Children's Hospital is a British television fly-on-the-wall documentary series based at the Sheffield Children's Hospital, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. It was broadcast on BBC One between 19 October 1993 and 26 February 2003.
Production According to scholar Annette Hill, the series had "all the hallmarks of a docu-soap", saying its "personal, melodramatic stories appeal to viewers, with more than 8 million tuning into the first series, despite widespread criticism from the press." Peter Lee-Wright observes that the series marked a transition in fly-on-the-wall documentaries by shifting the emphasis from the practical considerations onto the "human dramas being played out ... [capturing] the pain of the children ... and their parents' rollercoaster rides."
Music The theme music was composed by Debbie Wiseman. The music was released as a CD single in 1997, containing full orchestral and piano versions of the theme, alongside the shorter versions used for the opening and closing sequences.BBC Worldwide, BMG, 743214758922 The orchestral version was also released on the compilation album World of Sound. A new solo piano performance, titled "Ray of Sunshine", of the theme was included on the 2011 album Wiseman: Piano Stories.Debbie Wiseman: Piano Stories, 2011, Warner Classics
Transmissions Series Series Start date End date Episodes 1 19 October 1993 21 December 1993 10 2 20 October 1994 22 December 1994 10 3 7 January 1997 3 June 1997 20 4 3 September 1997 10 October 1997 6 5 21 April 1998 17 June 1998 12 6 7 September 1998 9 November 1998 10 7 27 April 1999 8 July 1999 10 8 18 January 2000 29 February 2000 6 9 27 June 2000 1 August 2000 6 10 13 June 2001 15 August 2001 8 11 26 June 2002 7 August 2002 6 12 22 January 2003 26 February 2003 6
Specials Entitle Air Date Christmas Special 22 December 1997 Philadelphia 8 December 1999 Russia with Jeremy Spake 10 December 1999 Christmas Special 20 December 1999
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