The Royal Today
| The Royal Today | |
|---|---|
 The Royal Today titles | |
| Genre | Medical drama |
| Created by | Ken Horn |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 50 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production company(s) | ITV Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV, STV, UTV |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original release | 7 January – 14 March 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Royal, Heartbeat |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Royal Today is a British medical soap opera, a spin-off of the similarly themed drama, The Royal. The concept is that whilst The Royal is set in the late 1960s, The Royal Today featured the same hospital in the present day, with a new set of characters working in the same location. Each episode followed the events of a single day, and the show was broadcast daily (except for the weekends), so the series could be said to progress in real time. The first series of 50 half-hour episodes began on 7 January 2008 on the ITV network airing from 4pm-4.30pm. Although there were a number of running storylines, the series generally eschewed the use of cliffhangers. The series was axed in March 2008 after poor ratings, on an average of 1.175 million viewers.
Cast and characters
| Actor | Character | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Scarborough | Dr. Jonathan Ormerod | Consultant | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Paul Nicholas | Mr. Woods | General Surgical Consultant | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Kirsty Mitchell | Dr. Sarah Chatwin | Medical Registrar | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Fiona Dolman | Pamela Andrews | General Surgical Registrar | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Caroline Carver | Heather Dunstan | Staff Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Ben Hull | Adam Fearnley | Charge Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Mark Wells | Kieran Marwood | A & E Staff Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Sophia Di Martino | Gemma Pennant | Student Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Lucie Trickett | Carrie Jepson | Student Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Jon Lolis | Kristaps | Porter | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Steve Huison | Norman Dunstan | Porter | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Libby Davison | Isla Watkins | Theatre Nursing Sister | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Victoria Pritchard | Alana Sczumanska | Anaesthetist | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Lisa Davina Phillip | Pearl McDonald | Nurse | 1.01 - 1.50 |
| Pal Aron | Dr Vijay Chohan | Radiology Registrar | 1.03 - 1.50 |
| Leah Bracknell | Jenny Carrington | Clinical Matron | 1.03 - 1.50 |
| Flora Nicholson | Lesley Goodrich | 1.01 - 1.02 (Murdered) | |
| Edward Peel | David Collingworth | 1.01 - 1.25 (Transferred) | |
| Vickie Gates | Maisy Spencer | 1.40 - 1.47 (Discharged) | |
| Laura Carter | Charlotte Winters | Patient | 1.34 |
Episode list
Setting
There are two separate blocks at St. Luke's in Bradford used for shooting The Royal and The Royal Today. One of the previously unused blocks has undergone a makeover to transform it into a modern hospital, this also includes a bar area (seen in episode one) having been built. The last day of shooting the series was Friday 16 November 2007.
Named wards include:
| Ward | Opened by | Named After | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleditch Wing (General Surgery) | Unknown | Middleditch Family | Mr. TJ Middleditch was the Hospital's Secretary from 1948 until the late 1960s, and his grandfather was the founding member of The Royal when it was opened in 1886. |
| Woods - Koones Ward | Mr. Koones | Mr. Woods Mr. Koones | Woods - Koones ward is part of Middleditch wing. in 2008 millionaire Mr Koones was taken into surgery for a life saving operation. Mr Woods had a bet with Koones that if he got out alive he would fund a new ward. As Mr Woods convinced him to, Matron said his name could be on the ward instead of Koones'. But Mr Woods said that would be unfair and that both their names should be on it. |
| Middleditch Ward | Unknown | Middleditch Family | Middleditch Ward is housed in the Middleditch Wing and run by Charge Nurse Adam Fearnley. |
| Goodwin Ward | Unknown | Dr. Jeff Goodwin | Goodwin Ward is housed in the Middleditch Wing upstairs and as of episode one of series one is currently closed for redecoration as stated by Pearl. |
| Premature Baby Unit | Dr. Jill Weatherill | Dr. Jill Weatherill | Jill campaigned to open this ward in the late 1960s. However, the Maternity unit at The Royal was closed in 2006 (assuming TRT is set in 2008). |
| High Dependency / Intensive Care Unit | NHS | Nobody | Ward where critically ill patients are closely monitored and treated. |
| Radiology | NHS | Unknown | X-ray Department run by Vijay |