holby City.-References:...
reprised her role as Thandie Abebe-Griffin, Ric's wife who last appeared in the show's ninth series. Shelagh McLeod
Shelagh McLeod
Shelagh McLeod is a British-based Canadian film and television actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
appeared as Judith Marchant, a clinical matron who began a relationship with Mark. Judith was written out of the series in January 2010, but McLeod felt things were left "open ended", suggesting there could be a happy ending for them. She briefly reprised her role in March 2010, as the relationship between Judith and Mark concluded. Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash is an English actress, best known for her role in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007....
played hospital CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Vanessa Lytton
Vanessa Lytton
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...
. In December 2009, it was announced that Ash would take a several-month break from the series, returning later in 2010. In June 2010, Anna-Louise Plowman
Anna-Louise Plowman
Anna-Louise Plowman is an actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Consultant Anaesthetist Annalese Carson in Holby City and Dr. Sarah Gardner in Stargate SG-1 who was possessed by the Goa'uld Osiris...
reprised her role as Annalese Carson, wife of Michael Spence. Joshua Bowman had a semi-recurring role, portraying cardiothoracic patient Scott James, who became romantically involved with Penny. Riann Steele appeared as nurse Lauren Minster, and Rick Warden played locum consultant Toby Geddes, described as "hugely irritating" by Scott Matthewman of The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
. On 29 June 2010, Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
announced that she would be reprising her recurring role as Lady Byrne, mother of Joseph, for a storyline involving Faye's pregnancy.
Critical response
Critical response to the series was mixed. Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror reviewed the opening episode positively, writing: "We should start a petition to get Holby's creator and exec producer Tony McHale back writing for the show more often, because when he turns in an episode like this one, it’s a cracker." However, Simon commented in a later review that Holby is often "Depressing as hell". In October 2009, former Holby City writer Peter JukesPeter Jukes
Peter Jukes is a British author, screenwriter, playwright, literary critic and blogger.-Television:Jukes' television writing has mainly been in genre of prime time thrillers or TV detective fiction, with 90 minute or two hour long stories originally broadcast on the BBC, retransmitted abroad in the...
wrote a critical piece for Prospect
Prospect (magazine)
Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
magazine, contrasting Holby and Casualty negatively with the standard of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television dramas. Jukes wrote that Holby City has become a soap opera, rather than a drama. Tom Sutcliffe
Tom Sutcliffe (broadcaster)
Thomas Sutcliffe is a British journalist and arts broadcaster.Sutcliffe studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reviewed a December 2009 episode poorly, finding it "astonishing" that any patients leave Holby General alive, as the staff are "so busy looking stricken or lovelorn at each other". Sutcliffe criticised the themes of "bedside relationship counselling" and "intercollegiate rivalry", and commented: "Anyone in search of a comedy masterclass should watch, but, you know, I don't think this is meant to be a spoof either." Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
, also of The Independent, felt that that Holby City had "come to the end of [its] natural life" and should be cancelled.
In November 2009, Antony Sumara, CEO of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, wrote a column criticizing Holby City and Casualty for misrepresenting real hospital life. Based on Sumara's critisim, Carol Cooper of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
wrote an article assessing an episode of the show for its medical portrayal, and found that while Elliot Hope and Oliver Valentine demonstrated "excellent" bedside manner, several medical examinations and procedures were carried out incorrectly, including staff members failing to call a pediatrician before performing an emergency Caesarean. Sophie Borland of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
highlighted the crossover storyline with Casualty as an example of Holby City lack of realism, observing that Charlie Fairhead collapses from cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
but is revived and returns to work several weeks later, whereas in reality, only around one third of resuscitated patients survive.
Andrew Billen of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reviewed the show's 500th episode, noting that he had lost interest in the series following the departure of Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
(George Irving
George Irving (English actor)
George Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...
) in 2002. He deemed the cast a "bizarre old mix", but concluded: "I could fall in love with this nonsense all over again." In June 2010, Stuart Heritage of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented: "Holby City stopped being interesting or fun about three seconds after its first episode started over a decade ago. It now exists purely as a sort of unwatched convalescent home for forgotten soap actors."
Accolades
During series twelve, Holby City was nominated for the "Best Drama" award at the 2010 Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap Awards
The Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
, however lost to rival BBC One drama Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
. It was shortlisted in the "Best Television Continuing Drama" category at the 2010 Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards, with a group nomination for McHale, Young, Catley, Mitchell, Dana Fainaru, Martha Hillier, Chris Murray
Chris Murray (writer)
Chris Murray is an award-winning scriptwriter. He co-created police drama Merseybeat and has written for television shows such as Doctors, Casualty, Peak Practice, The Bill, Holby City and Waterloo Road...
, David Lawrence
David Harsent
David Harsent is an English poet & TV scriptwriter. As Jack Curtis and David Lawrence he has published a number of crime fiction novels....
, Veronica Henry, Peter Lloyd, Joe Ainsworth
Joe Ainsworth
Joe Ainsworth is an award-winning scriptwriter. He has written 150+ episodes of now defunct soap opera Brookside. He has also written for the Lakes, Mayo, Merseybeat and Holby City. His episode of Holby City, titled "Past Imperfect" won a BAFTA award for best continuing drama...
, Abi Bown, Andrew Holden
Andrew Holden (writer)
Andrew Holden is a TV scriptwriter. He wrote numerous episodes of the unsuccessful soap opera Eldorado. He has also written for Casualty, Peak Practice, Waking The Dead and Holby City, on which he has been part of the regular writing team since 2001–Present...
, Ian Kershaw, Sebastian Baczkiewicz, Rob Williams, Al Smith
Al Smith (playwright)
Al Smith is a British dramatist and theatre director.In February 2005, Smith directed Chalk, which he had written, and produced under his own production company name Kandinsky, at the Bedlam Theatre...
, Claire Bennett, Jake Riddell, Nick Warburton
Nick Warburton
Nick Warburton was a primary school teacher for ten years before deciding to become a full-time writer. He writes plays for stage, television and radio and scripts for television series including Doctors, Holby City and EastEnders. He has been part of the regular writing team on Holby City since...
, Sonali Bhattacharyya, Rebecca Wojciechowski, Tom Bidwell, Dan Sefton, Paul Mari, Nick Fisher and Sally Abbott. The series was longlisted for the "Best Drama" award at the 2010 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
, with "Best Drama Performance" nominations for Roberts and Marcel, and a "Best Newcomer" nomination for Fedori, who progressed to the shortlist. It was additionally nominated in the "Best Soap/Continuing Drama" category at the 2011 Broadcast Awards.
Ratings
The twelfth series of Holby City averaged 6.3 million viewers and a 23.1% audience share. The 1 December 2009 episode "And That's What Really Hurts" experienced a drop in ratings to 4.60 million, damaged by ITV airing an extra edition of the soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street in the same timeslot, winning a 31% audience share and leaving Holby City with an 18% share. Heavy snowfall on 5 January 2010 led to a surge in TV viewing, and the Holby City episode "Talk to Me", which aired that night, received a higher than usual 6.8 million viewers. The series' lowest ratings occurred on 1 June 2010, when Holby City was watched by 3.81 million overnight viewers, adjusted up to 4.28 million in the weekly ratings. The episode, "Taking Over", aired against Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
on ITV, which attained 9.75 million viewers and a 39.2% audience share, leaving Holby City with a 15.1% audience share, down 40% on the channel's average audience share in the timeslot over the previous three months. Holby City was again down in the ratings on 6 July 2010, when the episode "Swimming With Sharks" aired against the first 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
semi-final match on ITV. Holby attained 4.05 million viewers and a 16.9% audience share, while the football was watched by 7.92 million viewers, a 35.3% share.
External links
- Holby City series 12 at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...