Angels

Angels was originally a British television seasonal drama series dealing with the subject of student nurses and was broadcast by the BBC between 1975 and 1978. The show's format then switched to a twice weekly soap opera format (although still seasonal) from 1979 to 1983. The show's title derived from the name of the hospital where the series was originally set, St. Angela's, Battersea, although in the early 1980s the scenario changed to Heath Green Hospital, Birmingham.

The series was devised by Paula Milne.^[1] Early producers included Morris Barry and Ron Craddock. The first episode was directed by Julia Smith who became the show's producer in 1979. Her script editor on the later series was Tony Holland.^[2]

Julia Smith enlisted Tony Holland as Angels script editor after the show became a twice-weekly soap.

Smith and Holland went on to create EastEnders in the 1980s.

Angels, in its 1979 to 1983 weekly soap format, tackled issues such as contraception, alcoholism and promiscuity as part of the nurses' lives. Angels received criticism for its unglamorous depiction of the nursing profession, but Smith defended the programme, arguing the need to address such subjects in the series. Indeed, with its sometimes hard-hitting portrayal of young nurses facing up to the demands of the profession, Angels, particularly in its soap format days of 1979 to 1983, was grittily authentic. To this end, each actress taking a part was required to work on a real hospital ward to gain experience and thus contribute to the realism of the production.

The series also provided valuable early TV exposure for a variety of young actresses who have gone on to become famous faces and seasoned players on British TV such as Fiona Fullerton, Lesley Dunlop, Julie Dawn Cole, Clare Clifford and Pauline Quirke. Additionally, Kathryn Apanowicz, Shirley Cheriton and Judith Jacob all went on to appear in EastEnders, with Cheriton playing the particularly prominent role of Debbie Wilkins.

From 2004 Channel 4 has screened the drama series No Angels, also set in a hospital, and specifically aimed at showing nurses as more fallible characters.

References

External links

• Angels at the Internet Movie Database
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• St. Angela's unofficial site