After 23 years on our screens, Holby City will be treating its last patients on Tuesday, March 29. Filming for the long-running medical drama wrapped up on December 17 last year, much to the disappointment of many fans who have watched the show since its inception.
The news of Holby City's demise came via the official Twitter account in June 2021, leaving fans so upset that an online petition was launched. 'Don't Scrap Holby City' garnered nearly 44,000 signatures, but sadly failed to change the mind of the BBC.
Holby City, which has employed medical researchers over the years to make the script as accurate as possible, was launched shortly before the millennium as a spin-off of the already established hospital drama, Casualty, on January 12, 1999. Although both shows are set in the same hospital, they are filmed in completely different locations, with the original being filmed in Cardiff, and the latter in Hertfordshire.
But before Casualty was shot both at BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff and on location across South Wales, filming for the medical drama actually took place on the other side of the Bristol Channel. From its inception in 1986 until 2011, Casualty was filmed in Bristol.
The move from Bristol to Cardiff had been on the cards for a few years before it actually happened, though. In 2008, the Bristol Evening Post reported that the long-running programme would be upping sticks and moving to Cardiff, although the BBC sources insisted that a decision had not been made at that point.
Casualty provided an essential boost to Bristol's economy, winning the city an additional £10 million every year. Exterior shots of Holby City Hospital were shot at the Ashley Down Centre at the City of Bristol College until 2002, when a new exterior set was constructed at Lawrence Hill Industrial Park on Croydon Street.
In scenes that took place outdoors, iconic city landmarks including Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bristol Harbour could often be spotted. Initially, filming was set to be moved to Birmingham, but then it was decided that Casualty's new home would be at the BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff.
Episode 16 of Casualty's 26th series marked the explosive ending of its Bristol days. The episode aired on December 10, 2011, and saw a fire rip through the hospital, causing much distress.
But this was not actually the end of explosive Casualty episodes being filmed in our city. In August 2018, one of the biggest and most expensive episodes of Casualty aired, after being filmed in Bristol and Yate earlier in the year, according to the Bristol Film Office.
The episode saw a catastrophic motorway explosion taking place, caused by a petrol tanker turning on its side. The paramedic crew of the Holby Emergency Department were the ones who had to deal with the disastrous consequences of the horrific accident.
2018's explosion stunt was filmed on 400m of unused carriageway in Yate, known as the 'Road to Nowhere', which is often offered to filmmakers by South Gloucestershire Council. Prior to Casualty being filmed there, the Road to Nowhere had also been used by production crews during filming for Skins and Broadchurch.
Bristol locations featured in the episode included Flax Bourton Mortuary and Carolina House in Stokes Croft. Some scenes were also filmed in a lowloader being driven along the M32 in the Newfoundland Road area.
Although viewers will be waving goodbye to Holby City on Tuesday after a rollercoaster 23 years, the BBC confirmed last year that the hospital's emergency department will continue to treat patients in episodes of Casualty. The next episode will air on Saturday, March 26, at 8:35pm on BBC One.
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