Surgical Spirit (TV series)
Surgical Spirit is a British television sitcom starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston that aired from 14 April 1989 to 7 July 1995. It was written by Annie Bruce, Raymond Dixon, Graeme Garden, Peter Learmouth, Paul McKenzie and Annie Wood. It was made for the ITV network by Humphrey Barclay Productions for Granada Television. In January 2022, Forces TV started showing all 50 episodes of Surgical Spirit.
Surgical Spirit | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Peter Learmouth |
Written by | Annie Bruce Raymond Dixon Graeme Garden Peter Learmouth Paul McKenzie Annie Wood |
Directed by | David Askey John Kaye Cooper |
Starring | Nichola McAuliffe Duncan Preston Marji Campi |
Theme music composer | David Cullen |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 7 |
No. of episodes | 50 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Humphrey Barclay Andy Harries David Liddiment Al Mitchell David Shanks Antony Wood |
Producer | Humphrey Barclay |
Production locations | Lister Hospital, Stevenage, Hertfordshire |
Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
Production companies | Humphrey Barclay Productions Granada Television |
Distributor | ITV Studios |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Original release | 14 April 1989 – 7 July 1995 |
Cast
- Nichola McAuliffe as Mrs. Sheila Sabatini
- Duncan Preston as Dr. Jonathan Haslam
- Marji Campi as Joyce Watson
- David Conville as Mr. George Hope-Wynne
- Emlyn Price as Mr. Neil Copeland
- Suzette Llewellyn as Sister Cheryl Patching
- Beresford le Roy as Michael Sampson
- Lyndam Gregory as Dr. Simon Field (series 1–4)
- Simon Harrison as Mr. Giles Peake
- Andrew Groves as Daniel Sabatini
Plot
The series was based around Sheila Sabatini, a senior surgeon at the Gillies Hospital, whose verbal skills have most people running for cover. She dominated the operating theatre, while at home she was divorcing her Italian husband, Remo, with whom she had a son, Daniel. Sheila was also a gossip, often gossiping with her best friend, theatre administrator Joyce Watson.
One of the major themes in the programme was her developing relationship with Jonathan Haslam, the anaesthetist. At the end of the sixth series, they married and she had become director of surgery, while her son had become a medical student at the hospital, much to her annoyance.
Production
Granada Television decided to decommission the programme after the conclusion of the seventh series.
The outside shots were of Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Series Overview
- Series 1: 14 April 1989 to 19 May 1989 (6 Episodes)
- Series 2: 27 April 1990 to 8 June 1990 (7 Episodes)
- Series 3: 4 January 1991 to 15 February 1991 (7 Episodes)
- Series 4: 14 February 1992 to 20 March 1992 (6 Episodes)
- Series 5: 19 February 1993 to 2 April 1993 (7 Episodes)
- Series 6: 7 January 1994 to 11 March 1994 (10 Episodes)
- Series 7: 26 May 1995 to 7 July 1995 (7 Episodes)
Episodes
Series 1 (1989)
Series 2 (1990)
Series 3 (1991)
Series 4 (1992)
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Series 5 (1993)
Series 6 (1994)
Series 7 (1995)
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DVD releases
All seven series of Surgical Spirit have now been released on DVD. An 8-disc set of the complete series has also been released.
DVD | Year(s) | Release date |
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The complete series 1 | 1989 | 28 May 2007 |
The complete series 2 | 1990 | 4 May 2009 |
The complete series 3 | 1991 | 17 August 2009 |
The complete series 4 | 1992 | 18 January 2010 |
The complete series 5 | 1993 | 19 April 2010 |
The complete series 6 | 1994 | 5 July 2010 |
The complete series 7 | 1995 | 23 August 2010 |
The complete series 1 to 7 box set | 1989-1995 | 4 October 2010 |
External links
- Surgical Spirit at British Comedy Guide.
- Surgical Spirit at British TV Comedy.
- Surgical Spirit at IMDb.
- Surgical Spirit at epguides.com