Hospital Central

Hospital Central (Central Hospital) is a Spanish television series that follows the professional and personal lives of the personnel of the fictitious Hospital Central in Madrid. New episodes are shown by Telecinco network in Spain, and cable/satellite channel "Factoría de Ficción" reruns them a couple of weeks later. Another cable/satellite channel, AXN, reruns the old episodes.

The series started on 2000 and it's still on air today in its 16th season, with its success going stronger. It is often said to be a Spanish version of ER.

Cast

Current cast

*Dr. Macarena "Maca" Wilson Fernández ("Patricia Vico", season 8-present). Originally a pediatrician, she is now the ER head of service. She married Esther, with whom she had a son through artificial insemination. She is a deeply committed to her work and patients, and to her family, and would go to great lengths to protect any and both of them. She had an affair with psychiatrist Veronica 'Vero' Sole. With her marriage broken, she is becoming more and more of a workaholic.
*Dr. Javier Sotomayor ("Antonio Zabálburu"), ER doctor, orthopedic surgeon. After dating Leonor and Laura, finally married to an old childhood friend, Belén. He soon realized it had been a mistake and left her, but not before she had his child. After deciding he would only care about his son he met Mónica, with whom he is married now. Recently got his arm reattached after losing it on a plane crash, and is going through rehabilitation.
*Nurse Esther García ("Fátima Baeza"), ER service nurse, later nurse manager. She had very bad luck in the romance department (always choosing the most inappropriate men) until Maca appeared in her life. However, she had a one-night stand with Raúl and became pregnant, which almost broke her marriage. She had a baby daughter, diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, which led to her having another son from Raúl to be a donor.
*Dr. Héctor Béjar ("Roberto Drago", season 6-present), an ER doctor from Argentina. Very friendly with his colleagues and caring with his patients, he's someone that can be counted on. He recently had a baby daughter with Susana, his HIV positive girlfriend.
*Nurse Mónica de la Fuente ("Beatriz Segura", season 12-present), a strong and independent SAMUR (EMT) nurse married to Javier. They had problems because of Trini, a prostitute she wanted to help. She was about to leave him when he got badly hurt in a plane crash.
*Dr. Raúl Lara ("Iván Sánchez", season 12-present), SAMUR (EMT) doctor and a ladies man, he started off on the wrong foot with Esther because of his behaviour with the nurses, but they soon became friends. They had a one night stand in a moment of weakness, and she became pregnant. When the baby was born sick, Maca asked him to have another child with Esther that can be a marrow donor. He has also taken custody of his nephew after the death of his sister and brother in law. Currently dating Sofía.
*Dr. Lola Sanz ("Marián Álvarez", season 14-present). Very friendly though terribly insecure ER doctor. The kind of person that gets along well with everybody. Was recently diagnosed with a pancreatic cancer and given only a few months to live, which she is determined to enjoy.
*Dr. Fernando Mora ("Pedro Casablanc", season 15-present). Veteran ER doctor. Maca used to be an intern under him, and he transmitted his love to the OR to her. A few years ago, he lost a patient with eclampsia because he couldn't admitt he was to tired to keep working, which made him prone to panic attacks whenever he was performing surgery. Despite his problems, Maca convinced him to come back to work and hired him. He is now reluctnatly undergoing a therapy with Carlos.
*Dr. Raimundo Ibáñez ("Carles Francino", season 14-present). Ladies man who enjoys flirting, even when he knows it won't lead to anything (like with Vero). Extremely loyal to his friends and a nice guy, he sees in Lola the love of his life.
*Dr. Verónica Solé ("Carolina Cerezuela", season 14-present; recurring s.14). A very self-confident psychiatrist. She dated Maca, first secretly, then openly when Maca and Esther broke up. She always felt Maca would never forget her ex-wife which ultimately led to Vero leaving her. She still cares deeply for her, though. Very good friends with Rai.
*Teresa Montoro ("Marisol Rolandi"), gossiping admitting clerk.
*Alicia ("Bárbara Muñoz", season 12-present), Agata’s nephew. Her aunt got her a job in the admission desk. Not terribly efficient and somewhat careless, she and Teresa clashed at first but they have since developed an odd, mutually supportive, relationship. She subsequently started working as a nurse. Fell head over heels for Waldo.
*Dr. Claudia Castilla ("Elia Galera" season 13-present; recurring previously). Neurologist.
*Carlos Granados ("Jesús Olmedo", season 9-present), a social worker who joined the ER staff as a psychologist.
*Sofía Carrillo ("Juana Acosta", season 15-present), an ambicious no-nonsense resident. she is smart and a quick learner, but proud and not terribly good with personal skills. Only Raul has seen her softer side.
*Waldo Jaramillo ("David Andrade", season 15-present), an Ecuadorian resident too naive for his own good, who saves all his money to bring his girlfriend Mayarí to Spain. Javier took him under his wing until his accident. He is now working with Hector. Recently found himself having feelings towards Alicia
*Diego Peláez ("Angel Rouco"), SAMUR EMT.

Departed cast

*Dr. Santiago Bernal ("Sergi Mateu", seasons 1-6), ER Head of service and later hospital director. Left over disagreements with the hospital's administration.
*Nurse Elisa Sánchez ("María Casal", seasons 1-8), ER Head nurse. Santiago's ex-wife, they have a son. She lived with Dávila for a while.
*Dr. Andrea Valverde ("Rosa Mariscal", seasons 1-6), ER pediatrician. She had an affair with a married doctor in between a stormy relationship with Vilches. She was pregnant from him when she left.
*Dr. Mario Quiroga ("Jesús Cabrero", seasons 1-3), SAMUR doctor killed by the head of a sect while trying to save Diana from him.
*Dr. Cecilia Schuman ("Lola Casamayor", seasons 1-2), an , ER doctor originally from Argentina. Died while being operated of a brain tumor.
*Dr. Susana Cortés ("Chusa Barbero", season 1), ER doctor.
*Nurse Leonor ("Diana Lázaro", seasons 1-2). Dated Javier for a while.
*Nurse Diana Dueñas ("Reyes Moleres", seasons 1-4), SAMUR Nurse. Got sucked into a sect, last seen in rehabilitation.
*Nurse Asunción ("Ana Frau", season 1)
*Dr. Marta Vidal ("Carmen Arbex", season 2), ER doctor, niece of then hospital director, Dr. Ferreira.
*Dr. Paula Herrero ("Lola Marceli", season 2), ER psychiatrist. She used to be a neurosurgeon until she lost a patient in the operating room and changed specialities.
*Dr. Ana Ortiz ("Paulina Gálvez", season 3), ER doctor.
*Dr. Francisco "Fran" Crespo ("Armando del Río", seasons 4-8), ER doctor who soon became the new SAMUR doctor, left to work with Doctors Without Borders. Had an affair with Eva for a while.
*Dr. Cristina Laguna ("Amaia Lizarralde", seasons 3-7), ER psychiatrist. A single mother who lived with Santiago until she cheated on him. Killed in a lab explosion.
*Isidro "Rusti" Galvez ("Ángel Pardo", seasons 1-11). He started working in ER as an orderly, but later became a nursing assistant. He had a crush on Esther for a long time, but finally got over it and married Queca. After passed a pathological gambling episode, he left the hospital to run an inn with his wife’s family.
*Nurse Begoña ("Mercé Llorens", seasons 9-11), a fresh out-of-college but very ambitious nurse. She had a relationship with Dávila that turned into an obsession when it ended.
*Nurse/Dr. Eva Méndez ("Alicia Bogo", seasons 4-12), SAMUR (EMT) nurse who later got a degree in medicine. Had an affair with Fran while she was dating his brother Nacho. She left Madrid to take a be a doctor in another Hospital.
*Dr. Roberto "Rober" Cuevas ("Marco de Paula", seasons 9-12), SAMUR (EMT) doctor. He discovered he was in love with Eva shortly before she left, and left with her.
*Dr. Antonio Dávila ("Lluis Marco", seasons 4-12), surgeon, later hospital director. A womanizer, only Elisa made him settle down. He lost his position as hospital director in a power struggle with Ágata. He left the ER to be a peditatrician in the teaching ward.
*Dr. Cruz Gándara ("Alicia Borrachero", seasons 7-13), Head of surgery and later ER head of service. Divorced with one daughter, she lost another son to a long illness. She was living with Vilches their baby, and his two sons, but their relationship embittered with time until she couldn't take it anymore. She left the hospital soon after, feeling guilty over the death of patient she felt she hadn't pay enough attention, due to her being distracted with the problems in her personal life.
*Dr. Laura Llanos ("Diana Palazón", seasons 3-13), ER doctor. Entered as a resident, and acquired a position as attending when Javier temporarily left the hospital. Dated and lived with Javier for a while, until she became involved with Aimé, but that relationship fell through soon. She was engaged to Carlos, but he drove her away after becoming paralyzed in car accident. She left to be a doctor in a humanitarian mission in Nairobi.
*Dr. Julio Román ("Roberto Álvarez", season 13), an ER doctor and former militar doctor. He is a former friend of Vilches.
*Dr. Rodolfo Vilches ("Jordi Rebellón", seasons 1-14), ER doctor. Widower with a teenaged son and lots of attitude. He later adopts a conflictive boy. Survived being operated from a brain tumor, after which he lived with Cruz, with whom he had a baby girl. The father of a patient he lost set him up and he spent a year in prison. He was eventually cleared of all charges, but a prison-mate got him into more and more serious trouble that almost killed him. He is nowadays officially dead and in a witness protection program.
*Dr. Manuel Aimé ("Nacho Fresneda", seasons 4-15), ER doctor. He resigned his position as head of Service due to disagreements with the hospital director, Dr. Davila. He was making amends with his ex-wife when she died with their daughter in a car crash. It took him a long time to get over it, and he even tried to commit suicide, but he is now rebuilding his life with Claudia's help. He took a researcher position in a Marseille hospital.

Recurring cast

*Lucas ("Arturo Arribas"), SAMUR doctor.
*Fernando ("Alberto Mateo"), SAMUR doctor.
*Guillermo ("Luis Castro", season 7-present), a conflictive, street-raised teenage boy who got adopted by Vilches and found a family with him and his new brother Alejandro. After the pressumed death of Vilches, he got his girlfriend pregnant and got a construction job to support his new family. Javier convinced him to apply for an orderly position in the hospital.
*David Gimeno ("Pablo Carbonell", season 16) an ER doctor with a weird behaviour. Keeps talking to everyone about how his wife left him.
*Susana ("Tamara Arias", seasons 13-present), Hector's girlfriend.
*Alejandro Vilches ("Kirian Sánchez", seasons 1-14), Dr. Vilches teenaged son. Years ago, he suffered a grave depression after his best friend died, and tried to kill himself by jumping out his window. He is anorexic.
*Dr. Bernardo Ferreira ("Miguel Nieto", seasons 1-3, special appearance in season 4), hospital director. He left after suffering a heart attack.
*Dr. Miguel Seró ("Ricard Rodriguez", seasons 2-4), a married pediatrician who had an affair with Andrea but ultimately returned to his wife and daughter.
*Nurse Marcelina "Queca" Martínez ("Pepa Roldán", seasons 3-11), an ER nurse who later married Rusti. She left the job to be a stay at home mom.
*Dr. Manolo Hervás ("Ferrán Rañé", season 3), a senior psychiatrist who sexually harassed Cristina and left the hospital when Santiago confronted him.
*Gonzalo ("Juli Fàbregas", season 3), the leader of a dangerous sect disguissed as a social worker, he managed to suck Diana in and killed Mario after he stopped his sect's mass suicide ritual. He finally killed himself.
*Mª Angeles Cabrera ("Sílvia Sabaté", seasons 4-11), Dr. Aimé's ex-wife and mother of his daughter. She was an alcoholic who got into an abusive relationship. Aimé had to rescue her, and they grew closer again. She recently died in a car crash.
*Nacho Crespo ("Aure Sánchez", seasons 4-6), Fran's brother. A graphic designer and illustrator who also was an ex-drug addict with a form of epilepsy. He fell in love with Eva and started dating her, until he found out she was cheating on him with his own brother Fran.
*Germán Prada ("Fernando Guillén", seasons 4-6), the hospital administrator. He had no qualms in doing what necessary to keep the status quo, and was Santiago's fiercest opponent.
*Nurse Miriam Canalda ("Leticia Dolera", season 7), an ER nurse and Dr. Davila's niece. She was a cocaine addict who finally agreed to rehabilitate.
*Candela ("Clara Lago", seasons 7-9), Cruz's teenaged daughter. She stayed with her mother after her parents divorced. She’s currently studying abroad.
*Daniel "D.J." Alonso ("Eloy Azorín", season 8), a medicine student who had a drunken one-night with Cruz and fell in love with her, but she refused his advances. He finally left medicine to follow his dream to become a disc-jockey in Ibiza.
*Gabriela Dávila ("Marta Solaz", seasons 8-12), Dr. Davila's daughter who got diagnosed with cancer, but survived. During the treatment, she started a relationship with Héctor.
*Belén ("Eva Marciel", season 8-12), Javier's wife. She was very much in love with him and didn’t take well his leaving her. She's doing everything in her hand to prevent him from seeing their son, including moving to another town and claiming it wasn’t really his son.
*Ágata Monasterio ("Laura Pamplona", season 12), a high-ranking employee from the Ministry of Health who kept interfering in everything to make the hospital more cost-efficient. She took the job of hospital administrator, and fired Dávila among other things. She also tried to seduce Vilches, but failed.
*Tomás Carrero ("Rafa Reaño", seasons 12-13), a police inspector. He's had an on-and-off relationship with Mónica for some time.
*Marina Lara ("Lara Corrochano", season 12), Raúl’s sister. She was an alcoholic in the midst of a divorce, when she disappeared. It was later found out that her husband had accidentally killed her in a discussion.

pecial guest stars

During these eight years, "Hospital Central" also got some well-known actors and artists in Spain to do take on guest starring roles. Some of them were:
*Pilar López de Ayala
*José Sacristán
*Pilar Bardem
*Agustín González
*José Luis López Vázquez
*Lolita Flores (4-episode story arc)
*Jorge Sanz
*Chenoa as herself
*David Bisbal as himself
*Julieta Venegas as herself (with musical show included)
*Sancho Gracia as himself

External links

* [http://www.hospitalcentral.telecinco.es/ Official website] es icon
* [http://lesbicanarias.es/category/hospital-central/ "Lesbicanarias" entry: news, synopsis, videos] es icon