Heartbeat

Premise

Heartbeat is a period drama set within the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s. Plots for each episode are centred around the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly, occasionally including the real town of Whitby. Some episodes featured references to the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

The programme's title was chosen by writers to represent the series' key characters who worked as police officers and medical staff – "heart" for the medical themes featured regularly in the programme, and "beat" for a policeman's "beat" or area that he patrols. Each episode's set of storylines were inspired by those of the Constable series of books, written by Nicholas Rhea (the pen-name of former policeman Peter Walker), which were focused on a police constable in the 1960s who came to Aidensfield. Many of the characters and locations in the Constable series were used for creating the setting and plots in Heartbeat, under guidance from Rhea.

The series was originally intended as a launch platform for actor Nick Berry, following his involvement on the BBC's soap opera EastEnders. Berry and actress Niamh Cusack were the prominent main actors of the programme for its first two series. Storylines mainly focused around both their characters, as they offered aid to those around the village and beyond, though the tone of plots was portrayed with grittiness and social realism. From the third series onwards, the role of the village policeman continued to be central to the storyline, but supporting actors were redefined as the programme's main cast, with their characters elevated in presence, effectively developing Heartbeat into an ensemble drama that was themed as more cosy and comfortable compared to more modern TV police dramas. The changes were more notable by how supporting actors gained more prominence in the opening titles after being elevated into the series' main cast – up until the fifth series, both Berry and Cusack were prominently featured in the opening credits, but this changed in later series so that by the beginning of the seventh series, all actors in the main cast were given credit for their involvement.

After the fifth series, storylines became less centralized around the village constable, focusing on separate storylines that retained a set structure within episodes: one focusing on a crime solved by the village constable and his colleagues at Ashfordly police; one focused on a medical issue that the village doctor and/or nurse would treat; and a side story focused on the programme's "lovable rogue" character which mainly was designed as comic relief, but sometimes featured light-hearted plots. In addition, over-arching storylines covering several episodes or even series, provided sub-plots between main characters, allowing for character and relationship development between them, with additional characters added in over time. In time, Heartbeat saw the cast being changed throughout its broadcast history, as new characters were introduced to replace those who left the show.

Episodes

Special programmes

The following is a list of specials made for Heartbeat, most of which were behind-the-scene documentaries. All were later included in DVD boxsets for specific series of the programme:

Heartbeat: Changing Places (13 June 1999) – A one-off special, starring Nick Berry and Juliette Gruber, who reprised their roles as Nick and Jo Rowan respectively. This extended episode was initially released on VHS in 1998, before its television debut over a year later. It focused on life for the Rowans after they move to Canada, including Nick's new job as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The episode was filmed on location in Cochrane, Alberta, which is around 22 miles from the city of Calgary. In Cochrane, Nick discovers a lot of similarities to what he had in Aidensfield, such as a police boss like Blaketon and a female lovable rogue who is similar to Greengrass. There are also differences, such as the need to use guns in the line of duty, the presence of First Nations people, and the different animals that roam the countryside and bins, such as bears and moose.

10 Years of Heartbeat (14 April 2002): A documentary special to celebrate the programme's tenth anniversary. Past and present members of the cast and crew, along with celebrity guests, recalled their experiences of the show and reviewed their favourite moments from the previous ten years.

Heartbeat: Christmas Album (18 December 2005): A special that looked back at the Christmas episodes created for Heartbeat.

Heartbeat: Farewell Phil (24 December 2007): A one-off special, commemorating the departure of actor Mark Jordon from the programme, after performing for seventeen series as the character Phil Bellamy. Both the actor and his former colleagues relive moments from the series featuring Jordon's character.

In August 2023, the TV Heartbeat Podcast was announced. An 8 part series that will be released weekly on the YouTube channel @TVHeartbeat and will delve into all things Heartbeat with conversations with cast, writers and fans. It is the accompanying podcast to the fan pages on Twitter @TVHeartbeat and Instagram TV.Heartbeat

Cast

Main

Nick Berry as PC (later Sgt) Nick Rowan (series 1 to 7)

Niamh Cusack as Dr. Kate Rowan (series 1 to 5)

Derek Fowlds as Sgt Oscar Blaketon

Mark Jordon as PC Phil Bellamy (series 1 to 17)

Bill Simons as PC Alf Ventress

Bill Maynard as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass (series 1 to 10)

Frank Middlemass as Dr. Alex Ferrenby (series 1 to 3)

Stuart Golland as George Ward (series 1 to 6)

Tricia Penrose as Gina Ward/Bellamy (series 2 to 18)

Anne Stallybrass as Eileen Reynolds (series 3; series 5 to 7)

David Lonsdale as David Stockwell (series 3 to 18)

Kazia Pelka as Nurse Maggie Bolton (series 5 to 10)

Peter Benson as Bernie Scripps (series 5 to 18)

Juliette Gruber as Jo Weston/Rowan (series 6 and 7)

David Michaels as Dr. Neil Bolton (series 7 and 8)

Jason Durr as PC (later DC) Mike Bradley (series 7 to 12)

Philip Franks as Sgt Raymond Craddock (series 8 to 11)

Fiona Dolman as Jackie Lambert/Bradley (series 8 to 10)

Recurring

Rupert Vansittart as Lord Ashfordly

Elizabeth Bennett as Joyce Jowett (series 6; series 11 to 18)

Simon Molloy as DI Shiner (series 7; series 9 to 15)

Keeley Forsyth as Sue Driscoll (series 8 and 10)

Martin Ledwith as Andy (series 9)

Georgie Glen as Sgt Jennifer Nokes (series 9 and 10; series 13 and 14; series 18)

Barbara Bolton as Mrs Kellett (series 11 to 14)

Richard Lintern as Ben Norton (series 13 and 14)

Josefina Gabrielle as Debbie Black/Bellamy (series 15)

Murray Head as Jack Hollins (series 15 and 16)

Production

Filming

The series was filmed at various locations around North Yorkshire. These include shots on the moors and frequent mentions of local roads (like the A171). Exterior scenes of Aidensfield are filmed in the village of Goathland in North Yorkshire, with the village's railway station also appearing occasionally. Other prominent filming locations include Whitby, Otley and Scarborough. The "Heartbeat: Changing Places" special includes location filming in Canada and in series 18, two episodes were filmed on location in Queensland, Australia.

Broadcast

When Heartbeat first began on 10 April 1992 it aired on Fridays at 9.00 pm (on the ITV Network) but from series 2 it was moved to Sunday evenings in the 7.00 pm or 8.00 pm timeslot. All Heartbeat episodes are around 42–51 minutes long (one hour with adverts). The opening episode of Series 11 was planned to be the show's first two-hour episode, but it was eventually split into a two-part story, "Sweet Sixteen" and "She's Leaving Home". In 1994 a one-off feature-length episode was filmed, starring Lloyd Owen as constable Tom Merriweather.

Heartbeat repeats appeared on ITV during the summer months (often billed on-screen as "Classic Heartbeat"), typically at 5.00 pm or, in 2006, at 4.00 pm. In 2006, episodes from the first few series were repeated again. Most of the swearing ("bloody", "bastard", etc.) and violence that was present in the early episodes was edited out for these daytime broadcasts.

For several years (as of 2016) Heartbeat reruns from series 11–18 were shown on ITV3, formerly in the original two-commercial-break format and latterly with three breaks. These repeats ran daily each weekday lunchtime, with a second airing in an early-evening timeslot. Episodes from different series were shown on ITV3 at weekends.

As of autumn 2015, series 1–10 of Heartbeat aired on the then-new ITV Encore channel, which was only available on the Sky TV platform (until ITV Encore ceased broadcasting). These episodes were broadcast at a time when ITV had two commercial breaks and therefore had a running time of around 50 minutes. However, ITV Encore had 60-minute programme slots which included three commercial breaks, so some scenes were edited or completely removed, purely for timing reasons.

After ITV Encore's closure in 2018, all series of Heartbeat aired with two episodes each weekday early-evening on ITV3, with a rerun the following morning.

Ireland

Ireland has aired the show since the early 2000s on TV3. Now Heartbeat is broadcast at 7:55pm Weekdays on Virgin Media Three.

Reception

Ratings

Ratings slowly declined after series 13. The schedule was split in half to incorporate the launch of The Royal from Series 12. Series 1 and 2 (1992–1993) aired between April and June, Series 3–6 (1993–1996) moved to the autumn schedule between September and December when there were either 10 or 16 episodes per series. Series 7–11 (1997–2002), comprising 24 episodes, aired between September and March.

Awards

1995 – ITV Programme of the Year (TRIC Award) – Won

1998 – ITV Programme of the Year – Won

1998 – ITV Programme of the Year – National Television Award – Most Popular Newcomer (Jason Durr) – Nominated

1999 – Best Performing Peak-Time Drama (ratings higher than Coronation Street and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) – Won

2007 – Best European Drama (voted by Norwegian viewers) – Won

2008 – Best Drama (nominated by ITV Studios along with The Royal and Emmerdale) – Won

The Royal

The ITV medical drama series The Royal was originally a spin-off from Heartbeat, with the twelfth-series Heartbeat episode "Out of the Blue" serving as an introductory pilot for the show, with the Aidensfield police officers conducting parts of their investigations in "The Royal" hospital. The series initially had close ties with Heartbeat, and several Heartbeat characters made an appearance. Over time, however, the crossovers were dropped and The Royal developed its own identity.

Cancellation

On 5 June 2001, ITV planned cutbacks for dramas such as London's Burning, Heartbeat and Peak Practice to make room for new commissions which could have seen the programme's demise. A spokesman said "The temptation is to just cancel long running shows. But if you do that you can spend years trying to find replacements that achieve the same viewing figures."

Kathleen Beedles, the new producer as of series 18, originally said Heartbeat was expected to continue until at least series 20 (at the time scheduled for 2010–11). However, it was announced on 28 January 2009 that production of both Heartbeat and its spin off show The Royal would be suspended for an unspecified period of time so that a large backlog of unbroadcast episodes could be cleared. Some newspaper reports interpreted this as meaning the show would be permanently cancelled. A report in The Telegraph suggested Heartbeat may return in "a new lower budget form".

In March 2009, a meeting to discuss the future of the show took place between ITV bosses and Heartbeat cast and crew members. The mood after the meeting was reportedly pessimistic about the show's long-term survival. Actor Steven Blakeley, who played PC Younger, said the cast were to be released after series 18, indicating the show had been cancelled and filming had finished.

News of the show's alleged cancellation prompted protests from Heartbeat fans around the world, as well as from communities in the Yorkshire Television region where the series was filmed, and where the Heartbeat-themed tourist trade was seen as an important part of the local economy.

In January 2010, rumours were published that Sky might buy Heartbeat from ITV and take over its production. In February 2010, it was reported that Adam Crozier, the newly appointed ITV chief executive, would be responsible for making the decision about the future of the show. In March 2010, a survey was carried out by the Whitby Gazette, a newspaper local to the area in which the show is set, asking "Do you think that popular ITV show Heartbeat should be axed after 16 years?" 71% of respondents voted "No", 19% voted "Yes" and 10% voted "Don't Care".

Series 18 was unusually protracted. Filming ran from May 2008 to May 2009. It premiered on 12 October 2008 and took a break after the sixth episode, then continued from 19 April 2009 to 14 June 2009. The last nine episodes were shown between 18 July 2010 and 12 September 2010 in the UK, but in Sweden on TV4 from 25 August 2009 to 4 September 2009, and in Denmark on TV 2 Charlie from 16 December 2009 to 24 December 2009. As of 3 January 2025, Heartbeat continues to be aired on TVO in Ontario, Canada.