Heartbeat (UK TV Series)

''Heartbeat'' is a British police procedural period drama series, based upon the ''Constable'' series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by Yorkshire Television until it was merged with ITV, then by ITV Studios, from 1992 until 2010. The series is set in the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s, with plots centred on the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly.

The programme initially starred Nick Berry, Niamh Cusack, Derek Fowlds, William Simons, Mark Jordon and Bill Maynard, but as more main characters were added to the series, additional actors included Jason Durr, Jonathan Kerrigan, Philip Franks, Duncan Bell, Clare Wille, Lisa Kay, Tricia Penrose, Geoffrey Hughes, Peter Benson and Gwen Taylor. Fowlds as Oscar Blaketon and Simons as Alf Ventress were the only actors to be in the programme for its entire 18 series run. Production of episodes involved filming of outdoor and exterior scenes around the North Riding, including in and around Whitby and Goathland, with interior scenes filmed at The Leeds Studios.

''Heartbeat'' proved popular from the beginning, when early series consistently drew over 10 million viewers, achieving a peak audience of 13.82 million in 2001, and 12.8 million viewers in 2003. Its success eventually led to a spin-off series, titled ''The Royal'', as well as a special episode, and three documentaries. In June 2010, ITV announced the cancellation of ''Heartbeat'' after its eighteenth series, following discussions on its future.

Premise

''Heartbeat'' is a period drama set within the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s. Plots for each episode are centred around the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly, occasionally including the real town of Whitby. Some episodes featured references to the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

The programme's title was chosen by writers to represent the series' key characters who worked as police officers and medical staff "heart" for the medical themes featured regularly in the programme, and "beat" for a policeman's "beat" or area that he patrols. Each episode's set of storylines were inspired by those of the ''Constable'' series of books, written by Nicholas Rhea (the pen-name of former policeman Peter Walker), which were focused on a police constable in the 1960s who came to Aidensfield. Many of the characters and locations in the ''Constable'' series were used for creating the setting and plots in ''Heartbeat'', under guidance from Rhea.

The series was originally intended as a launch platform for actor Nick Berry, following his involvement on the BBC's soap opera ''EastEnders''. Berry and actress Niamh Cusack were the prominent main actors of the programme for its first two series. Storylines mainly focused around both their characters, as they offered aid to those around the village and beyond, though the tone of plots was portrayed with grittiness and social realism. From the third series onwards, the role of the village policeman continued to be central to the storyline, but supporting actors were redefined as the programme's main cast, with their characters elevated in presence, effectively developing ''Heartbeat'' into an ensemble drama that was themed as more cosy and comfortable compared to more modern TV police dramas. The changes were more notable by how supporting actors gained more prominence in the opening titles after being elevated into the series' main cast up until the fifth series, both Berry and Cusack were prominently featured in the opening credits, but this changed in later series so that by the beginning of the seventh series, all actors in the main cast were given credit for their involvement.

After the fifth series, storylines became less centralized around the village constable, focusing on separate storylines that retained a set structure within episodes: one focusing on a crime solved by the village constable and his colleagues at Ashfordly police; one focused on a medical issue that the village doctor and/or nurse would treat; and a side story focused on the programme's "lovable rogue" character which mainly was designed as comic relief, but sometimes featured light-hearted plots. In addition, over-arching storylines covering several episodes or even series, provided sub-plots between main characters, allowing for character and relationship development between them, with additional characters added in over time. In time, ''Heartbeat'' saw the cast being changed throughout its broadcast history, as new characters were introduced to replace those who left the show.

Sixties pop music features prominently in episodes, notably from the Beatles and Chuck Berry, forming the backbone of ''Heartbeat''s soundtrack, although music from other decades sometimes is played in episodes.

Some 1970s records appear anachronistically, such as the Hollies' 1974 song " The Air That I Breathe", Led Zeppelin's " Black Dog" (1971), Lynyrd Skynyrd's " Free Bird" (1974) or Pink Floyd's 1971 instrumental " One of These Days". The end scene of the series 17 episode "You Never Can Tell" is accompanied by the Flying Pickets' 1983 song " Only You", an episode which featured a guest appearance by the band's lead singer Brian Hibbard.

Although ''Heartbeat'' was broadcast over 18 years from 1992 to 2010, the show remained set in the 1960s throughout its entire run. Series 1, which broadcast in 1992, was set in 1963 at the very earliest, but mostly in 1964, due to mentions of Christine Keeler in the first episode, the Dallas police at John F. Kennedy's assassination being mentioned in the past tense, and Lyndon B. Johnson being the current US president. By roughly Series 8, ''Heartbeat'' had reached 1969, and yet the show seemingly remained set in 1969 until the end of Series 18's broadcast in 2010, never moving into the 1970s. The episode titled "One Small Step", which was the 21st episode of Series 16, took place at the time of the July 1969 Apollo 11 moon landings.

''Heartbeat'' had five main stars over the course of its 18 series run, i.e. Nick Berry as Nick Rowan (Series 1–7, 1992–1998), Jason Durr as Mike Bradley (Series 7–12, 1997–2003), James Carlton as Steve Crane (Series 12–13, 2003–2004), Jonathan Kerrigan as Rob Walker (Series 14–16, 2004–2007), and Joe McFadden as Joe Mason (Series 17–18, 2007–2010).

Episodes

Special programmes

The following is a list of specials made for ''Heartbeat'', most of which were behind-the-scene documentaries. All were later included in DVD boxsets for specific series of the programme:

* ''Heartbeat: Changing Places'' (13 June 1999) – A one-off special, starring Nick Berry and Juliette Gruber, who reprised their roles as Nick and Jo Rowan respectively. This extended episode was initially released on VHS in 1998, before its television debut over a year later. It focused on life for the Rowans after they move to Canada, including Nick's new job as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The episode was filmed on location in Cochrane, Alberta, which is around 22 miles from the city of Calgary. In Cochrane, Nick discovers a lot of similarities to what he had in Aidensfield, such as a police boss like Blaketon and a female lovable rogue who is similar to Greengrass. There are also differences, such as the need to use guns in the line of duty, the presence of First Nations people, and the different animals that roam the countryside and bins, such as bears and moose.
* ''10 Years of Heartbeat'' (14 April 2002): A documentary special to celebrate the programme's tenth anniversary. Past and present members of the cast and crew, along with celebrity guests, recalled their experiences of the show and reviewed their favourite moments from the previous ten years.
* ''Heartbeat: Christmas Album'' (18 December 2005): A special that looked back at the Christmas episodes created for ''Heartbeat''.
* ''Heartbeat: Farewell Phil'' (24 December 2007): A one-off special, commemorating the departure of actor Mark Jordon from the programme, after performing for seventeen series as the character Phil Bellamy. Both the actor and his former colleagues relive moments from the series featuring Jordon's character.
* In August 2023, the TV Heartbeat Podcast was announced. An 8 part series that will be released weekly on the YouTube channel @TVHeartbeat and will delve into all things Heartbeat with conversations with cast, writers and fans. It is the accompanying podcast to the fan pages on Twitter @TVHeartbeat and Instagram TV.Heartbeat

Cast

Production

Filming

The series was filmed at various locations around North Yorkshire. These include shots on the moors and frequent mentions of local roads (like the A171). Exterior scenes of Aidensfield are filmed in the village of Goathland in North Yorkshire, with the village's railway station also appearing occasionally. Other prominent filming locations include Whitby, Otley and Scarborough. The "Heartbeat: Changing Places" special includes location filming in Canada and in series 18, two episodes were filmed on location in Queensland, Australia.

Broadcast

When ''Heartbeat'' first began on 10 April 1992 it aired on Fridays at 9.00 pm (on the ITV Network) but from series 2 it was moved to Sunday evenings in the 7.00 pm or 8.00 pm timeslot. All ''Heartbeat'' episodes are around 42–51 minutes long (one hour with adverts). The opening episode of Series 11 was planned to be the show's first two-hour episode, but it was eventually split into a two-part story, "Sweet Sixteen" and "She's Leaving Home". In 1994 a one-off feature-length episode was filmed, starring Lloyd Owen as constable Tom Merriweather.

''Heartbeat'' repeats have appeared on ITV during the summer months (often billed on-screen as "Classic Heartbeat"), typically at 5.00 pm or, in 2006, at 4.00 pm. In 2006, episodes from the first few series were repeated again. Most of the swearing ("bloody", "bastard", etc.) and violence that was present in the early episodes was edited out for these daytime broadcasts.

For several years (as of 2016) ''Heartbeat'' reruns from series 11–18 have shown on ITV3, formerly in the original two-commercial-break format and latterly with three breaks. These repeats run daily each weekday lunchtime, with a second airing in an early-evening timeslot. Episodes from different series were shown on ITV3 at weekends.

As of autumn 2015, series 1–10 of ''Heartbeat'' was being aired on the then-new ITV Encore channel, which was only available on the Sky TV platform (until ITV Encore ceased broadcasting). These episodes were broadcast at a time when ITV had two commercial breaks and therefore have a running time of around 50 minutes. However ITV Encore has 60-minute programme slots which include three commercial breaks, so some scenes are edited or have been completely removed, purely for timing reasons. An example of this was the series 7 episode 22 "Unconsidered Trifles", in which the scene with PC Mike Bradley and Bernie Scripps herding cows back into the farm shed was completely omitted.

After ITV Encore's closure in 2018, all series of ''Heartbeat'' aired each weekday on ITV3.

Home media

Reception

Ratings

Ratings slowly declined after series 13. The schedule was split in half to incorporate the launch of ''The Royal'' from Series 12. Series 1 and 2 (1992–1993) aired between April and June, Series 3–6 (1993–1996) moved to the autumn schedule between September and December when there were either 10 or 16 episodes per series. Series 7–11 (1997–2002), comprising 24 episodes, aired between September and March.

Awards

* 1995 – ITV Programme of the Year ( TRIC Award) – Won
* 1998 – ITV Programme of the Year – Won
* 1998 – ITV Programme of the Year – National Television Award – Most Popular Newcomer (Jason Durr) – Nominated
* 1999 – Best Performing Peak-Time Drama (ratings higher than ''Coronation Street'' and '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'') – Won
* 2007 – Best European Drama (voted by Norwegian viewers) – Won
* 2008 – Best Drama (nominated by ITV Studios along with ''The Royal'' and ''Emmerdale'') – Won

''The Royal''

The ITV medical drama series ''The Royal'' was originally a spin-off from ''Heartbeat'', with the twelfth-series ''Heartbeat'' episode "Out of the Blue" serving as an introductory pilot for the show, with the Aidensfield police officers conducting parts of their investigations in "The Royal" hospital. The series initially had close ties with ''Heartbeat'', and several ''Heartbeat'' characters made an appearance. Over time, however, the crossovers were dropped and ''The Royal'' developed its own identity.

Cancellation

On 5 June 2001, ITV planned cutbacks for dramas such as '' London's Burning'', ''Heartbeat'' and '' Peak Practice'' to make room for new commissions which could have seen the programme's demise. A spokesman said "The temptation is to just cancel long running shows. But if you do that you can spend years trying to find replacements that achieve the same viewing figures."

Kathleen Beedles, the new producer as of series 18, originally said ''Heartbeat'' was expected to continue until at least series 20 (at the time scheduled for 2010–11). However, it was announced on 28 January 2009 that production of both ''Heartbeat'' and its spin off show ''The Royal'' would be suspended for an unspecified period of time so that a large backlog of unbroadcast episodes could be cleared. Some newspaper reports interpreted this as meaning the show would be permanently cancelled. A report in ''The Telegraph'' suggested ''Heartbeat'' may return in "a new lower budget form".

In March 2009, a meeting to discuss the future of the show took place between ITV bosses and ''Heartbeat'' cast and crew members. The mood after the meeting was reportedly pessimistic about the show's long-term survival. Actor Steven Blakeley, who played PC Younger, said the cast were to be released after series 18, indicating the show had been cancelled and filming had finished.

News of the show's alleged cancellation prompted protests from ''Heartbeat'' fans around the world, as well as from communities in the Yorkshire Television region where the series was filmed, and where the ''Heartbeat''-themed tourist trade was seen as an important part of the local economy.

In January 2010, rumours were published that Sky might buy ''Heartbeat'' from ITV and take over its production. In February 2010, it was reported that Adam Crozier, the newly appointed ITV chief executive, would be responsible for making the decision about the future of the show. In March 2010, a survey was carried out by the '' Whitby Gazette'', a newspaper local to the area in which the show is set, asking "Do you think that popular ITV show ''Heartbeat'' should be axed after 16 years?" 71% of respondents voted "No", 19% voted "Yes" and 10% voted "Don't Care".

Series 18 was unusually protracted. Filming ran from May 2008 to May 2009. It premiered on 12 October 2008 and took a break after the sixth episode, then continued from 19 April 2009 to 14 June 2009. The last nine episodes were shown between 18 July 2010 and 12 September 2010 in the UK, but in Sweden on TV4 from 25 August 2009 to 4 September 2009, and in Denmark on TV 2 Charlie from 16 December 2009 to 24 December 2009. As of 3 January 2025, ''Heartbeat'' continues to be aired on TVO in Ontario, Canada.

During the period of uncertainty about the show's future, ITV continued to maintain that reports of the show being "axed" were untrue, saying that production was "taking a rest" so that stockpiled episodes could be aired. However, on 25 June 2010, ITV finally confirmed that the show would be cancelled after series 18, with a spokesman saying "''Heartbeat'' has been an important part of the television landscape over the last 18 years and we are incredibly proud of what it achieved in its heyday as one of ITV1's top rated dramas".

References

External links

*
*
Backgrounder on ''Heartbeat'' origins
in the Nicholas Rhea "Constable" series

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heartbeat (British TV series)

1992 British television series debuts
2010 British television series endings
1990s British crime drama television series
1990s British police procedural television series
1990s British workplace drama television series
2000s British crime drama television series
2000s British police procedural television series
2000s British workplace drama television series
2010s British crime drama television series
2010s British police procedural television series
2010s British workplace drama television series
British English-language television shows
ITV crime dramas
Television series by ITV Studios
Television series by Yorkshire Television
Television series set in the 1960s
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