Holby is a

fictional city This is a list of fictional settlements, including fictional towns, villages, and cities, organized by each city's medium. This list should include only well-referenced, notable examples of fictional towns, cities, settlements and villages that a ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the setting for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

s ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'', and the police drama ''

HolbyBlue ''HolbyBlue'' (also known as ''Holby Blue'') is a British police procedural drama series that ran for two series from 2007 to 2008. The show revolves around the daily lives of a number of police officers working at Holby South police station. T ...

''. It is based on the real city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where ''Casualty'' was formerly filmed, and is notionally located in the fictional county of Wyvern in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

, not far from the border with

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. While ''Casualty'' has been filmed in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

since 2011, ''Holby City'' was filmed in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, which follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. Both shows are set in the same fictional Holby City Hospital. Holby has an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

called Holby International.

Holby City Hospital

Holby City Hospital is the fictional

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

within the city in which ''

'' and ''

'' are set. It is based on the

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...

which the original script writers spent time observing in the 1980s in order to garner ideas for ''Casualty''.Hilary Kingsley(1995) ''Casualty'' The Inside Story, Penguin Books, Although both shows are set in the same hospital, ''Casualty'' is primarily filmed in

, whilst ''Holby City'' was filmed in Hertfordshire at

BBC Elstree Centre The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios, is a television production facility, currently owned by the BBC. The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. Th ...

. The indoor shots for the first series of ''Casualty'' were filmed at

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC), formerly known as BBC Television Centre, is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, which was the headquarters of BBC Television from 1960 to 2013, when BBC Television moved to Broadcasting H ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

.Rachel Silver(1998) ''Casualty'', Behind The Scenes, BBC Books, By Series 2, a permanent interior set was built in a warehouse on Kingsland trading estate in the St. Philip's area of Bristol, close to where the exterior shots of the A&E and hospital were filmed. The exterior shots of the hospital used in ''Casualty'' were formerly filmed at the

City of Bristol College City of Bristol College is a further education and higher education college in Bristol, England. It provides courses for young people and adults aged 16 and above in areas such as: A Levels, Animal Care, Floristry, Horticulture, Applied Forensic ...

; location filming later moved to an industrial estate in Lawrence Hill, close to the interior set of the hospital.''Casualty'' Filming Locations, ''IMDB''
". URL last accessed 22 April 2008 It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the

was considering moving the filming of ''Casualty'' to studios in

. On 26 March 2009, the BBC confirmed the move. Since late 2011, ''Casualty'' has been filmed on a purpose built studio and backlot set at the BBC

Roath Lock BBC Roath Lock Studios is a television production studio in Cardiff, Wales. The facility houses BBC drama productions that include () ''Doctor Who'', ''Casualty'', and ''Pobol y Cwm''. The centre topped out on 20 February 2011 and filming for s ...

Studios in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

Wards and departments

In ''Casualty'', the primary location is the hospital's

Emergency Department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

(formerly referred to as

Accident and Emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

), which has its own adjoining

Clinical Decisions Unit An acute medical unit (AMU) is a short-stay department in some British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand hospitals that may be linked to the emergency department, but functions as a separate department. The AMU acts as a gateway between a patie ...

, introduced in Series 25, Episode 4 "Only the Lonely". Downton and Perry psychiatric wards are shown at Holby in Series 25, Episode 23 "Place of Safety". ''Holby City'' is set between the hospital's

Acute Assessment Unit An acute medical unit (AMU) is a short-stay department in some British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand hospitals that may be linked to the emergency department, but functions as a separate department. The AMU acts as a gateway between a patie ...

(ground floor), and Keller (third floor) and Darwin (sixth floor) wards, providing

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and Cardiothoracic surgical care respectively. Holby expanded by adding "HolbyCare", a private healthcare ward led by

Michael Spence Andrew Michael Spence (born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American economist and Nobel laureate. Spence is the William R. Berkley Professor in Economics and Business at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and the Philip H. Kn ...

adjacent to the existing

Intensive Care Unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

on the fifth floor (Series 10, Episode 14 "Stolen"). Former storylines have also focused around the hospital's Otter ward, providing

pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

care, as well as its

maternity A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...

ward. Otter ward has not featured in the show since

Series 4 Series 4 could refer to: * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model * BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 4 series The GeForce 4 series (codenames below) refers to the fourth generation of Nvidia's GeForce line of graph ...

, whilst the maternity ward ceased usage as a primary location in Series 8. In ''Casualty@Holby City'', Nightingale, a mothballed wing of the hospital, is used to perform a major heart transplant on a small girl by

Connie Beauchamp Connie Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas ''Holby City'' and ''Casualty'', portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six, episode 35, "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and a ...

and Harry Harper while the hospital burns. Other wards of the hospital to be referenced include Berkley, Clifton,

Curie Curie may refer to: *Curie family, a family of distinguished scientists: :* Jacques Curie (1856–1941), French physicist, Pierre's brother :* Pierre Curie (1859–1906), French physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Marie's husband :* Marie Curi ...

(disused),

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Geraint Morris Geraint Morris (28 March 1941 – 12 July 1997) was a profound Welsh film and television director and producer. Career Morris joined BBC Wales in 1963 after graduating from the University College of North Wales in Bangor. His first work ...

, Hitchcock (psychiatric),

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, Swift and St Clares as well as the paediatric, neonatal, burns and neuro ICUs.

List of wards/departments

Holby Ambulance Service

Holby Ambulance Service is the fictional ambulance service which serves

Holby City Hospital Holby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, the setting for the BBC medical dramas ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'' and ''Holby City'', and the police drama ''HolbyBlue''. It is based on the real city of Bristol, where ''Casualty'' was forme ...

- also appearing in the two hospital dramas ''

'' and ''

''. Although the ambulance service was only seen in ''Holby City'' very rarely, ''Casualty'' has featured

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

characters as a key part of the cast since the show's 1986 conception.

Holby South

Holby South is the fictional police station in which ''

'' was based in its two series run.

Trivia

Another fictional Holby is the setting for the Danish TV soap ''Ugeavisen'' ("The Weekly Paper"), made by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation ( DR) and first shown in 52 weekly episodes in 1990-91. DR described this Holby as a "medium-sized provincial town, a good hour's drive from Copenhagen".''Ugeavisen'' on the DR archive site ''Bonanza''

References

{{Holby England in fiction Fictional populated places in England