Perdita
07-08-2012, 14:12
Holby City remains one of BBC One's most successful shows, and fans can look forward to more exciting times ahead at the hospital with new characters on the way along with stories which delve deeper into the lives of existing favourites.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Holby's consultant series producer Justin Young to hear his take on recent storylines and what's ahead in upcoming episodes.
Read the first part of our interview here, and click through the link at the bottom of the page for some more exclusive character teasers in part two.
After another big year, which storylines and episodes stand out for you as Holby City at its best?
"There's a few that I'm really proud of. It might sound slightly immodest because I wrote it, but I was really pleased with the Christmas episode that we did in Kiev. It was really fun and ambitious for us to take on, and it meant that we were able to make a Christmas movie within the Holby format. Audiences responded brilliantly to it, as we had some wonderful feedback from viewers.
"I was also really proud of Sahira's exit episodes, and Greg's story with the young girl who was being abused by her father. More recently, I loved Dan coming out to his dad, and Mo giving birth with Jac a few weeks ago. The Luc and Eddi story has also worked out really well, and I'm very pleased that audiences have got behind it.
"In general, I think Holby is at its best when you're laughing your head off at one moment and you're crying the next. That balance of humour and emotion is absolutely crucial to the show."
As there has been a producer changeover at Holby in the past year, is there anything in particular you were aiming for in terms of changes?
"Well, I've been head writer on the show since January 2010, when Myar Craig-Brown was series producer. When Myar left a year or so ago, I moved into the role of series producer. Sharon Bloom was senior producer at that time, and then later on Oliver Kent took on that role. We've also had two different executive producers in that time - Belinda Campbell and now Johnathan Young. All of those different people bring a different taste and energy into the show, but generally speaking, the writing team has stayed pretty consistent during that time.
"When I first started, one of the things we were keen to do was to update the show's look, so we brought that in two years ago. I also wanted to introduce more truthful and complicated characters, so I've overseen the arrival of people like Hanssen, Malick, Serena, Jonny, Mo, Chantelle, Luc and Eddi.
"Since I became series producer proper, I've been generally trying to build on the work that I did before. In terms of specifics, one thing that I've pushed is phasing out the montages, as I felt that they had run their course slightly, so viewers might have noticed that we use less music than we used to. I've also encouraged more grown-up and sophisticated storytelling, which I think our writers have really responded well to."
There have been quite a few characters leaving Holby in the past year. Is it challenging for you as a team when lots of characters bow out in quick succession?
"Only when characters leave at very short notice. For example, for personal reasons, Olga Fedori who played Frieda had to leave the show quite quickly. We loved the character, so that was a shame as storytellers because we couldn't make her exit story as big as we would have liked to.
"Generally when characters leave, it's always sad to say goodbye to our friends and colleagues, but from a storytelling perspective it can actually be quite helpful. It usually means that we can play that character's story and not hold anything back, which can make for really fantastic episodes.
"For example, Dan coming out was the best work that Adam Astill did and the best story that we told for that character. However, we couldn't play that until we knew that he was going to leave, because it completed his story. So it's actually much harder trying to think of new stories for characters who have been in the show for years, than it is to come up with exit stories."
Is the cast now looking more stable for the foreseeable future?
"I think the cast is looking pretty stable now, but at the same time, it's vital to keep bringing in new energy on a long-runner like Holby. So there will be new characters coming in."
Can you tell us anything about the new characters who are joining the show in the next couple of episodes and beyond?
"There's a fantastic new character that you're going to see very soon called George Binns, played by Leander Deeny. He's a very, very baby manager, who's got his whole head full of managerial technique. He's a bit like something out of The Apprentice, so he's going to be incredibly irritating in a brilliant way! There'll be a fantastic double act between him and Hanssen, and you'll see him creating quite a lot of serious difficulties for the existing characters.
"We've also got Max coming in, who is played by John Light. Max is a really fascinating character. He's very sexy, he's dangerous and he's really going to shake things up. He's exactly the wrong character to walk into Eddi's life at the moment when she's feeling a little bit vulnerable post-Luc.
"Looking to Christmas and beyond, we're also going to be bringing in some more younger characters. We love Tara and Ollie, but it's great to have more junior doctors to keep that youthful energy in, so keep your eyes peeled for them later in the year."
Digital Spy recently caught up with Holby's consultant series producer Justin Young to hear his take on recent storylines and what's ahead in upcoming episodes.
Read the first part of our interview here, and click through the link at the bottom of the page for some more exclusive character teasers in part two.
After another big year, which storylines and episodes stand out for you as Holby City at its best?
"There's a few that I'm really proud of. It might sound slightly immodest because I wrote it, but I was really pleased with the Christmas episode that we did in Kiev. It was really fun and ambitious for us to take on, and it meant that we were able to make a Christmas movie within the Holby format. Audiences responded brilliantly to it, as we had some wonderful feedback from viewers.
"I was also really proud of Sahira's exit episodes, and Greg's story with the young girl who was being abused by her father. More recently, I loved Dan coming out to his dad, and Mo giving birth with Jac a few weeks ago. The Luc and Eddi story has also worked out really well, and I'm very pleased that audiences have got behind it.
"In general, I think Holby is at its best when you're laughing your head off at one moment and you're crying the next. That balance of humour and emotion is absolutely crucial to the show."
As there has been a producer changeover at Holby in the past year, is there anything in particular you were aiming for in terms of changes?
"Well, I've been head writer on the show since January 2010, when Myar Craig-Brown was series producer. When Myar left a year or so ago, I moved into the role of series producer. Sharon Bloom was senior producer at that time, and then later on Oliver Kent took on that role. We've also had two different executive producers in that time - Belinda Campbell and now Johnathan Young. All of those different people bring a different taste and energy into the show, but generally speaking, the writing team has stayed pretty consistent during that time.
"When I first started, one of the things we were keen to do was to update the show's look, so we brought that in two years ago. I also wanted to introduce more truthful and complicated characters, so I've overseen the arrival of people like Hanssen, Malick, Serena, Jonny, Mo, Chantelle, Luc and Eddi.
"Since I became series producer proper, I've been generally trying to build on the work that I did before. In terms of specifics, one thing that I've pushed is phasing out the montages, as I felt that they had run their course slightly, so viewers might have noticed that we use less music than we used to. I've also encouraged more grown-up and sophisticated storytelling, which I think our writers have really responded well to."
There have been quite a few characters leaving Holby in the past year. Is it challenging for you as a team when lots of characters bow out in quick succession?
"Only when characters leave at very short notice. For example, for personal reasons, Olga Fedori who played Frieda had to leave the show quite quickly. We loved the character, so that was a shame as storytellers because we couldn't make her exit story as big as we would have liked to.
"Generally when characters leave, it's always sad to say goodbye to our friends and colleagues, but from a storytelling perspective it can actually be quite helpful. It usually means that we can play that character's story and not hold anything back, which can make for really fantastic episodes.
"For example, Dan coming out was the best work that Adam Astill did and the best story that we told for that character. However, we couldn't play that until we knew that he was going to leave, because it completed his story. So it's actually much harder trying to think of new stories for characters who have been in the show for years, than it is to come up with exit stories."
Is the cast now looking more stable for the foreseeable future?
"I think the cast is looking pretty stable now, but at the same time, it's vital to keep bringing in new energy on a long-runner like Holby. So there will be new characters coming in."
Can you tell us anything about the new characters who are joining the show in the next couple of episodes and beyond?
"There's a fantastic new character that you're going to see very soon called George Binns, played by Leander Deeny. He's a very, very baby manager, who's got his whole head full of managerial technique. He's a bit like something out of The Apprentice, so he's going to be incredibly irritating in a brilliant way! There'll be a fantastic double act between him and Hanssen, and you'll see him creating quite a lot of serious difficulties for the existing characters.
"We've also got Max coming in, who is played by John Light. Max is a really fascinating character. He's very sexy, he's dangerous and he's really going to shake things up. He's exactly the wrong character to walk into Eddi's life at the moment when she's feeling a little bit vulnerable post-Luc.
"Looking to Christmas and beyond, we're also going to be bringing in some more younger characters. We love Tara and Ollie, but it's great to have more junior doctors to keep that youthful energy in, so keep your eyes peeled for them later in the year."