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One of the writers on Doctors has slammed the BBC for its “disastrous decision” to axe the soap.
Last October the BBC revealed that it was ditching the show after 23-years, with the final episodes due to air later this year.
Now, Philip Ralph, a writer on the soap whose credits include Holby City and 8 Days: to The Moon and Back, has blasted the decision in a long thread on X (formerly Twitter).
“Today is the last day of filming @BBCDoctors. Doctors filmed 200+ episodes every year, each one starring the regular cast plus up to 3 guest actors, each one written by a writer, each one made by a full production crew. Each one produced, shot, and edited in Birmingham. In one fell swoop, from today, all of that is gone.
“Over 600 guest actors every year likewise got the chance to work, be seen, renew their faith in their abilities, and keep going. A writing team of up to 60 writers crafted original, bonkers, moving, real (and often surreal!) stories based around the lives of our regulars.
“There is no other show in the UK industry that offers such variety of storytelling – everything from high drama and tragedy, to farce, dream sequences, stand-alone single plays, themed weeks on important subjects, you name it, we wrote it.”
🧵Today is the last day of filming @BBCDoctors A show that has run for 24 years, employed thousands of people, produced more than 4,500 episodes, will call ‘cut’ for the final time. As a writer on the show for the past 19 years I’m personally impacted along with hundreds 1/ pic.twitter.com/3kMcvirTIfMarch 1, 2024
His thoughts are echoed by Doctors fans, who were stunned by the decision to dump the soap. But despite a fan petition, the BBC has shown no sign of changing its mind. Soap fans are still reeling from the broadcaster’s decision previously to axe Holby City.
Philip Ralph also suggested the Government bore some responsibility for squeezing the BBC’s budget.
“The BBC’s budgets are being squeezed like never before. The licence fee has been frozen for the past two years and the entire model of funding for the Corporation is under constant threat,” he added.
Soaps generally seem under threat, although it still seems that the big three — EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale — are safe.
Axing the soap last October, the BBC said: “We have taken the very difficult decision to bring daytime drama to an end after 23 years.
With super inflation in drama production, the cost of the programme has increased significantly, and further investment is also now required to refurbish the site where the show is made, or to relocate it to another home. With a flat licence-fee, the BBC’s funding challenges mean we have to make tough choices in order to deliver greater value to audiences.”
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