"Holby City" (1999)TV series 1999-????

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Release Date:

12 January 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The everyday lives, professional and personal, of the doctors, nurses and patients who find themselves, for various reasons, in the wards of the frenetic cardiac unit of Holby City General Hospital.

Plot Keywords:

Troubled Staff And Patients | Family | Betrayal | Marriage | Hospital

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Hugh Quarshie	...	Ric Griffin (190 episodes, 2001-2008)
Tina Hobley	...	Chrissie Williams / ... (164 episodes, 2001-2008)
Jaye Jacobs	...	Donna Jackson (151 episodes, 2004-2008)
Amanda Mealing	...	Connie Beauchamp / ... (149 episodes, 2001-2008)
Patricia Potter	...	Diane Lloyd (121 episodes, 2002-2007)
Robert Powell	...	Mark Williams (114 episodes, 2005-2008)
Sharon D. Clarke	...	Lola Griffin / ... (104 episodes, 2003-2008)
Paul Bradley	...	Elliot Hope (96 episodes, 2005-2008)
Luke Roberts	...	Joseph Byrne / ... (93 episodes, 2005-2008)
Rosie Marcel	...	Jac Naylor / ... (90 episodes, 2004-2008)
Rakie Ayola	...	Kyla Tyson / ... (89 episodes, 2003-2008)
Sharon Maughan	...	Tricia Williams (89 episodes, 2003-2006)
Tom Chambers	...	Sam Strachan (87 episodes, 2006-2008)
Verona Joseph	...	Jess Griffin (84 episodes, 2002-2007)
Ian Aspinall	...	Mubbs Hussein (80 episodes, 2001-2005)

Also Known As:

Holby (UK) (informal short title)

Runtime:

50 min (season 1) | 60 min (season 2-)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

BBC Elstree Centre/ATV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Holby City is filmed in what used to be a BBC office at Elstree Studios: Top of the Pops staff were moved out and hospital wards were brought in.

Quotes:

Lola Griffin: As my grandma used to say, "If you look for a peck of trouble, don't gripe when you find a bushel."
Ric Griffin: [sarcastically] As ever, your grandma's wisdom astounds me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Extras: Chris Martin (#2.4)" (2006)

Was good, but has gone severely downhill

For the first two and a half seasons this was an extremely good show, with a small but strong cast and good (if clichéd) writing. During the third season, though, the show made the transition from drama to soap, eschewing medical storylines in favour of trotting out every detail of the characters' private lives.

The show, which now airs every week all the year round, is now a shadow of its former self. None of the cast from the first season remains, and despite occasionally coming up with a reasonably good episode, more often than not it is just a case of mediocrity week after week, with some downright stinkers mixed in for good measure. By attempting to run storylines on four different wards, the writers have dilluted the formula, often introducing storylines for characters only to quickly forget them or end them abruptly with absolutely no consequences. A good example of this would be the character of Ric Griffin, who entered the show as a closet cannabis user. After a few months, this aspect of the character vanished and was never mentioned again.

It is something of a bitter irony that one of the few characters who was at all interesting to watch was the clumsy nurse Sandy Harper, played excellently by Laura Sadler, who sadly died a few weeks ago.