The twenty-third and final series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2021. The series consists of 50 episodes, which focus on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the fictional Holby City Hospital. Seán Gleeson serves as the series producer. A new theme tune was introduced in the series, but was negatively received from viewers. As the series was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it had to comply with safety protocols, including social distancing and reduced people on-set. Early in the series, actors Dawn Steele and Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge isolated and became a work bubble for two episodes to film close proximity scenes. The series was promoted through multiple trailers and behind-the-scenes videos.
The show's cancellation was announced in June 2021 as part of plans from the BBC to make more nationwide programming. Holby City concludes with this series and the finale first airs on 29 March 2022. There was a wide backlash to the news from critics, fans and past and present cast members. A petition was launched to save the show, reaching over 43,700 signatures. Filming for the show concluded in December 2021 and pays homage to the National Health Service (NHS) and the show's cast and crew.
Fifteen actors continued their roles from the previous series with three regular characters departing during this series. Multiple former cast members reprised their roles, including some for the show's final episodes. Rosie Marcel (Jac Naylor) and Belinda Owusu (Nicky McKendrick) returned following breaks, while 14 actors returned for guest stints of varying lengths. Four new regular characters were introduced in series 23. Additionally, several recurring characters and multiple guest stars feature in the series.
Episodes
Production The series commenced in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2021 on BBC One. Whilst it normally airs on Tuesday nights, the 2020 UEFA European Championship created some scheduling conflicts. As a result, episode 13 was broadcast on a Monday night, and episode 14 was broadcast on a Wednesday night. As a result of the 2021–22 FA Cup, episode 46 was broadcast on a Monday night. It was produced by BBC Studios, and is filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre. Seán Gleeson serves as the series producer for the twenty-third series, replacing Jane Wallbank; his appointment was announced on 11 March 2021. Gleeson has previous experience working for the BBC as an actor, director and producer. He expressed his excitement at joining the drama and revealed that he wanted to focus on "consolidating and reinvigorating this firm favourite for an even wider audience". Gleeson's appointment was welcomed by Kate Oates, the head of continuing drama at BBC Studios, who commented, "Seán has a unique and holistic approach to creativity and storytelling, that makes him a great company leader, and an exceptional dramatist." Oates and Deborah Sathe, the senior head of content production at BBC Studios, both oversee the production of the series. The series consists of 50 episodes. Episodes run for approximately 40 minutes, shortened by 20 minutes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This series introduced a new theme tune for the show, which first features in episode eleven. Simon Duke from the Chronicle Live observed that viewers disliked the change and branded it "pointless".
Filming Filming for the series takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, so strict safety protocols, including social distancing, were enforced to protect the cast and crew. To reduce the number of additional people on-set, mannequin dummies were used on-set. Cast had to apply their own makeup with verbal support from the makeup artists. Smaller makeup injuries, such as cuts and bruises, were not used as a result of this. Larger makeup injuries, such as surgery closeups, were still able to be replicated using prosthetics. As part of their costumes, characters often use personal protective equipment (PPE). However, show bosses were keen to avoid using NHS resources so sourced their PPE from an alternative supplier. The PPE was still effective, allowing cast members to sometimes breach social distancing measures.
To allow close proximity filming, cast members sometimes isolated together and became a work "bubble". As part of a story featuring an intimate relationship between their characters, Ange Godard and Josh Hudson, respectively, actors Dawn Steele and Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge isolated for a week and became a bubble for the filming of episodes nine and ten. Steele enjoyed working in close contact with another actor again and said that she had missed it.
Promotion The series was promoted through multiple trailers and each episode received a preview clip before broadcast. A promotional trailer for upcoming episodes of the series was released on 29 April 2021. It features footage of new and continuing storylines. A trailer promoting episode eleven was released on 9 June 2021. Lidia Molina-Whyte from the Radio Times thought the trailer looked exciting and said Holby City "shows no signs of slowing down on the drama front". On 16 July 2021, a promotional trailer was released for the second quarter of the series. The trailer begins with a recap of recent plot lines, before teasing new stories. Calli Kitson from the Metro thought there was "a lot to talk about" from the trailer.
Three different trailers were released to promote episodes 21 to 24, which features the story arc of Cameron Dunn's (Nic Jackman) revenge and the hospital explosion. Kitson opined that fans were "being treated to plenty of teaser trailers" as part of the plot. The first trailer, described as "explosive" by Digital Spy Stephanie Chase, was released on 24 August 2021. The second, "The Clock is Ticking", was issued on 31 August 2021, and the third, "Stay With Me", a week later, on 7 September 2021. In addition to the trailers, the show's media team documented the filming of the explosion across two behind-the-scenes videos.
Two further behind-the-scenes videos were created in October and December 2021 for the return of Oliver Valentine (James Anderson) and the exit of Carole Copeland (Julia Deakin), respectively. On 29 December 2021, a trailer was released to promote the show's final episodes. Kitson opined that the trailer highlighted "drama of a different kind". The returns of Serena Campbell (Catherine Russell) and Bernie Wolfe (Jemma Redgrave) were documented in a behind-the-scenes video, released on 8 February 2022. The show's penultimate episode was promoted through a trailer which was released via Instagram on 18 March 2022. A promotional trailer for the show's final episode was released on 25 March 2022, featuring clips from the episode as well as archive footage. Sam Warner (Digital Spy) called the trailer "emotional" and prompted him to comment, "it's fair to say you should bring some tissues along".
Cancellation On 2 June 2021, it was announced that Holby City had been cancelled and would conclude with the twenty-third series. The final episode will be broadcast in March 2022. The decision was made as part of plans from the BBC to make more programmes across the country with the intention to better reflect it. An official press release statement thanked the entire cast and crew for their work on the serial and promised that it would "[go] out on a high". Gleeson explained that his team wanted to make the rest of the series "months are the most entertaining Holby yet". Hugh Quarshie, the show's longest-serving cast member, told Sarah Marsh of The Guardian that the cast and production team were informed about the cancellation one hour before its announcement.
The show's cancellation received a backlash from critics, fans and past and present cast members. Kitson (Metro) branded the decision "a huge mistake" and summarised, "Put simply, storylines in Holby City have saved people's lives." Borehamwood and Elstree Times writer and Elstree Studios historian Paul Welsh was disappointed by the news and felt sorry for the cast "whose fame rests of being in Holby City" and may struggle with typecasting. Quarshie, Joe McFadden (Raf di Lucca), Davood Ghadami (Eli Ebrahimi) and Luisa Bradshaw-White (Lisa Fox) were among the cast who expressed their sadness with the show's cancellation. Leslie Ash, who portrayed Vanessa Lytton, shared her disappointment at the serial's cancellation, but predicted that it could lead to Holby City characters making future appearances in sister show Casualty. Jac Naylor actress Rosie Marcel compared dealing with the show's cancellation to the five stages of grief, adding that she will be sad to leave her character behind. Fans of the show launched a Change.org petition to save Holby City, with it reaching over 30,000 signatures in a matter of days, and 43,700 by December 2021.
Filming for Holby City concluded on 17 December 2021. Multiple cast members documented their final days on set and expressed how emotional they all found the experience. The show's final story features the hospital's surgical wards facing closure. Dainty (Digital Spy) pointed out that such an ending would be work well as it allows Casualty to continue without disruption. Marcel teased that the final episode would be "amazing" and "really spectacular". She added that it would pay homage to the National Health Service (NHS) and the show's cast and crew. The actress also confirmed that multiple former cast members would reprise their roles for the finale. Six actors reprised their roles in the episode. David Ames, who plays Dominic Copeland in the drama, described the final episode as "really gorgeous" which viewers would enjoy. He also promised "lots of little mini surprises along the way". It was confirmed on 2 March 2022 that the final episode would be premiere on 29 March 2022.
Cast The final series of Holby City features a cast of characters working for the National Health Service (NHS) on the surgical wards of Holby City Hospital. David Ames appears as Dominic Copeland, a registrar on the general surgery ward, Keller. Bob Barrett portrays the ward's clinical lead, Sacha Levy, a consultant general surgeon. Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge stars as Josh Hudson, a first year foundation doctor (F1) working on the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), and Tyler Luke Cunningham features as Louis McGerry, an AAU staff nurse. Guy Henry plays Henrik Hanssen, a consultant general surgeon, while Jaye Jacobs appears as Donna Jackson, a senior staff nurse on Keller. Ramin Karimloo portrays Kian Madani, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon on Darwin, the cardiothoracic surgery ward. Amy Lennox stars as Chloe Godard, a cardiothoracic registrar, and Jo Martin features as Max McGerry, the hospital's chief executive officer (CEO) and a consultant neurosurgeon. Amy Murphy plays Kylie Madden, an AAU staff nurse, while Vineeta Rishi portrays Lucky Simpson, a mental health nurse. Dawn Steele stars as Ange Godard, a consultant general surgeon and the clinical lead of the AAU. Alex Walkinshaw plays Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher, the director of nursing services, who is later promoted to acting CEO. Chan Woo Lim appears as AAU F1 doctor Jeong-Soo Han. Additionally, appearing in a recurring capacity are Jules Robertson and Laila Rouass who play porter Jason Haynes and Sahira Shah, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and the clinical lead of Darwin ward, respectively.