Holby City has come to an end tonight (Tuesday March 29) after 23 years. The BBC drama series, which follows the highs and lows of staff and patients on the wards of fictional Holby City hospital, began in 1999.
The first series began with an original cast of 11 main actors including former Coronation Street actress and Waterloo Road star Angela Griffin, former EastEnders actor Michael French and Manchester actor Ian Curtis. And the cast has also included Patsy Kensit who joined the BBC drama as a big-name actress in 2007 as nurse Faye Morton and stayed for four years.
In June last year the BBC released a statement to announce that Holby City had been cancelled. The 'difficult' decision was made as part of the broadcaster's plans to makemore programmes to serve across the country. During its time on screen Holby City has been nominated for more than 100 television awards and has won 10 awards including the 2008 British Academy Television Award for Best Continuing Drama.
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And its most recent series' have drawn over four million viewers per week.
The show being axed caused a backlash from Holby City viewers and past and present cast members. Fans of the show launched a petition to save the soap, which reached more than 30,000 signatures in a matter of days - but sadly this wasn't enough to change the BBC's decision.
Here look back at some of the very famous faces and A-listers who have appeared in the show.
Michael Fassbender
Hollywood star Michael Fassbender played a patient who had his spleen taken out in the episode Ghosts in 2002.
The Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated actor has gone on to star in big budget films including Inglorious Basterds, X-Men and 12 Years a Slave.
And he played the title role in the 2014 film Frank inspired by the beloved Timperley cartoon character Frank Sidebottom, the comic persona created by Chris Sievey.
Letitia Wright
Marvel actress Letitia appeared in two episodes of the drama in series 13 back in 2011.
The Guyanese-born British actress, who plays superhero Shuri in the Black Panther film series, played patient Ellie Maynard.
Jodie Comer
Aged just 16, Comer played the role of patient Ellie Jenkins in her second ever TV appearance.
She's best known for playing Villanelle in the spy thriller Killing Eve since 2018, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress.
In 2015 the Liverpool actress shot to fame as 'the other woman' Kate Parks in the dark drama Doctor Foster alongside Suranne Jones.
She was cast in the action comedy film Free Guy as the female lead alongside Ryan Reynolds.
And last year Jodie, who had a cameo as Rey's mother in the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, starred in the Channel 4 drama Help about a young care home worker struggling during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.
Early in her career she played patient Ellie Jenkins in Holby City when she was just 16.
Olivia Colman
The Oscar-winning actress, who won the best actress gong for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite in 2018, made her breakthrough in the Channel Four sitcom Peep Show.
She went on to win critical acclaim in Broadchurch and played Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix period drama series The Crown, for which she won the Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
But back in 2002 she played a character called Kim Prebble for one episode of Holby City in the episode New Hearts, Old Scores.
Dame Maureen Lipman
Last year Dame Maureen Lipman, whose battle-axe character Evelyn Plummer rules the roost on the Coronation Street cobbles, was made the soap's first ever dame in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The legendary actress, who plays Tyrone Dobbs' sharp-tongued grandmother, was beaming as she was officially named a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to charity, entertainment and the arts from a career which has spanned more than 50 years.
Her impressive CV includes film roles in The Pianist, Educating Rita and Oklahoma.
She has also appeared in TV series including All at Number 20, The Fugitives, Where the Heart Is and Plebs and she is also fondly remembered for her role as Beatie in the 1980s BT Adverts.
Her theatre credits include more than 25 West End productions including the award-winning Oklahoma with Hugh Jackman, and her one woman show, Up For It, at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
And in 2011 she appeared in Holby as Bonnie Walters.
Sheridan Smith
The former Two Pints of Lager, Royle Family and Gavin and Stacey star appeared in six episodes of Holby in 2001 when she was a teenager.
The actor, singer and presenter played a young patient called Miranda Locke who ended up stalking a doctor.
The BAFTA and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress, known for her theatre work in Legally Blonde and Funny Girl, went on to star in Cilla, Mrs Biggs and C-Word.
And most recently she starred in the dramas The Teacher and No Return.
Paul O'Grady
The For The Love Of Dogs presenter joined the Holby cast to play cancer patient Tim Connor for three episodes in 2013.
Paul said he was delighted to be given a role after being a long-time fan of the hospital drama.
After playing out the emotional scenes and doing the role justice Paul told how he had to remind himself he wasn't actually ill in real life.
Helen Flanagan
Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan starred in Holby in 2014 in her first role after leaving Corrie two years earlier.
She played lazy agency nurse Kirsty Brompton.
Helen, 31, said at the time: “I’m really pleased to be working in a show I really enjoy.”
