Children's Ward facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Children's Ward |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Paul Abbott Tony Basgallop |
| Directed by | Steve Finn Alan Bell |
| Starring | Rita May Ian McCulloch Carol Harvey Andrew Hall Janette Beverley Tim Stanley Ken Parry Nina Baden-Semper Ross King Michael Bray Judy Holt Tom Higgins Margery Bone Jenny Luckraft Tim Vincent Rebecca Sowden William Ash Leyla Nejad Dean Gatiss Rachel Egan Paul Swaine Chris Bisson Chloe Newsome Carl Rice Kieran O'Brien Mark Dixon Sarah Cooper Gilly Coman Will Mellor Stephen Graham Anthony Lewis Ben Sowden |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 12 |
| No. of episodes | 143 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, UK |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Granada Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 15 March 1989 – 4 May 2000 |
Children's Ward was a popular British TV show. It was a Drama series made for children and teenagers. The show was produced by Granada Television. It was shown on the ITV network as part of its Children's ITV programs.
The series was set in a hospital ward called Ward B1. This was the children's ward of a made-up hospital. It was known as South Park Hospital, or "Sparky's" for short. The show told stories about the young patients. It also featured the doctors and nurses who worked there.
Children's Ward was a long-running show. It started in 1988 as a special episode. Then, it became a full series in 1989. It ran for many years, finally ending in 2000.
Where Was Children's Ward Filmed?
The show was filmed in Bolton, Greater Manchester. The main hospital scenes were shot at Bolton General Hospital. This hospital is now called the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Some outdoor scenes were filmed elsewhere. For example, the hospital entrance was filmed at Withington Hospital. This hospital was in South Manchester. It has since been taken down.
Did you know? The inside sets for the hospital were filmed right next to the sets for Coronation Street. This was revealed in a TV special in 2012.
Meet the Characters
Children's Ward had many interesting characters. These included both the hospital staff and the young patients. Here are some of the main characters from the first few series. Some of these characters stayed on the show for many years.
| Character | Actor/Actress | Job | Years on Show | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. McKeown | Ian McCulloch | Head Children's Doctor | 1989 | Staff |
| Dr. Charlotte Woods | Carol Harvey | Started as a junior doctor, became a head doctor | 1989–1991 | |
| Charge Nurse Dave Spencer | Andrew Hall | Head Nurse | 1989 | |
| Sister Diane Meadows | Janette Beverley | Staff Nurse, then Senior Nurse, then Ward Sister | 1989–1994, 1996 | |
| Senior Sister Margaret 'Mags' Davis | Rita May | Auxiliary Nurse, then Senior Nurse, then Ward Sister, then Senior Ward Sister, then Clinical Matron | 1989–2000 | |
| Student Nurse Gary Miller | Tim Stanley | Student Nurse | 1989–1991 | |
| Jack Crossley | Ken Parry | Porter and Sweet Trolley Man | 1989–1991 | |
| Staff Nurse Jan Stevens | Nina Baden-Semper | Staff Nurse | 1989 | |
| Unnamed Character | Ross King | Hospital Radio DJ | 1989 | |
| Steve Bailey | Michael Bray | Social Worker | 1989–1991 | |
| Sister Sandra Mitchell | Judy Holt | Staff Nurse, then Senior Staff Nurse, then Acting Deputy Clinical Matron, then Ward Sister | 1990–1994 | |
| Dr. Kieran Gallagher | Tom Higgins | Senior House Officer, Emergency Medicine | 1990–1991 | |
| Katie Grahams | Margery Bone | Student Nurse | 1990–1991 | |
| Keely Johnson | Jenny Luckraft | Patient, then Play Assistant, then Student Nurse, then Staff Nurse | 1989–1994 | Patients |
| Billy Ryan | Tim Vincent | 1989–1991 | ||
| Fiona Brett | Rebecca Sowden | 1989 | ||
| Darren Walsh | William Ash | 1989–1991 | ||
| Dawn Khatir | Leyla Nejad | 1989–1990 | ||
| Mathew McCann | Dean Gatiss | 1990 | ||
| Lisa Dixon | Rachel Egan | 1990 | ||
| Ian Cassin. | Paul Swaine | 1998 | ||
| J.J. | Chris Bisson | 1990 | ||
| Thea | Chloe Newsome | 1990 | ||
| James Boyce | Carl Rice | 1990 | ||
| Lee Jones | Kieran O'Brien | 1990 | ||
| Cal Spicer | Mark Dixon | 1990 | ||
| Bryony Shaeffer | Sarah Cooper | 1990 | ||
| Ben Rowlingson | William Mellor | 1990 | ||
| Mickey Bell | Stephen Graham | 1990 | ||
| Scott Morris | Anthony Lewis | 1996–1998 |
Many actors from Children's Ward went on to have successful careers. You might recognize some of them from other TV shows or movies! These include Chris Bisson, Tina O'Brien, Samia Ghadie, Adele Silva, Alan Halsall, Stephen Graham, Steven Arnold, Danny Dyer, Jeff Hordley, Nikki Sanderson, Andrew Lee Potts, Vicky Binns, Ralf Little, Anthony Lewis, Tim Vincent, Kieran O'Brien, Ben Sowden, William Ash and Jane Danson.
