BBC's Doctors TV series cancelled after 23 years

The show first aired in March 2000 and since then it has won 17 Baftas with more than 4.500 episodes made

Production of daytime medical drama Doctors is to end, the BBC has announced.

After running for 23 years, the TV show had been affected by "super inflation in drama production", causing costs to rise significantly, the BBC said.

It said it had faced a choice on whether to re-invest in the Birmingham site where the show is made or finance new shows in the West Midlands.

The final episode will be aired in December 2024.

The BBC said it would be "working closely with BBC Studios to give it the finale it deserves".

It also thanked all the cast and crew who had worked on the show, which was first broadcast on 26 March, 2000 and has since won 17 Baftas.

More than 4,500 episodes of the show have been made.

'Actors' training ground'

The soap follows the lives of staff and patients at a Midlands GP practice in the fictional town of Letherbridge.

TV critic Scott Bryan, from the BBC's Must Watch podcast, said on X, formerly Twitter, that the show had "been a training ground for many actors"

It has featured household names such as Eddie Redmayne, Sheridan Smith, Nicholas Hoult, Rustie Lee and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, he said.

"For many of us, this is the show we would watch on our sick days," Mr Bryan added.

The long-running series is set in a Midlands GP practice

The Writers' Guild called the decision "a terrible loss to the UK writing community, and to audiences".

It said it was essential the UK "continues to provide distinctive content and opportunities for our writers".

The cancellation of the show,18 months after another BBC medical drama, Holby City, was axed, "leaves a big hole in the drama slate", it added.

People who have worked on the show have also expressed their sadness on social media.

Writer and director Joy Wilkinson wrote: "I'd have left TV drama if it wasn't for this wonderful, warm and creative show."

She said the 36 episodes she worked on "were the making of me, as it formed many on both sides of the camera".

"Go out with a bang," she added.

The BBC said the Drama Village, where the show is currently made, would have needed further investment to continue operating, with the only alternative being to switch production to another site.

It had been a difficult decision, but "with a flat licence-fee, the BBC's funding challenges mean we have to make tough choices in order to deliver greater value to audiences", the corporation said.

'BBC committed to Midlands'

The BBC said it remained "fully committed" to TV production in the West Midlands.

It highlighted recent announcements that Silent Witness will move to the region in 2024 and that MasterChef will be made at the new studios in Digbeth, Birmingham, which are due to open next year.

"The BBC adds over £305m to the economic value of the West Midlands each year," it said, describing Birmingham as "a major hub for the BBC's activity".

It said all the funding for Doctors would be reinvested into new programming in the region and it would "work to develop new opportunities to support skills in scripted programming".

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, said it was "sad news" the show was coming to an end not least because it had been the first step into TV for many people.

However, in a post on X, he added: "Let's be clear, the investment in Doctors will stay in the WM {West Midlands} and be spent on new productions."