Characters of Holby City Characters of Holby City "Holby City" is a British medical drama television series that premiered on 12 January 1999 on BBC One. The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama "Casualty". It is set in the same hospital as "Casualty", Holby General, in the fictional city of Holby, and features occasional crossovers of characters and plots with both "Casualty" (in episodes broadcast as "Casualty@Holby City") and the show's 2007 police procedural spin-off "HolbyBlue". "Holby City" follows the professional and personal lives of surgeons, nurses, other medical and ancillary staff
Holby City is limited to "accident of the week" storylines about patients entering hospital, "Holby City" allowed the possibility of storylines about long-term care, rather than immediate life and death decisions. The series was commissioned by BBC One Controller Peter Salmon, and began airing on BBC One on 12 January 1999. Series producer Richard Stokes believes that the series' popularity stems from the fact the hospital setting presents numerous plotline opportunities, explaining: "You have licence to create life-and-death situations every week, something you cannot do in any other set piece. The interaction of the characters can be sexy and social issues also