Holby City (series 1) NHS." His only concern about the series was its continuation of patient storylines from "Casualty", writing: "if that happens too often, the new programme will soon lose its freshness and sparkle." "The Mirror" Charlie Catchpole wrote that he was "sick of the sensitive, hand–wringing, non–judgmental do–gooders who mope around the A&E department in "Casualty"", praising in comparison the "pushy, ambitious, cynical and generally thoroughly unpleasant surgeons" in "Holby City". Sam Wollaston of "The Guardian" received the series positively, writing: ""Holby City" has everything you want from a hospital drama: good–looking staff, a bit of love interest, a dishy doc, the
Holby City succeeded by Kathleen Hutchison from 2002 to 2004, Richard Stokes from 2004 to 2006, McHale from 2006 to 2010, Belinda Campbell from 2010 to 2011, Johnathan Young from 2011 to 2013, Oliver Kent from 2013 to 2017 and Simon Harper from 2017. Since the show's initial development, it has become a weekly fixture in the schedule. Holby City airs once a week, all year round, and each series now contains 52 episodes. The show follows the lives of medical and ancillary staff at the fictional Holby City Hospital. It began with eleven main characters in its first series, all of