The twenty-third series of the British medical soap opera Doctors commenced airing on 14 February 2022, and concluded on 9 January 2023. The series comprised 147 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery.
Kia Pegg joined Doctors in this series as regular character Scarlett Kiernan. Various recurring characters were also contracted for the series as part of a storyline that saw the takeover of Sutton Vale Surgery, including Rosie Colton (Janice Connolly), Maeve Ludlow (Clelia Murphy) and Princess Buchanan (Laura White). Sarah Moyle left her long-term role as Valerie Pitman towards the conclusion. The average viewership for this series saw 1.6 million live viewers.
Cast As part of the series' main storyline, the takeover of Sutton Vale Surgery, three new recurring characters were introduced: receptionist Rosie Colton (Janice Connolly), nurse prescriber Maeve Ludlow (Clelia Murphy) and trainee doctor Princess Buchanan (Laura White). In April 2022, Kia Pegg was cast as regular receptionist Scarlett Kiernan following Rosie's initial stint had ended. The series also saw the stints of Roxy Piper (Roxy Skinner) as Emma Reid's (Dido Miles neighbour, as well as Gareth Lewis (Samuel Morgan-Davies), a struggling new policeman paired with Rob Hollins (Chris Walker).
In August 2022, Sarah Moyle announced that she would be leaving her role as Valerie Pitman after ten years, with the character departing in December 2022. White made her final appearance as Princess in January 2023, at the conclusion of a storyline which saw her leave the Mill after confrontations with several staff members. The series also saw the end of the stints for recurring characters Maeve, Hazeem Durrani (Ashraf Ejjbair) and Davinia Hargrove (Clare Wille).
Main characters
Matthew Chambers as Daniel Granger Dex Lee as Bear Sylvester Ross McLaren as Luca McIntyre Ian Midlane as Al Haskey Dido Miles as Emma Reid Adrian Lewis Morgan as Jimmi Clay Sarah Moyle as Valerie Pitman Bharti Patel as Ruhma Carter Jan Pearson as Karen Hollins Kia Pegg as Scarlett Kiernan Ashley Rice as Sid Vere Chris Walker as Rob Hollins Elisabeth Dermot Walsh as Zara Carmichael
Recurring characters
Janice Connolly as Rosie Colton Ashraj Ejjbair as Hazeem Durrani Kevwe Emefe as Chelle Henry Oliver Falconer as Joe Granger Carmichael Linda Hargreaves as Constance Buchanan Simon Lowe as Brian Kiernan Bethan Moore as Izzie Torres Samuel Morgan-Davies as Gareth Lewis Clelia Murphy as Maeve Ludlow Terry Mynott as Matt Cassidy Maria Pike as Tasha Verma Lara Sawalha as Jasmine Dajani Laura White as Princess Buchanan Clare Wille as Davinia Hargrove
Guest characters
Maya Barcot as Magda Nowak Will Barton as Stuart Jones Lucy Benjamin as Jan Fisher Pandora Clifford as Steph Ashdown Caoimhe Farren as Hailey Dodds Tina Gray as Winnie Jones Issam Al Ghussain as Yusuf Raj Paul as Asif Metha Diana Payan as Gillian Ludlow Lacey Leigh Payne as Grace Dodds Fiona Skinner as Roxy Piper Kath Thickett as Jordan Brown Martin Walsh as DI Mick Hartley
Episodes
Reception This series averaged at 1.6 million live viewers on BBC One. It saw Doctors first win for Best Daytime Soap at the Digital Spy Reader Awards, beating Home and Away and Neighbours. Writer Claire Bennett was also awarded the Writer award at the RTS Midlands Awards for her work throughout the series. Pegg, White and Moyle saw acting nominations at the same ceremony. The episode "Hello?", written by Toby Walton, also helped Doctors to win Best Long Running TV Series at the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.
References
External links Series 23 at BBC Online