The BBC has axed medical soap doctors after 23 years after they blamed rising costs.
The actors and the entire crew of the saga were invited to a lunchtime meeting today where the news was announced.
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Doctors sacked by BBCCredit: BBC
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The entire cast and crew were invited to a meeting todayCredit: BBC
It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Doctors, which has traditionally occupied the lunchtime slot on BBC One since it first aired in 2000.
But cast and crew were delighted when bosses promoted it to the 7pm prime time slot on BBC Two in February 2022 after closing Holby City.
Their joy was short-lived, as the ratings failed to deliver in that time slot and after just eight weeks it was quietly returned to the lunch slot.
And now the Doctors have been kicked out completely.
Showrunner Kate Oates has confirmed that the latest batch of episodes to be filmed is the last as the series is no longer available within the broadcaster’s daily budget.
Filming will continue until March 2024, with the final episode airing in December.
Oates promised fans “the finale the show deserves.”
A source said: “Doctors have been pretty quietly ticking around the 1.3 million viewer figure for years without any word of a cancellation, but the news will come as a shock all the same.
“Today there was a full cast and crew meeting where the news was shared, followed by lunch at the Drama Village cafe.
“Some of the cast and crew have been there since the soap started and it really felt like a job for life, plus the soap is such a central pillar for the whole community – it employs so many performers and freelancers and is known to be a real rung on the ladder for British acting talent .
“While the impact on viewers may not seem huge, in terms of the industry this is seismic.”
The BBC’s statement added: “We have taken the very difficult decision to bring the daytime drama Doctors to an end after 23 years. With major inflation in drama production, the cost of programming has risen significantly, and further investment is now also required to refurbish the site where the show is made or to move him to another home.
“With a flat license fee, the BBC’s funding challenges mean we have to make tough decisions to deliver greater value to audiences.
“We remain fully committed to the West Midlands and all funding for doctors will be reinvested in new programs in the region.
“We’d like to thank all the cast and crew of The Doctor who have been involved with the show since 2000. We know The Doctor has played a key role in nurturing talent and we’ll be working to develop new opportunities to support scripted programming skills.
“The final episode will be shown in December 2024 and we are working closely with BBC Studios to give it the finale it deserves.”
The writing was on the wall after The Sun revealed medical drama giant Casualty had cut episode numbers due to the cost of living crisis.
The cuts came down to what producers called “super inflation in drama production.”
In addition to the general increase in the cost of living, budgets have been raised by companies like Netflix.
Set in the fictional town of Letherbridge in the West Midlands, The Doctors follows the lives of staff at an NHS surgery and a university campus surgery, as well as the lives of their families and friends.
Initially, only 41 episodes of the program were ordered, but due to positive reception, the BBC commissioned it as a continuation of the soap opera, and it was filmed at the legendary Pebble Mill Studios until 2004, when it was moved to the BBC Drama Village in Birmingham.
As of 2022, The Doctor’s annual average was around 1.6 million live viewers in the daily broadcast.
The program has been nominated for and won numerous awards and has been praised by critics for tackling what are considered controversial and taboo subjects in British culture and social life that are not usually seen on British television.
The longest-serving cast member is Adrian Lewis Morgan, who won the role of Jimmy Clay in 2005.
In addition to its regular cast, Doctors is known for its many extras, and series producer Peter Eryl Lloyd once estimated that the soap had at least 800 guest stars a year.
Due to the large number of guest actors, the Doctors gained a reputation as British actors.
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