''Hilltop Hospital'' (French: ''Hôpital Hilltop'') is a
claymation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
series made in 1999, directed by Pascal Le Nôtre. It is adapted from a series of books by
Nicholas Allan
Nicholas Allan (born 11 December 1956) is a British children's writer and illustrator.
Biography
Nicholas Allan was born and brought up in Brighton, England, attending Brighton College from 1970 to 1975. He studied at the Slade School of Art ...
of the same name.
The theme tune and incidental music for the English version of the series was composed by Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson who also composed the music for the original and mid-2000s
Fireman Sam
''Fireman Sam'' (Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...
The hospital is staffed by adult animals with mainly young animals as patients. Regular characters include:
* Dr. Matthews, a dog, who seeks the romantic attention of surgeon Sally.
* Nurse Kitty, a cat, who seeks the romantic attention of Dr. Matthews, who for the most part appears not to notice.
* Surgeon Sally, a hippo, a workaholic surgeon who has no time for Dr Matthews' attention.
* Clare and Arthur, two rats, who provide technical and laboratory services.
* Dr Atticus, a tortoise, the anesthetist who often is sleeping.
* The two Teds, two identical twin bears, who drive the hospital ambulance and work as orderlies.
The English-language version featured the voices of
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas ''Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 and ...
(Dr. Matthews),
Sally Ann Marsh
Sally Anne Marsh (born 14 October 1972) is a British actress and singer. She was a member of Faith Hope & Charity (British band), Faith Hope & Charity, later becoming the vocalist for a number of groups, including Xpansions, Ariel and Hysterix. ...
(nurse Kitty),
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...
(surgeon Sally),
Paul Shane
Paul Shane (born George Frederick Speight; 19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular playing Ted Bovis in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', a 1980s BBC sitcom.
Early life
Shane was born on ...
(the two Teds),
Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer
* Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer
* Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coach ...
(Dr. Atticus), Julie Higginson (Clare the lab rat) and Jonathan Kydd (Arthur the lab rat). Guest voices included Dame Thora Hird as Gracey Greyshell in ''Gracey Greyshell's last day''.
Episodes
Season 1 (1999)
# Heart Trouble (30 September 1999)
# Easter Bunnies (1 October 1999)
# Blood Bank (2 October 1999)
# The Big Event (4 October 1999)
# Rag Week at Hilltop (5 October 1999)
# The Big Match (6 October 1999)
# Gracey Greyshell's Last Day (7 October 1999)
# Fire Alert (8 October 1999)
# Happy Birthday, Dr. Matthews! (11 October 1999)
# The Mystery Illness (12 October 1999)
# Radio Hilltop (13 October 1999)
# Nurse Kitty's a Star (14 October 1999)
# The Ghost of Hilltop
# Blind as a Bat
# Accidents Will Happen
# Lift-off at Hilltop
# A Perfect Wedding
# Flower-Power
# Dogs Dinner
# Weasel Kneasal
# Mouth-to-Mouth
# All Creatures Great and Small
# Butterflies in My Tummy
# The Bear Who Wouldn't Share
# Press-ups and Bunny Hops
# Pamela's Secret
Season 2 (2001)
# Secret Beds
# Saving Your Bacon
# Teething Trouble
# The Hyper Hedgehog
# Lazy Eye
# Laughter is the Best Medecine
# Bully For You
# Hot and Bothered
# Nits
# Nightmare at Hilltop
# A Good Sketch
# Fond Memory
# C-C-Caspar
# Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
# Safety First
# Wee Trouble
# Testing Time
# Earache at Hilltop
# Larger Than Life (10 October 2001)
# Smile (13 October 2001)
# New Talent (15 October 2001)
# Skin Deep
# An Extra Pair of Hands
# Siamese Twins
# Cold Feet (21 October 2001)
# The Blues (23 October 2001)
Development
The series is co-produced by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
company
Siriol Productions
Calon (Welsh for 'heart') is the trading name of Mount Stuart Media Ltd., a British animation television production company based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, which primarily produced animation series in Welsh for S4C. The company was form ...
Folimage
Folimage is a French animation studio, based in Bourg-lès-Valence, Drôme, France. It was founded in 1981 by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. The studio produces animation films for cinema and TV (short films, TV specials and series, feature films). In 199 ...
and EVA Entertainment (season 1) for
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info.
It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
,
Canal J
Canal J (stylised as canal J) is a French pay public television channel dedicated to children's programming. It is aimed at children aged seven to fourteen.
On 1 February 2019, M6 Group entered negotiations to acquire the television unit of ...
,
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
network
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...