Doctors' fans sadness as filming of TV series ends

A woman who tried to save the daytime TV series Doctors said it had many fans and would be much missed.

Carys Ashby set up a petition last year after learning the BBC programme was to end after almost 24 years. It gathered more than 8,000 signatures.

She said she felt sorry for the cast and crew, after filming for the drama ended on Friday, adding: “I wanted to show them that we do care and this is how we feel.”

The show had been affected by "super inflation in drama production", causing costs to rise significantly, the BBC said.

It added it had faced a choice on whether to re-invest in the Birmingham site, where the show is made, or finance new shows in the West Midlands.

The final episode will be aired in December, with the corporation saying it would be "working closely with BBC Studios to give it the finale it deserves".

Ms Ashby's petition said Doctors had "brought laughter, tears, comedy and love into our homes and hearts".

Its makers had not been afraid to tackle a range of issues, including breastfeeding and mental health, it argued.

She said she used to watch the soap opera with her nan, who she also cared for.

“I’d come back from college, do her lunch, and we’d watch it together,” she said.

“I joined a fan group where I made a load of friends."

She said of the petition: “Sadly, it’s not enough but I felt like I had to try and do something."

Ms Ashby recently visited the set and was able to go behind the scenes and meet cast members.

TV critic Scott Bryan, from the BBC's Must Watch podcast, said on X the show had "been a training ground for many actors".

It has featured household names such as Eddie Redmayne, Sheridan Smith, Nicholas Hoult, Rustie Lee and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, he said.

"For many of us, this is the show we would watch on our sick days," Mr Bryan added.

Trade union The Writers' Guild called the decision "a terrible loss to the UK writing community, and to audiences".

It said it was essential the UK "continues to provide distinctive content and opportunities for our writers".

Meanwhile, people who have worked on the show have also expressed their sadness.

Writer and director Joy Wilkinson wrote: "I'd have left TV drama if it wasn't for this wonderful, warm and creative show."

She said the 36 episodes she had worked on "were the making of me, as it formed many on both sides of the camera".

The BBC has thanked all the cast and crew who worked on the show which was first broadcast on 26 March, 2000.

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