When does Holby City finish? Date of last episode of BBC Casualty spin-off - and why is it ending

The Casualty spin-off show started back in 1999, but sadly it’s coming to an end soon, it was announced in June 2021.

So when is the last episode of the show, why is it ending, and will it be replaced with something else?

Why is Holby City coming to an end?

After 23 years Holby City has been axed by the BBC.

The channel has said that it has decided to remove the much-loved hospital show to make way for “new opportunities”.

The official BBC Holby City account tweeted: “We’re very sorry to bring you the sad news that Holby City will come to an end in March next year after 23 amazing years.

“We are so very grateful to all of Holby’s wonderful cast, crew, writers, producers - and to our millions of loyal fans for being part of our show.”

Holby City reaches an audience in the millions each week but that was not enough to save it.

In a statement the BBC said: “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.”

How will Holby City end?

The writers have integrated the real-world ending of the show into the plot line.

The characters were told that they only had three months to save the hospital which has been placed into special measures.

This has created a natural ending to the medical drama which has already begun wrapping up story lines and saying goodbye to loved characters.

One big plot line will follow Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel) as her  health continues to deteriorate due to a  brain tumour, which becomes terminal.

It has not yet been revealed if Jac will make it to the end of the season but one thing is for certain -  it is going to be an emotional ending no matter what.

It is expected that there will be many old favourites returning to the cast for the final episodes but they have not yet been announced.

When is the last episode of Holby City?

The cast and crew finished filming on 17 December 2021.

There are just three episodes left in the current season.

The last episode is due to air on 29 March.

What is replacing Holby City ?

The BBC has announced that it is exploring new shows set in the north of England.

It is thought that the BBC want to rival ITV’s Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

The BBC are also looking to expand into settings across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In a statement the BBC said: “Our mission must be to deliver for the whole of the UK and ensure every household gets value from the BBC.

“These plans will get us closer to audiences, create jobs and investment and nurture new talent.”

As part of this Waterloo Road is coming back in 2022.

The new series will be filmed in Manchester and will be part of the BBC’s vision to represent more of the UK in its catalogue of content.

Waterloo road became very popular during the pandemic - it was the sixth most streamers show in Iplayer during 2021.

There is not yet a start date for Waterloo Road but filming began on 21 February 2020.

The new season of Waterloo Road will have 30 episodes.