Peak Practice star Simon Shepherd can't help smiling even though ITV has cut back the medical drama from 24 to 13 episodes a year.
ITV drama Peak Practice is to feature an horrific sex assault just two days after Little Mo is raped by husband Trevor in EastEnders.
Claire and Alex's weekend break turns into a nightmare...
A new face comes roaring into Cardale on a motorbike this week in the shape of cocky young GP Matt Kendal played by Jamie Bamber...
Matt Kendal doesn't have the best beginnings in Cardale...
JAMIE JOINS PP
A new recruit at The Beeches, trainee doctor Matt Kendall, sets hearts fluttering among the female staff this fortnight. Jamie Bamber plays the medic who has a reputation for being lazy and arrogant.
"Nobody knows much about Matt," says the 28-year-old actor. "He has failed his first year as a registrar which causes problems with some of his patients. Nobody expects hims to be a success at his job but gradually he proves himself to be a very good doctor. Although he does make a big mistake as soon as he arrives by pronoucing somebody dead who isn't really!"
The London-based actor has previously starred in dramas such as Band of Brothers, Hornblower, The Scarlett Pimpernel and Lady Audley's Sceret.
"I have done lots of period dramas so it's a pleasure to be in Peak Practice wearing modern clothes!"
Inside Soap Magazine
Dr Will is going to have a bad time
Simon Shepherd is back after a mid-life crisis, ready to face his Peak Practice character�s dramatic new storylines�(More)
Daily Mail review:
...Simon Shepherd�s hair is thin at one end, much, much thicker in the middle, and thin again at the other end. Yes, Dr Will Preston has undergone another change of image in Peak Practice, and so has the show. Gone is Dr Will�s svelteness and in comes a delectable cross between Tarzan and David Ginola. There was also some wonderful Mr Angry acting when Will�s wayward son Tony (Adam Croasdell) turned up. Heck, even Alex (Maggie O�Neill) got to make more than one expression. Maybe it�s something in the Peak�s water.
The show now has a much more modern feel, with pop music replacing the theme that always sounded like a school orchestra tuning up. It also has some added spice in Eva Pope as Claire Brightwell, a sinister ex-army lass who wasted no time in spreading her poison.
A small review:
Someone should�ve warned Goodnight Sweetheart sidekick Victor McGuire not to play this show�s publican. Previous Peak pint-pullers have suffered cancer, angina and worse� His stress levels are already rising when the pub is shunned by locals because he has changed it�s name. Elsewhere, Dr Tom is taken to ripping off his shirt as if he�s auditioning for the Chippendales.
Generally this series is much improved, but there�s a laughably bad scene in the surgery when it�s full of patients with diarrhoea. With tricksy camerawork, the scene stinks � probably not as bad as the surgery, though.
Taken from �TV Times� 3-9 November 2001
SURGERY TAKES CARDALE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
Outdoor sex, flash cars, drug-taking and an acre of taut, tanned flesh greeted Peak Practice viewers when it returned for it�s 12th series. But that was only a taste of things to come.
�The series had lost it�s way when the doctors stopped being the focus of it,� admits producer Neil Zeiger, who took charge last year. His goal is to return Peak Practice to the ratings heyday of Kevin Whately and Amanda Burton.
Last season�s stars Simon Shepherd, Maggie O�Neill and Gray O�Brien have returned, accompanied by nurse Claire Brightwell (Eva Pope). There�s also a new publican Shaun Carter, and turning up soon is trainee doctor Matt Kendall (Band of Brothers� Jamie Bamber). Neil says he�s well on the way to making it �must-see TV�.
A big fan of ER and other US series, Neil hopes that pacier scripts and cutting down the medical content will attract a younger audience. Along with a thumping pop soundtrack and wardrobe overhaul, taking it away from the Barbour jackets and Jeeps. Neil believes viewers will like the changes. �It�s a completely new show apart from the name,� he says. �We�ve just made it a more adult series, not in terms of sex, necessarily, but in terms of stories and our approach.�
Simon Shepherd says: �Neil�s taken Cardale into the 21st Century. It�s a risk we had to take to keep the show exciting.�
Leo Williams, TV Times 3-9 November 2001
EVA POPE SET TO PLAY RANDY LESBIAN NURSE
Former Coronation Street beauty Eva Pope is set to shake up TV's cosy Peak Practice- playing a randy lesbian nurse. Eva, 33, who starred as man-eating Corrie barmaid Tanya Pooley, plays sexy Claire Brightwell. Her bi-sexual character beds all the doctors - including female medic Alex Redman, played by Maggie O'Neill. The pair met when they served together in Kosovo. Eva, who quit Coronation Street seven years ago said: "Claire makes a move on all the doctors but she really wants Alex." She will join the cast when the new series starts next Thursday. ITV bosses said the show had to be spiced up or face the axe. Eva yesterday revealed Corrie bosses begged her to return. But she said: "I wasn't fussed. Tanya was a miserable cow."
The Sun Newspaper, 17th October 2001
Teletext
Our favourite British medical drama�s back � but it starts out looking like Soldier Soldier. Captain Claire Brightwell is being told she�s �undesirable� and is kicked out of the army. But what has she done? While you�re wondering about that, you�ll find yourself transported back to the hills of Cardale and the reassuringly familiar faces of Alex, Tom and Will (Maggie O�Neill, Gray O�Brien and Simon Shepherd). Trouble is (and we mean TROUBLE), Cardale is where ex-Captain Claire is headed, as she�s an old buddy of Alex�s. Suddenly, the hills are alive with lying, adultery and blackmail � and that�s just Claire getting the job as the new practice nurse at the Beeches. Eva Pope is superb as Claire. Straight away you know she�s a wicked woman and we�ve got a feeling even her �best friend� Alex isn�t going to be safe from her scheming. One thing we�re not too keen on is Will�s squint; he does it when he�s troubled, and he has a lot to squint about, not least the sudden appearance of his older son.
Tv Times
PEAK PRACTICE IS BACK!
Series 12 begins on 25th October 2001 at 9pm!!!!!!!!
CHARLIE PRESTON
In the new series of Peak Practice, Charlie Preston will be played by Stuart Wells (who played Michael in Billy Elliot). Stuart will take over from Chris Trenfield because of new storylines featuring Charlie that will be aired next year. It is rumoured that Charlie will be getting involved in drugs and that is why an older lad is being brought in to play the part. It also gives Chris the chance to concentrate on his studies.
THE WEAKEST LINK
On Wednesday 12th September there will be a Weakest Link special starring the cast of TV medical dramas. Will any of the cast of PP be there? We hope so! Tune in at 8pm on BBC1 to find out. :o)
NEW CAST MEMBER!
A new doctor is set to join the Beeches in the new series of Peak Practice which begins in Jan/Feb of next year. Dr Matt Kendal will be played by Jamie Bamber.
GRAY O'BRIEN ON GMTV
Gray was on GMTV this morning. GMTV was visiting Derbyshire and they met up with Gray to talk about Matlock and Crich and the sorts of things you can do there. They showed a couple of clips and some shots of filming, plus the Black Swan and a couple of other locations like that.
Gray O'Brien said that Peak Practice won't be back until the WINTER! I guess this is all because of ITV cutting down the number of series a year, so now we are going to have to wait even longer!!!!
Oh well - Gray did look rather gorgeous though! And he said that there were loads of great storylines coming up!! I can't wait! :o)
24/7/01
A LETTER FROM HAYDN GWYNNE
Haydn Gwynne (now starring in MERSEY BEAT on Monday nights at 8:30 on BBC1)has written a letter to all of her fans which can be seen on The Official Peak Practice Website.
PEAK PRACTICE IN AUSTRALIA
Channel 7 in Australia showed the last ever episode of Peak Practice last night (Friday 20th July 2001). They have no plans to screen anymore AT ALL and if that isn't bad enough, the last episode shown was 'Electricity' which is the last ep of series 10 and ends on lots of different cliff hangers. Our friends in Oz need our support! Visit the Channel 7 Website and air your views. Bombard them with emails and get PP reinstated on Australian television! :o)
Corrie barmaid spices up Peak Practice
Ex-Corrie barmaid Eva Pope is set to give ITV medical drama Peak Practice a sexy tonic. Eva, 33, who played Rovers temptress Tanya Pooley, is joining the long-running drama as new nurse Claire Brightwell. An ITV spokesman said: "We're delighted Eva's joining us. Claire is very sexy and she'll really stir things up at Cardale. There'll be romance and intrigue when she turns up at the surgery."
Eva's been signed up for Peak Practice just as the medical drama gets a major revamp. The number of episodes for the 12th series, which she is filming, has been cut from 26 to 13 as part of a major reorganisation of long-running ITV dramas. An ITV spokesman said: "Peak is being made a bit fresher and more eye-catching and Eva is part of the new look. A new junior doctor will also be joining."
ITV bosses have insisted that reducing the number of episodes doesn't mean the eight-year-old drama is facing the axe. "The reduction in episodes gives us a chance to make new dramas such as Lucy Gannon's Blue Dove, starring Paul Nicholls," said an ITV spokesman. "Peak Practice is still very popular, attracting audiences of eight million regularly. There's still plenty of life in Cardale as it's one of the top-rated ITV dramas."
Eva is best known for the two years she played bed-hopping Corrie barmaid Tanya Pooley. Tanya had an affair with Des Barnes, who was dating Raquel, before running off with Bet's trucker Charlie Whelan in 1994. The mum of Elise, five, has since appeared in Cold Feet, My Fragile Heart and Grafters. Her character in Peak Practice is an old army pal of Dr Alex Redman (Maggie O'Neill).
Source: mediaguardian.co.uk 3/7/01
RUMOURS:
Recent messages on the guestbook of the official Peak Practice site suggest that a new doctor joining The Beeches will be gay and will somehow get caught up in a mystery pregnancy storyline. The new character called Danny Smith or Danny Williams (a bit of confusion over that one) is supposed to be hitting our screens sometime during the next series in September. However, none of these rumours have been confirmed.
Soap siren Eva Pope will get blood pressures rising when she joins Peak Practice as a randy nurse.
She's set for steamy flings with both Dr Will Preston (Simon Shepherd) and Dr Tom Deneley (Gray O' Brien) when she joins the ITV series as ex-army medic Claire Brightwell this autumn.
And her randy goings-on will lead to a showdown with Dr Alex Redman (Maggie O' Neill) who has had her own romance with Dr Tom.
A source said: "Eva will bring some real sex appeal to the show. She's a girl who definately believes in mixing business with pleasure. "Cardale has seen nothing like it. She'll have passionate affairs with both her colleagues."
TV QUICK AWARDS
Do you want Peak Practice to win Best Loved Drama in the Tv Quick Awards? You can vote online at : http://www.tvquick.co.uk. Let's get voting and hope that PP are in with a chance!! They deserve it!!
ITV dramas to have shorter runs
By TV Plus reporters
6/01
ITV is reported to be reducing the number of episodes in new series of hit dramas such as Peak Practice, London's Burning and Where The Heart Is.
ITV drama controller Nick Elliott says he'll be ordering shorter runs of the series in a bid to "freshen up" the channel's drama output. He told MediaGuardian.co.uk: "Some of the shows need a bit of freshening up. This could be done with shorter runs, or introducing new elements to make them more attractive."
Elliott says he was not tempted to cancel the hit dramas.
Peak Practice runs for 24 weeks and the other two dramas for 16 episodes. They regularly win audiences of between 8m and 11m. He said: "The temptation is just to cancel long-running shows. But if you do that you spend years trying to find replacements that achieve the same viewing figures." Cutting the length of the series will mean more room for new dramas.
PEAK PRACTICE ON ALL-STAR FAMILY FORTUNES
Peak Practice won on Family Fortunes winning lots of money for charity!! The team, made up of Simon Shepherd (Will), Shelagh McLeod (Kate), Margery Mason (Alice), Susannah Corbett (Kerri) and Gray O'Brien (Tom) were all fab!! It was a funny show with loads of great moments. I thought Simon and Shelagh looked great together and everyone seemed to get on really well! I'll try and get a transcribe of the show done soon! :o)
1/6/01
Simon Shepherd and Shelagh McLeod presented the award for Best Storyline at the British Soap Awards 2001.
NEWS ON HAYDN GWYNNE'S NEW ROLE
Haydn Gwynne will be starring in 'Mersey Beat', a new police drama on BBC1. Haydn plays a superintendent leading a team of dedicated officers struggling to maintain humour and passion while dealing with everyday challenges of life in the North West. The series which was going to be called 'Silver Command' also stars John McArdle and Jonathan Kerrigan and will be shown later in the year.
CELEBRITY FAMILY FORTUNES STARRING THE CAST OF PEAK PRACTICE
The cast of PP will be on Celebrity Family Fortunes on Friday 1st June 2001 at 8:30pm. Don't miss them battle it out against the cast of Heartbeat in the hope of winning money for charity!!
HERO OF THE HOUR
The television drama 'Hero of the Hour', in which Maggie O'Neill starred alongside Ross Kemp, has been nominated for the Lew Grade Audience Award at the Bafta's. It is up against tough competition from 'Inspector Morse' and 'A Touch of Frost'. The Bafta's will be screened tonight (Sunday 13th May 2001) on BBC1 at 8pm.
*****Inspector Morse won the award*****
The Official Peak Practice Site is running a competition to win tickets to see Joseph Millson in his play 'Mill on the Floss'.
Simon Shepherd is starring in the advert for TV Times on the television. He plays a number of different characters and the ad is quite funny! Keep an eye out for it!
11/4/01
The cast of Peak Practice will take on the cast of Heartbeat in a celebrity special of Family Fortunes in order to raise money for charity. The programme is due to be shown later this year.
(30/3/01)
Sunday 25th March 2001 - Gray O'Brien appeared on 'Blankety Blank' which is hosted by Lily Savage.
HAYDN GWYNNE is set to star alongside Jonathan Kerrigan in a new police drama series on BBC1 called 'Silver Command'.
PEAK PRACTICE IS NOT SEXY ENOUGH?
There have been rumours that Peak Practice producers are going to axe some of PP's characters in order to make the medical drama more sexy! The Pullen family who run The Black Swan pub are said to be on the list to go and Charlie (Kate's son) may return as a slightly older lad. Watch this space!
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Inside Soap, March 2001
That Gabrielle Glaister gets around in soapland! First she was Brookie's posh Patricia Farnham, then she played Natalie Barnes' two-timing sister, Debs Brownlow, in Corrie. Now she is to guest star in Peak Practice as Hazel Myers, a playgroup superviser and mother to three-year-old Mia - who sparks a panic over measles vaccinations when she suffers a respiratory arrest.
"The subject matter was quite traumatic," reveals Gabrielle. "But I really enjoyed my time on Peak Practice and the crew and cast were very friendly."
You can catch Gabrielle in Peak Practice on Thursday 5th April.
Adrian Lukis who played David Shearer stars in 'The Hunt' on Meridian/ITV which begins Wednesday 21st March 2001.
ROY REACHES HIS PEAK
Inside Soap, Febraury 2001
Roy Barraclough - best known for playing furtive Rovers landlord Alec Gilroy - makes a welcome return to our screens this fortnight, when he makes a guest appearance in Peak Practice, on 13th Febraury. Roy stars as local mayor Joss Brown, who joins long-suffering wife, Margaret (Glynis Brooks), to open Cardale's new breast-screening unit.
"I loved doing Peak Practice, as Joss was such a funny character to play," smiles Roy. "He's very pompous and I feel sorry for the poor, unfortunate woman whi is married to the man - he's such a monster!"
This isn't Roy's first appearance in ITV's ever-popular medical drama. Back in 1994 he played a factory foreman who called an ambulance when his manager collapsed.
"Roy was on his best form filming the scenes," revealed a Peak Practice spokeperson. "It's rare to have the same person guesting twice, so it was great to have him back."
PEAK FLOW
Inside Soap, January 2001
Cardale - the Derbyshire home of medical drama Peak Practice - is currently a hive of activity, with this fortnight heralding a new romance, as well as a sad departure.
Paul Opacic, who played Emmerdale's Steve Marchant, and was most recently seen in Heartbeat, guest stars as Mark Kershaw, a GP from a neighbouring medical practice. Mark spends a night of passion with Alex Redman - leaving her colleague and admirer Tom Deneley seething with jealousy. The same episode also sees the departure of Sam Morgan, played by Joseph Millson, who flees Cardale after his wedding, taking �20,000 of practice funds with him. But will his bride Kerri Davidson join him at the airport?
Meanwhile, there are two Cardale residents who won't be following Sam out of town for a long time to come. The show's producers were recently delighted to announce that Simon Shepherd and Maggie O'Neill, who play Will Preston and Alex Redman, have confirmed they'll be staying with the drama until 2002.
DR KATE RETURNS TO PEAK
source ?
Kate Preston's recent return to Peak Practice surprised everybody - not least Dr Will, who long since ran away from his estranged wife.
Everyone, that is, except Shelagh McLeod who plays the character Dr Kate. Despite her three year break from the show, Shelagh could never quite get it out of her system, saying "I was happy to go off and do other projects but just felt I could not close the book on Dr Kate Preston."
Which just goes to show that you can take the girl out of Peak, but you can't take the Peak out of the girl! Catch the new series of Peak Practice on Tuesdays at 9pm.
With his character about to leave Peak Practice in a shocking storyline Joseph Millson spends precious time in Paris with his singer wife Caroline before setting off on a theatre tour. . .
