# Doctors series 10

The tenth series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 31 March 2008 and 28 March 2009. It consisted of 223 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery. The tenth series saw various cast changes, with numerous castings and departures spread throughout the episodes.

## Cast

Selina Chilton joined as receptionist Ruth Pearce during the series. Her storylines throughout see her introduced as a shy and hardworking woman who is secretly struggling with mental health issues. Producers had planned the arc for Ruth from when she was created. Next came Heston Carter (Owen Brenman), "an eternal optimist" with a privileged background who was a surgeon that became a GP. Lily Hassan (Seeta Indrani) was then introduced as a talented and devoted doctor who "does everything by the book" and struggles with social interaction. Producers felt Lily was a successful introduction since she provided a contrast between herself and other colleagues. Daniel Granger's (Matthew Chambers) daughter, Izzie Torres (Jasmin and Nicole Parkinson), was also introduced as an eight-month-old baby left in the Mill Health Centre by her mother, Lisa (Michelle Lukes). Jan Pearson was also cast in the recurring role of receptionist Karen Hollins, as well as Vanessa Hehir recurring as Kirsten Lind.
The first departure of the series was Stephen Boxer leaving his role as Joe Fenton since he wanted to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company. His exit storyline sees his daughter, Emily (Florence Hoath), diagnosed with a serious heart condition, after which Joe moves to Boston to be with her. Michael McKell departed from his role as Nick West midway through. Series producer Peter Eryl Lloyd decided to kill the character off to add edge and drama to the series, since he usually gave departing characters a happy ending. He admitted he had a "twisted mind" after giving a Nick a storyline where he becomes paralysed, and on the day he is able to walk again, he dies.
The longstanding Woodson family, consisting of doctor George (Stirling Gallacher), lawyer Ronnie (Seán Gleeson) and their daughter Bracken (Jessica Gallagher) departed towards the end of this series when they move to China. Anita Carey also made her final appearance as receptionist Vivien March in the same episode as the Woodson's exit. Lloyd was asked if he had axed the cast that had departed and confirmed that all of them had opted to leave. He was saddened by all of their exits due to them portraying "such vivid characters". However, he saw it "as an opportunity to create interesting arrivals".

### Main characters

* Donnaleigh Bailey as Michelle Corrigan
* Elizabeth Bower as Melody Bell
* Stephen Boxer as Joe Fenton
* Owen Brenman as Heston Carter
* Anita Carey as Vivien March
* Matthew Chambers as Daniel Granger
* Selina Chilton as Ruth Pearce
* Matt Kennard as Archie Hallam
* Stirling Gallacher as George Woodson
* Seán Gleeson as Ronnie Woodson
* Seeta Indrani as Lily Hassan
* Diane Keen as Julia Parsons
* Michael McKell as Nick West
* Adrian Lewis Morgan as Jimmi Clay

### Recurring characters

* Jessica Gallagher as Bracken Woodson
* Vanessa Hehir as Kirsten Lind
* Florence Hoath as Emily Fenton
* Paul Jibson as Adam Sheffield
* Angela Lonsdale as Eva Moore
* Michelle Lukes as Lisa Torres
* Jasmin and Nicole Parkinson as Izzie Torres
* Jan Pearson as Karen Hollins

### Guest characters

* Richard Clarke as Ryan Parker

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in series | Episode | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1344 | 1 | "Tuning Out" | Terry Iland | Darren Rapier | 31 March 2008 (2008-03-31) |
| 1345 | 2 | "School's Out" | Terry Iland | Howard Hunt | 1 April 2008 (2008-04-01) |
| 1346 | 3 | "Words Left Unsaid" | Terry Iland | Paul Matthew Thompson | 2 April 2008 (2008-04-02) |
| 1347 | 4 | "Speak Up" | Chris Jury | Nick Hoare | 3 April 2008 (2008-04-03) |
| 1348 | 5 | "All in a Name" | Chris Jury | Dawn Harrison | 4 April 2008 (2008-04-04) |
| 1349 | 6 | "Lady Muck" | Chris Jury | Kate McDonnell | 7 April 2008 (2008-04-07) |
| 1350 | 7 | "Stabbed in the Back" | Lisa Clarke | Dale Overton | 8 April 2008 (2008-04-08) |
| 1351 | 8 | "Eye of the Beholder" | Lisa Clarke | Dominique Moloney | 9 April 2008 (2008-04-09) |
| 1352 | 9 | "And the Winner Is..." | Lisa Clarke | Roland Moore | 10 April 2008 (2008-04-10) |
| 1353 | 10 | "Searching" | Rob Rohrer | Andrea Clyndes | 11 April 2008 (2008-04-11) |
| 1354 | 11 | "A Pain in the..." | Rob Rohrer | Pat Smart | 14 April 2008 (2008-04-14) |
| 1355 | 12 | "Shine a Light On" | Rob Rohrer | Ray Brooking | 15 April 2008 (2008-04-15) |
| 1356 | 13 | "The Awakening" | Paul Gibson | Lol Fletcher | 16 April 2008 (2008-04-16) |
| 1357 | 14 | "Tear Away" | Paul Gibson | Dave Bradley | 17 April 2008 (2008-04-17) |
| 1358 | 15 | "Hidden Demons" | Paul Gibson | Pooky Quesnel | 18 April 2008 (2008-04-18) |
| 1359 | 16 | "Standing Up" | Daniel Wilson | William Armstrong | 21 April 2008 (2008-04-21) |
| 1360 | 17 | "Imitation of Life" | Daniel Wilson | Tom Ogen | 22 April 2008 (2008-04-22) |
| 1361 | 18 | "The Homecoming" | Daniel Wilson | Jude Tindall | 23 April 2008 (2008-04-23) |
| 1362 | 19 | "The Hex" | James Larkin | Kate Delin | 24 April 2008 (2008-04-24) |
| 1363 | 20 | "Crimes and Punishments" | James Larkin | Claire Bennett | 25 April 2008 (2008-04-25) |
| 1364 | 21 | "Little Brother" | James Larkin | Henrietta Hardy | 28 April 2008 (2008-04-28) |
| 1365 | 22 | "Larp" | Sarah Punshon | Mark Chadbourn | 29 April 2008 (2008-04-29) |
| 1366 | 23 | "Interventions" | Sarah Punshon | Philip Ralph | 30 April 2008 (2008-04-30) |
| 1367 | 24 | "Making Your Bed" | Jason Millward | Jonathan Bennett | 1 May 2008 (2008-05-01) |
| 1368 | 25 | "Making a Splash" | Sarah Punshon | Andrew Cornish | 2 May 2008 (2008-05-02) |
| 1369 | 26 | "Photo Finish" | Jason Millward | Olly Perkin | 6 May 2008 (2008-05-06) |
| 1370 | 27 | "Cat Fight" | Jason Millward | Jonathan Evans | 7 May 2008 (2008-05-07) |
| 1371 | 28 | "Friends Like These" | Laura Smith | Bradley Quirk | 8 May 2008 (2008-05-08) |
| 1372 | 29 | "Hearts Will Go On" | Matt Carter | Jonathan Hall | 9 May 2008 (2008-05-09) |
| 1373 | 30 | "Hush Little Baby" | Paul Gibson | Andrea Clyndes | 12 May 2008 (2008-05-12) |
| 1374 | 31 | "Sweet Success" | Paul Gibson | Chris Boiling | 13 May 2008 (2008-05-13) |
| 1375 | 32 | "The Ticking Clock" | Paul Gibson | David Lloyd | 14 May 2008 (2008-05-14) |
| 1376 | 33 | "What the World Needs Now" | Terry Iland | Ray Brooking | 15 May 2008 (2008-05-15) |
| 1377 | 34 | "Holding On" | Terry Iland | Tracey Black | 16 May 2008 (2008-05-16) |

## Reception

In the series, Vivien March (Anita Carey) starred in a prominent storyline that sees the character raped by Ryan Parker (Richard Clarke). The storyline was well received by critics as well as award ceremonies. Carey won the 2009 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance and the story won Best Storyline. "A Kind of Hush", the episode were Vivien tells Jimmi Clay (Adrian Lewis Morgan) about the rape, also won Best Single Episode. At the 2009 Inside Soap Awards, Doctors was nominated for Best Drama, but lost out to The Bill.
Chilton was also nominated at the 2009 British Soap Awards for Best Newcomer for her role as Ruth. That same year, Chilton won the Acting Performance accolade at the RTS Midlands Awards for her part in Ruth's mental breakdown storyline aired in the series. She won against co-star Matthew Chambers, who portrayed Daniel Granger in the series. Doctors was also nominated in the Fictional category. Ruth's mental health storyline received further acclaim after getting Doctors a nomination at the 2009 Mind Mental Health Media Awards.