In 1997 the BBC approached Mal Young, best known for producing Liverpool-set Channel 4 soap "Brookside", to head up the Drama Series section of the in-house Drama Department, which had become something of a poisoned chalice with many Controllers departing in quick succession. As Controller of Continuing Drama Series, Young oversaw the move to volume production and also commissioned a new medical Series, "Holby City". By the time Young left the BBC to join 19 Television Limited as head of Drama in December 2004, the BBC had increased Series production to nearly 300 hours per annum, including "EastEnders" at four times a week, "Holby City" for 52 episodes, "Casualty" for 48 episodes. Volume Series production was a controversial move because it took a large part of the Drama budget away from original production and contributed to accusations of "dumbing down" its programming. "The decision to show "EastEnders" four nights a week, followed by "Holby City" has left the corporation open to accusations that the BBC1 schedule has been cleared for a diet of 'precinct pulp'," reported "The Guardian" in 2003.