''Picking Up the Pieces'' is a British

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

about an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

service team. It aired on ITV between 29 October and 17 December 1998 and was produced by Central Television.

Premise

The series follows the lives of a team of

paramedics A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), m ...

and

emergency medical technicians An emergency medical technician (often, more simply, EMT) is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and some ...

with the North Area Ambulance Service, facing life and death situations in the fictional city of Matherton.

Production

The series was filmed in the Derbyshire town of

Ilkeston Ilkeston ( ) is a town located in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, England, with a population of 40,953 at the 2021 census. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/textiles, have now all but disappeared. Part of t ...

, using the real life ambulance station and vehicles in the series. The opening and closing theme of the series was created by

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...

after she was contacted by the series producer to write a theme with a

Northern Soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

feel.

Cast

Main

Amanda Abbington Amanda Abbington (born ) is an English actress. In a career spanning over thirty years on stage and screen, her most prominent roles include Josie Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' (2013–2016) and Mary Morstan in '' Sherlock'' (2014–2017). Her ot ...

as Louise Hunter (Staff Nurse) *Simon Chadwick as Tony Anzari (Emergency Medical Technician) *Ken Christiansen as Geoff Squires (Emergency Medical Technician) *Terence Hillyer as Alan Boddington *Des McAleer as Bill Tansey (Ambulance Manager) *

Diane Parish Diane Carol Richards (born 6 November 1969), known professionally as Diane Parish, is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006. A graduate of the Royal Academy of D ...

as Lisa Gee (Paramedic) *

Jenna Russell Jenna Russell (born 5 October 1967) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in London in both musicals and dramas, as well as appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a maj ...

as Bernadette Wallace (Paramedic) *Rachel Sanders as Caroline Marshall * Richard Standing as Michael Lowther (Emergency Medical Technician) * Roger Walker as Barry Courtland (Emergency Medical Technician)

Recurring

*Francesca Folan as Dr. Stephanie Reynolds (episodes 1–2 & 5–8) *

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019, 2024), for which she won the B ...

as Marie (episodes 3, 5, 7 & 8) *Scott Steele as Tom Gallagher (episodes 1 & 3–5) * Angela Lonsdale as Clare (episodes 5–7) *James Vaughan as Arthur (episodes 4 & 8) *Sharon Muircroft as Maureen (episodes 3 & 4)

Guest appearances

''Picking Up the Pieces'' features a number of notable future established actors in guest appearances, including:

Richard Bremmer Richard Bremmer (born 27 January 1953) is an English actor. Early life Bremmer was born and brought up in Warwickshire. Career Bremmer first began his career in the short film of ''Couples and Robbers'' before being in his first full-length fi ...

, Fiona Dolman,

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most ...

Melanie Gutteridge Melanie Gutteridge is an English actress, best known for playing PC Emma Keane in ''The Bill''. She made two appearances in ''Not Going Out'' playing Amy. Biography Gutteridge was born in Waltham Forest, Essex, and studied at the Webber Douglas ...

Raza Jaffrey Raza Jaffrey (born May 28 1975) is a British actor who is known for his roles as Zafar Younis in the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks'' (2004–2007) and Neal Hudson in the CBS medical drama '' Code Black'' (2015). He also had a recurring role ...

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'', a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Vero ...

Joanna Scanlan Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress and writer. On television, she is known for her roles in ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), ''Big School'' (2013–2014), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), '' No Offence'' (2015–2018), ...

Rhashan Stone Rhashan Stone (born November 3, 1969) is an American-born British actor and comedian based in the UK. He has had main roles in series such as ''Bodies'' (2004–2005), ''Mutual Friends'' (2008), '' Strike Back'' (2010–2012), ''The Smoke'' (201 ...

and Jeremy Young.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picking Up the Pieces (TV Series) 1998 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1990s British medical drama television series 1990s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in Derbyshire British English-language television shows Television shows produced by Central Independent Television Carlton Television