List of Doctors characters introduced in 2023
Kirsty Millar (Kiruna Stamell) is hired as a receptionist in January, while Wendi Peters made her debut as Dr. Nina Bulsara in February.
April also saw the arrival of midwife Malika Dahlan (Aria Prasad), as well as Tanisha Fonesca (Andrea Ali), a love interest for Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee).
In May, student Miles Bailey (Louis Saxby) made his first appearance, as well as PC Claudia Briant (Kiza Deen), a police officer and love interest for Bear.
[4] TVTimes wrote that thirty-something Kirsty would surprise the staff; Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee) "quickly realises she isn't backwards in coming forwards" when she immediately demands a new reception desk due to her dwarfism, while Emma Reid (Dido Miles) is "thrown" when Kirsty intercepts and takes over between herself and an angry patient.
[6] Inside Soap also hinted that Kirsty and fellow receptionist Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg) would have a workplace dispute when the pair "rub each other up the wrong way".
[8] Stamell appeared on the BBC topical series Morning Live in March 2023 to talk about her time on Doctors, where she said that she was grateful to be given a character backstory that did not revolve around being disabled.
Despite Doctors being confirmed to end in December 2024, Stamell's departure prior to finale was not announced to the public and was instead left as a surprise to viewers.
Peters began filming for Doctors in October 2022 and announced her casting on the BBC topical series Morning Live on 2 November 2022.
"[15] Peters' first episode as Nina was set to air on 8 February 2023 where the character meets with Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh) at a medical conference.
[23] Helen Daly of the Radio Times described Nina as "a chatterbox who has an opinion on everything and everyone" and opined that while she can be overbearing for her fellow colleagues, she is "a ray of light and will always find the positive in any difficult situation".
Peters' co-star Elisabeth Dermot Walsh posted online that she was excited for viewers to meet the "charming, dynamic and maddening character".
Nina becomes a partner at the Mill Health Centre and one of her first acts is getting Suni hired as a doctor there as she feels he would be perfect to work there.
[28] A few weeks into his tenure, Suni was the focus of a standalone episode that saw him helping Jason Neale (Darryl Mundoma) with his mental health, as well as flashing back to see his reaction to Nina getting him a job without telling him.
[29] Suni is shown to be insecure within his friendships and tries to impress the colleagues at the Mill by treating them to lavish meals and experiences, which Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) notices and gets annoyed by.
[30] Metro's Chris Hallam noted how Suni makes a bad first impression on almost everybody at the Mill and suggested that he may be "too flash and not really cut out to be a doctor".
Metro's Chris Hallam described Binita as "a dreadfully overbearing relative",[24] with What to Watch's Simon Timblick adding that she is "hard to please".
Binita then attempts to set Suni up with an Indian scientist that she knows, as well as offending Nina by billing her work at the Mill Health Centre a hobby.
Prasad was contracted on the soap for a three-month guest stint to cover an extended break of regular cast member Bharti Patel.
[33] Malika was introduced as a temporary midwife at St. Phils Hospital who covers for Ruhma Carter (Patel), who is sent to work at East Letherbridge for three months.
Malika's first episode sees her meet "troubled young couple" Katie Seary (Heather Campbell-Ferguson) and Ben Tate (Elliot Norman).
[35] Malika struggles with the heavy workload within the NHS and is advised by former colleague Maisie Owens (Jacqui-Lee Pryce) to become a private midwife for her wellbeing.
[36] She is again shown to be a headstrong and knowledgeable character when she reprimands Dr Penny Phillips (Angelina Chudi) for not listening to her expertise as a midwife.
Bear "tries to play it cool" when telling housemate Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) about meeting her, but makes it clear that he feels "a spark" between them.
[41] He is a second-year medical student at Letherbridge University who is instructed by Professor Abid Anwar (Sartaj Garewal) to give Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh) a tour of the campus prior to her joining as a lecturer.
Classmate Chloe Fisher (Martha Breen) picks up on his interest in Zara and teases him, but he continues to make suggestive remarks during lectures.
[41] Shortly into their relationship, Claudia becomes awkward with Bear after meeting one of his casual exes, Serena Bradley (Tisha Merry).
She was introduced as an angry patient that needs her repeat prescription renewed, but due to a lack of appointments for a doctor to review it, receptionist Kirsty Millar (Kiruna Stamell) informs her she may have to wait two weeks.
[55] She is soon escorted out of the Mill by Al.[55] Frankie was introduced to Doctors as part of a topical plot for Scarlett's development and was inspired by real-life news stories about the violence healthcare workers face.
[59] However, Ruhma becomes unnerved when she notices Jenny making mistakes on the job, including not being able to find a foetal heartbeat during a baby scan, which worries patient Tina Evans' (Eliza Williams).
[60] The events of the day see Anne Richards (Elinor Coleman) almost die after giving birth, with her partner, Dez Cruz (Daniel J Carver), vowing to avenge her.
