List of Doctors characters introduced in 2000

The original nine regular characters to be introduced in Doctors were Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy), Steve Rawlings (Mark Frost), Helen Thompson (Corrinne Wicks), Rana Mistry (Akbar Kurtha), Caroline Powers (Jacqueline Leonard), Kate McGuire (Maggie Cronin), Anoushka Flynn (Carli Norris), Ruth Harding (Yvonne Brewster) and Joanna Helm (Sarah Manners).

[2] Mac is twice-married, first to Julia Parsons (Diane Keen) in 1968, to whom he had three children, sons Patrick (Alan McKenna) and Liam (Tim Matthews), and daughter Samantha.

[2] In the press release for Doctors in March 2000, Timothy was said to be "thrilled" to be on the show, adding: "On set there's an amazing sense of drama and commitment from everyone around.

[3] Described as an "old-fashioned and highly-respected physician who isn't afraid to speak his mind", Timothy added that Brendan (known to his colleagues as "Mac"), is "James Herriot grown older".

[3] In 2010, producer Peter Eryl Lloyd was asked by Digital Spy if Mac was to return, in which he replied, "I don't know why we'd do that unless there was a very good reason.

[4] Mac was eventually reintroduced into the series in 2024 for a two-episode guest appearance after news of Doctors' cancellation by the BBC.

[5] The episodes also facilitated a return for Mac's son, Ciaran (Ross McShane), who helps him back to Dublin.

[6] At the 2003 British Soap Awards, Timothy was nominated for Best Actor, but lost out to Brian Capron who played Coronation Street's Richard Hillman.

[7] Again, in 2004 and 2005, he was nominated for Best Actor, but Shane Richie who plays EastEnders Alfie Moon won both of the 2004 and 2005 awards.

[7] In the 2006 awards, he was nominated for "Best Actor" but lost out to Ross Kemp who played EastEnders's Grant Mitchell.

[3] A few episodes into the series, it is revealed that Steve is having an affair with nurse Anoushka Flynn (Carli Norris).

He is informed by Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy), who tried to revive Bev, and Steve immediately blames himself for being with Anoushka instead.

[10] Before the series began, Helen married Phil (Mark Adams), with whom she had two children; son Dan (Joshua Prime) and daughter Claire (Tara Coleman-Starr).

But, Helen begins to get bored with married life and, after fighting temptation for a while, has an affair with Steve Rawling’s brother, Chris, which nearly costs her her marriage.

Helen eventually returns to work, but Marc persuades her to leave Riverside and set up a new practice with him, much to Mac’s fury.

[10] Helen's character profile on the BBC website described her as an "extremely capable doctor and well-liked by her patients and colleagues", but "despite being strong and confident, she sometimes found it hard to show her feelings".

[10] In November 2005, Digital Spy's Kris Green reported that Wicks would be departing from Doctors alongside Tom Butcher.

[11] Green commented that Helen has "been the unluckiest person in love for the last five years" and was glad that she was "finally" getting a "Prince Charming".

His professionalism is questioned by colleague Helen Thompson (Corrinne Wicks) after he arrives late to various shifts, which put lives into risk.

[14] She added, "There's a lot of humour on the set of Doctors, we're a good melting pot of people from all over, which reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the series".

Sadly, David, and Carolina are involved in a traffic accident, and they both die in hospital from their injuries, leaving Kate distraught.

[16] At the 2003 British Soap Awards, Cronin was nominated for Best Actress, but Kacey Ainsworth who played EastEnders' Little Mo Mitchell won, and again in the 2004 British Soap Awards, but Suranne Jones who played Coronation Street's Karen McDonald won.

[7] Also at the 2003 British Soap Awards, Cronin was also nominated for Villain of the Year, but Brian Capron who played Coronation Street's Richard Hillman won.

Her simultaneous flings with colleagues Steve Rawlings (Mark Frost) and Rana Mistry (Akbar Kurtha) are noted in the profile.

Anoushka soon tires of him treating her badly and implores others at Riverside to stop sympathising with him since his marriage with Bev was lacklustre.

Ruth is a nurse at Riverside Medical Centre who is shown to be caring but takes no nonsense from patients.

[20] Sunday Mail described her storylines, in which they wrote: "she was involved in mercy killing, drug addiction and a suicide attempt to name but a few of her spicier plotlines".

Patrick returns in June 2010, when he becomes concerned about his mother's health when she starts to act differently, with Julia thinking that Charlie Bradfield (Philip McGough) is Mac.

In a poll conducted by Digital Spy, the five main soaps in the UK, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Doctors storylines were judged by viewers of the website, with the Doctors storyline of Julia finding out about Patrick being involved in a car crash, coming last with 0.9% of the vote.

[25] Again, in a poll conducted by Digital Spy, the Doctors storyline of Julia finding out about Patrick having another affair, coming last with 0.8% of the vote.