Holby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border.[1] While Casualty is filmed on location in Bristol, Holby City is filmed in Elstree, Hertfordshire. Both shows are set in the same fictional Holby City Hospital, with storylines focusing on the Emergency, Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU), Private Healthcare Unit (HolbyCare), General (Kellar) and Cardiothoracic surgical (Darwin) departments, an Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), and the fictional Holby Ambulance Service.
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Holby City Hospital is the fictional hospital in which Casualty and Holby City are set. It is based on the Bristol Royal Infirmary where the original script writers went to observe to garner ideas for Casualty in the 1980s.[2] Although both shows are set in the same hospital, Casualty is primarily filmed in Bristol, while Holby City is filmed in Hertfordshire at the BBC's Elstree Studios.[3] The indoor shots for the first series of Casualty were filmed at BBC Television Centre in London.[4] The exterior shots of the hospital used in Casualty were formerly filmed at the City of Bristol College, but are now shot on an industrial estate at , close to the interior set of the hospital.[5] It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC is considering moving the filming of Casualty to studios in Cardiff. On 26 March 2009, the BBC confirmed the move.[6] As of late 2011, Casualty will be filmed on a purpose built studio and backlot set at the BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff . [7]
As of 2002, four main wards have formed the focus of storylines within the hospital. In Casualty, the primary location is the hospital's Emergency Department (formerly referred to as Accident and Emergency). Holby City is set between the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit, and Keller and Darwin wards, providing General and Cardiothoracic surgical care respectively. Recently Holby expanded by adding "Holby Care", a private healthcare ward led by Michael Spence. Recently a new department was formed just of the ED called 'Clinical Decision Unit' part off the ED headed by Adam Tureman. Former storylines have also focused around the hospital's Otter ward, providing paediatric care, as well as its maternity ward. Otter ward has not featured in the show since series 4, whilst the maternity ward ceased usage as a primary location in series 8; despite no longer being seen on-screen, both of these wards are still occasionally referred to in dialogue.
In 2011, Downton and Perry are shown to be psychiatric wards at the hospital. (Series 25, Episode 23 "Place of Safety")
Holby Ambulance Service is the fictional ambulance service which serves Holby City Hospital - also appearing in the two hospital dramas Casualty and Holby City. The vehicles and uniforms used on the shows derive from Great Western Ambulance Service, which serves Bristol where Casualty is filmed. Paramedic advisors working on the show are often from Great Western Ambulance Service.[8] Although the ambulance service is only seen in Holby City very rarely, Casualty has featured paramedic characters as a key part of the cast since the show's 1986 conception.[9]
Holby South is the fictional police station in which HolbyBlue was based in its two series run.
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