- HolbyBlue
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HolbyBlue 
Opening creditsGenre Police procedural
DramaCreated by Tony Jordan Starring Cal Macaninch
Richard Harrington
Kacey Ainsworth
Zöe Lucker
Tim Pigott-Smith
James HillierCountry of origin United Kingdom Language(s) English No. of series 2 No. of episodes 20 (List of episodes) Production Running time 60 minutes Broadcast Original channel BBC One Original run 8 May 2007 – 5 June 2008 Chronology Related shows Casualty
Holby CityExternal links Website HolbyBlue was a British police drama series that aired on BBC One from 2007 to 2008. Produced by the BBC, Red Planet Pictures and Kudos for BBC One, it is a spin-off of the successful BBC One medical drama Holby City, itself a spin-off of the long-running series Casualty.
The first series was broadcast between 8 May and 26 June 2007. A second series of 12 episodes broadcast from 20 March to 5 June 2008. The BBC announced in August 2008 that due to poor ratings, they had dropped the show and it would not be returning for a third series.[1][2]
Contents
Episodes
Main article: List of HolbyBlue episodesBroadcast of the first episode was postponed by a week.[3]
Characters
- Cal Macaninch as DI John Keenan
- Richard Harrington as DS Luke French
- Kacey Ainsworth as Inspector Jenny Black
- James Hillier as Sergeant Christian Young
- David Sterne as Sergeant Edward "Mac" McFadden
- Chloe Howman as PC Kelly Cooper
- Jimmy Akingbola as PC Neil Parker
- Joe Jacobs as PC Billy Jackson
- Elaine Glover as PC Lucy Slater
- Kieran O'Brien as PC Robert Clifton
- Sara Powell as Senior Crown Prosecutor Rachel Barker
- Zöe Lucker as Kate Keenan
- Tim Pigott-Smith as DCI Harry Hutchinson (Series 1)
- Oliver Milburn as DCI Scott Vaughan (Series 2)
- James Thornton as PC Jake Loughton (Series 2)
- Velbor Topic as Neculai Stenga (Series 1)
- Julie Cox as Mandy French (Series 1)
- Stephanie Langton as Mandy French (Series 2)
- Kenneth Colley as John Keenan Senior (Series 2)
- Kevin Doyle as Sean Burrows (Series 2)
Production
Actors spent some time shadowing uniform and detective officers at Surrey Police's Woking station, and following an in depth visit to the station's custody centre, it is rumoured that the Holby police station cell block is based on the real thing at Woking. The filming for the first series began in the last week of January 2007,[5] at an old MOD site near Longcross. It is also based at Brunel University, West London, where the external shots of the police station were filmed. Scenes were also filmed in Egham, Surrey. Shooting was also in Woking, Surrey, during the winter in the town centre.
The first series was broadcast on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., in the regular timeslot of Holby City, which was moved to a Thursday timeslot for the duration of HolbyBlue's run. A second series of 12 episodes was commissioned in June 2007 for transmission in 2008, with filming running until March 2008.[6] The first episode is due to feature a crossover with the characters of Holby City, as the characters from that show are interviewed by the HolbyBlue police officers following a "major incident".[7] The BBC's Controller of Continuing Drama Series, John Yorke, has said of the crossover: "Loads of questions are asked in the Holby City episode that are answered in the HolbyBlue episode. That is exciting. It is something the Americans have done for years with shows like CSI and I really like it. You really believe it’s a world."[8] The crossover episodes will be co-written by Holby City creator Tony McHale, and HolbyBlue creator Tony Jordan.[7]
Series 1 had a regular villain, drugs baron Neculai Stenga, who died at the end of the series. Series 2 had a few long-running crime storylines: Episode 1 featured Jac Naylor from Holby City, who had been arrested for murder, although it turned out she was innocent. Three episodes were spent investigating the case of Sean Burrows, a youth worker who had beaten his wife and son. The most major villain was John's father, who John visited in prison and later appeared at the end of the series suspected of abusing prostitutes.
Reception
The show has come under fire from the public since the first episode. Containing swearing and sex scenes before the 9pm watershed, the BBC received many complaints from viewers and the show was featured on BBC One's Points of View almost immediately after the programme's debut. The show is very different from its parents, Holby City and Casualty, in that it aims to "push the boundaries" in pre-watershed television, according to creator and writer Tony Jordan. The second series had been toned down briefly, but there are still elements of upsetting and distressing scenes in the programme.
It was also criticised heavily by the Private Eye and other companies for being another TV drama based in Holby. <citation needed>
International broadcasters
Country Network Series premiere Weekly schedule 
AustraliaChannel Seven 30 November 2008 Mondays, 12:30am 
IsraelBBC Prime
BBC Entertainment
25 January 2010
Mondays, 9:45pmDVD releases
- The complete series 1 DVD was released 21 April 2008.[9]
- In Australia, the DVD was released on 5 March 2009.[10]
References
- ^ Welsh, James (6 August 2008). "BBC takes axe to 'Holby Blue'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a119807/bbc-takes-axe-to-holby-blue.html. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ "BBC axes police drama Holby Blue". BBC. 6 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7545311.stm. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ Green, Kris (17 April 2007) 'HolbyBlue' pushed back a week, Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2007-04-27
- ^ "Characters & Actors". BBC.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/holbyblue/characters_actors.shtml. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
- ^ Green, Kris (31 January 2007). "Filming begins on 'HolbyBlue'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a42293/filming-begins-on-holbyblue.html. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
- ^ Hilton, Beth (17 October 2007). "Oliver Milburn joins cast of 'Holby Blue'". DigitalSpy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a77926/oliver-milburn-joins-cast-of-holby-blue.html. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
- ^ a b Green, Kris (14 November 2007). "'HolbyBlue' returns with crossover ep". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a79838/holbyblue-returns-with-crossover-ep.html. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ Hemley, Matthew (14 November 2007). "Tony Jordan returns to write for EastEnders". The Stage. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/18854/tony-jordan-returns-to-write-for-eastenders. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "Holby Blue: Series 1 (DVD)". BBC.co.uk. http://www.bbcshop.com/invt/bbcdvd2714. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- ^ Ezydvd.com.au
External links
- HolbyBlue at bbc.co.uk
- HolbyBlue at the Internet Movie Database
Holby Casualty Holby City 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14Characters (list)Connie Beauchamp · Joseph Byrne · Lady Anne-Marie Byrne · Linden Cullen · Abra Durant · Jayne Grayson · Ric Griffin · Dan Hamilton · Henrik Hanssen · Elliot Hope · Lulu Hutchison · Donna Jackson · Nick Jordan · Maria Kendall · Sacha Levy · Vanessa Lytton · Antoine Malick · Anton Meyer · Faye Morton · Jac Naylor · Frieda Petrenko · Michael Spence · Sam Strachan · Kyla Tyson · Oliver Valentine · Penny Valentine · Chrissie Williams · Mark Williams · Maddy Young ·HolbyBlue Related articlesCategories:- 2007 British television programme debuts
- 2008 British television programme endings
- 2000s British television series
- BBC television dramas
- Police procedural television series
- Crime television series
- Holby
- Television spin-offs
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