''General Hospital'' was a British daytime soap opera produced by ATV that ran on ITV from 1972 to 1979. It was not modelled after the American drama of the same name which is still airing today. Rather, it was an attempt to replicate the success of its predecessor, ''

Emergency – Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...

''. The original theme music was "Girl in the White Dress" by the Derek Scott Orchestra which was used until 1975, when it was replaced by

Johnny Pearson John Valmore Pearson (18 June 1925 – 20 March 2011) was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist. He led the ''Top of the Pops'' orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the ...

's "Red Alert" for the 60-minute episodes.

History

In 1972, ITV started to broadcast programmes on weekday afternoons, triggering a new wave of productions to fill in the extended schedules. Among the first of these shows, which were aimed at giving advertisers access to

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

, were the long-running rural soap ''

Emmerdale Farm ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' ( YTV) and the twice-weekly medical drama ''General Hospital''. Set in a fictional Midlands town, the series followed the romantic and professional lives of its doctors and nurses. While the location and the characters names had been changed, in most other respects ''General Hospital'' was almost identical to its predecessor, ''

'', a deliberate attempt to recreate its success. In 1975, after 270 twice-weekly episodes, ''General Hospital'' was given a prime time slot on Friday evening. The move saw the episode lengths double from 30 to 60 minutes, with each episode being more self-contained, while on-screen

medical procedure A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the delivery of healthcare. A medical procedure with the intention of determining, measuring, or diagnosing a patient condition or parameter is also called a medical test. ...

s, including detailed scenes of surgery, became more prominent. Amongst the regular cast of the series was actor

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...

who played Doctor Neville Bywaters; he also appeared as Adam Chance in '' Crossroads''. Among the other familiar faces to appear was

Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. S ...

, who later was later cast as the mother in a series of commercials for Oxo stock cubes, and later as Helen Herriot in the series '' All Creatures Great and Small'', based on the books by

James Herriot James Alfred Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), better known by his pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and author. Born in Sunderland, Wight graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939, returning to Eng ...

. Other regulars included

Carmen Munroe Carmen Esme Munroe, (born 12 November 1932)

, who was also a regular presenter in the ''Play School'' children's programme team; and a young

Sally Knyvette Sally Knyvette (; born 9 February 1951) is a British actress, theatre director and drama teacher. Early life Born Sally James in Horsham, Sussex, the daughter of a doctor, Knyvette lived in France and then Switzerland for nearly twelve years. ...

, who went on to appear in ''

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'' and ''Emmerdale Farm''. By 1979, the "homely" feel of ''General Hospital'' was considered to be old-fashioned in the wake of newer, grittier dramas, and it was cancelled. Many episodes are missing from television archives.

Cast list

* Lewis Jones as Mr William Parker-Brown, Consultant in trauma medicine and executive director * David Garth as Dr Matthew Armstrong, Consultant in emergency medicine and clinical lead * James Kerry as Dr Martin Baxter, Consultant in emergency medicine * Ian White as Dr Peter Ridge, Consultant in emergency medicine *

as Nurse Hilda Price, Senior sister/emergency nurse practitioner/clinical nurse manager *

Barbara Kellerman Barbara Rose Kellerman (originally spelt Kellermann; born 30 December 1949) is an English actress, known for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman was born in Manchester, Lancashire. Her Jewish fath ...

Nurse Laura Hardy *

Judy Buxton Judith Catherine Buxton (born 7 October 1949) is an English actress best known for playing Nurse Katy Shaw in ''General Hospital'' (1972–1973), Susan Protheroe in ''By the Sword Divided'' (1983–1985) and Ruth Carpenter in '' On the Up'' (199 ...

as Student Nurse Katy Shaw, Student nurse *

Peggy Sinclair Peggy Sinclair is an English actress. She was married to the actor Richard Coleman Richard Coleman (20 January 1930 – 16 December 2008) was a British film, television and stage actor. Early life Richard Coleman was born Ronald Coleman ...

as Sister Ellen Chapman, Sister *

as Dr Neville Bywaters, Consultant paediactrician * Eric Lander as Dr Richard Kirby, Specialist registrar in emergency medicine * Patricia Maynard as Dr Joanna Whitworth, Senior house officer * Pippa Reid as Sister Doreen Holland, Sister * John Halstead as Arnold Capper, Porter * Monica Grey as

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

Edwards, Chaplain * Jason Rose as Dr Herbert Chipato, Consultant general surgeon *

Carmen Munroe Carmen Esme Munroe, (born 12 November 1932)

as Sister Frances Washington, Sister * Carl Rigg as Dr Gregory Knight, Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon * Tom Adams as Mr Guy Wallman, Consultant general surgeon/CEO *

as Nurse Rowland * Amber Thomas as Nurse Stevens * Donal Cox as Dr Donald Morley *

Veronica Hurst Veronica Patricia Hurst (born Patricia Wilmshurst; 11 November 1931 – 15 November 2022) was a British film, stage and television actress. Hurst was born in Malta and brought up in Tooting, London. Early career Hurst was awarded the Leverhul ...

as Dr Hamlyn *

Harold Kasket Harold Kasket (26 July 1926 – 20 January 2002) was an English actor in theatre, films and later television from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as ''Maigret'', '' The Sain ...

as Dr Sterne *

Petra Davies Petra Davies (24 July 1930 – 22 March 2016) was a British actress. Early years Davies was born in Eltham, London, England on 24 July 1930 and grew up in Newport, Wales. Her parents were Welsh. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic A ...

as Dr Petra Hunt *

Ronald Leigh-Hunt Ronald Leigh-Hunt (5 October 1920 – 12 September 2005) was a British film and television actor. His father was a stockbroker and he attended the Italia Conti Academy. He began acting whilst serving in the army. Though never a major star, he ...

as Dr Robert Thorne * Jenny Twigge as Dr Wadham * Rosemary Nicols as Dr Lacey *

Jane How Carolyn Jane Onslow How (born 21 December 1950) is an English actress with a range of television, film, and stage credits. She is best known for her role as Jan Hammond, the mistress of Den Watts in '' EastEnders''. She appeared in the progra ...

as Nurse Preston * Jonathan Dennis as Dr Rogers * John Line as Dr Robertson * Jean Rimmer as Sister Harrington * Pamela Allen as Sister Bellamy

DVD Releases

In August 2012 a DVD of the surviving episodes from the original 270 twice-weekly version of the show was released under the banner Series 1. The DVD includes episodes 1, 2, 3*, 4, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11*, 12*, 13*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*, 25*, 26*, 29, 32, 100, 126, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 258 (episodes marked with a "*" were made in colour but now only survive in Black and White). A second volume containing the first prime time series was due for release in April 2013 but did not appear. As of 15 July 2021, a few selected episodes from the series are available on BritBox, a subscription only service curated by the BBC and ITV. https://www.itv.com/presscentre/britbox/press-releases/britbox-july-2021-highlights

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:General Hospital (British TV series) 1970s British television soap operas 1972 British television series debuts 1979 British television series endings British television soap operas ITV soap operas Television series by ITV Studios 1970s British medical television series English-language television shows Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV) Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios