On 14th November 2024, the final episode of the continuing drama, Doctors, was transmitted. Doctors began it’s life at BBC Pebble Mill, and moved, when the building was demolished, to a new site in Selly Oak, the ‘BBC Drama Village’ at the University of Birmingham.
Here are the comments from a few of people who worked on it, or had affection for it, taken from the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Clive Payne: I’ll miss being in it as a supporting artist for 12 years plus. It’s a unique family unit and a great joy to be a tiny part of.
Janet Collins: Lovely to have two characters, Bev Dartnall & Carson Black in the last programme. A nice tribute to former producers.
Andy Bentley: I remember when it started and the last episode at Pebble Mill when they did the explosion. A lot of people cut there teeth on this, Emilia Clarke had her first TV appearance on it.
Julie Hill: Why did they kill off Doctors? I just cant believe the appalling decisions that continue to be made by the BBC going back to when they flogged off Pebble Mill without even a backward glance.
Caroline Feldon: You might be interested to know that in my current role as a psychotherapist I advised on some of the scripts for Jimmi. So I was involved from a distance. Sad to see it go.
Sue Robinson: I caught the last episode today by accident. My ears pricked up when I heard one of the characters was called Bev Dartnall. What a lovely tribute. I then watched the documentary afterwards and it was lovely to see both Dave Farline and Andy Payne on camera in the early days of Doctors. Fabulously talented people taken way too early. Well done Doctors for a great legacy and a reminder of a fantastic place I and many others had the privilege to work in.
James Patterson: To be fair, a great and underrated series. When it took over Studio A and other areas in the Crush bar it seemed like the Pebble Mill era had come to an end, but Doctors moved on to the Drama Village and thrived. Hope everyone is well and can find work.
Luisa Prosser: Having worked as a floor assistant at Pebble Mill, I was so excited to be in an episode and to know most of the crew. I’ll always remember Sally from make up, saying ‘Well, this is weird!’ Sad to see this programme come to an end.
Anne-Marie Palmer: When we finished derigging the Drama Village and getting rid of everything it felt like the final demise of Pebble Mill.