Doctors (series 1)
The first series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 26 March and 19 May 2000. It consisted of 41 episodes, which was the initial order for the entire programme, but it was later renewed for more following a positive reception. Mal Young, the original executive producer of Doctors, introduced nine regular characters for the series and many of the storylines focused on doctor Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy). The BBC felt that transmitting the first series of Doctors was an ambitious move due to there being nothing similar at the time. They hoped that it would attract both loyal and casual viewers, due to the combination of a steady core cast and self-contained medical stories in each episode. It was trialled in various timeslots to find the best audience before the BBC settled on an afternoon slot. Cast All characters in the first series were introduced by the programme's first executive producer, Mal Young. The original nine regular characters to be introduced in Doctors were Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy), Steve Rawlings (Mark Frost), Helen Thompson (Corrinne Wicks), Rana Mistry (Akbar Kurtha), Caroline Powers (Jacqueline Leonard), Kate McGuire (Maggie Cronin), Anoushka Flynn (Carli Norris), Ruth Harding (Yvonne Brewster)