BBC medical drama Holby city to end after 23 years on air

The move comes as the BBC plans to move productions outside of London.

The BBC has announced that hospital soap Holby City will come to an end next year after 23 years on screen.

Created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off of Casualty, the show debuted in 1999 and followed the lives of staff at the fictional Holby City Hospital, the same hospital as Casualty.

A statement from the broadcaster said: “We are incredibly proud of Holby City but it’s with great sadness that we are announcing that after 23 years, the show will end on screen in March of next year.

“We sometimes have to make difficult decisions to make room for new opportunities and as part of the BBC’s commitment to make more programmes across the UK, we have taken the difficult decision to bring the show to a close in order to reshape the BBC’s drama slate to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing team at BBC Studios and all the cast and crew who have been involved in the show since 1999.

“Holby has been a stalwart with audiences, delighting millions of viewers each week and winning hundreds of awards with a compelling mix of cutting edge medical stories and explosive personal stories.

“We look forward to working with the team over the coming months to ensure that when it ends, Holby goes out on a high.”

Earlier this year the BBC announced it would move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make the corporation more reflective of the UK as a whole.

It announced it would launch two new soap-style drama series – one from the North of England and another from one of the nations – over the next three years.

Holby City is filmed in Elstree, Hertfordshire, just outside London.

Leslie Ash, Patsy Kensit, Jane Asher, Robert Powell, Adrian Edmondson, Alex Walkinshaw and Jemma Redgrave are among the stars who have appeared in the show over the years.

In April, EastEnders star Davood Ghadami exited the soap to join Holby City as Eli Ebrahimi, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon.

Additional reporting by PA.