''Sirens'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

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, broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. It was first screened on 27 June 2011. The series is based on the book ''

Blood, Sweat & Tea ''Blood, Sweat & Tea'' is a book by ambulance technician Brian Kellett, writing under the pseudonym Tom Reynolds, about life in the London Ambulance Service. The book is compiled from posts and correspondence from the bloRandom Acts of Reality o ...

'' by

Brian Kellett Brian Kellett is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. He played at club level for Featherstone Rovers, and Mansfield Marksman, as a , or . Club career Brian Kellett made his début for Featherstone R ...

. The series is filmed predominantly in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

with some filmed in the surrounding areas. Locations featured including

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Kirkstall Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. The area sits in the Kirkstall (ward), Kirkstall electoral ward, ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central and Headingley (UK Parl ...

, Adel, Hyde Park,

Cookridge Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of the Leeds Outer Ring Road. In 1715 Ralph Thoresby described it as a village four miles from Leeds and three from Otley, dating from 1540.Ralph Thoresby (1715) ''D ...

Chapel Allerton Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre. It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...

and the main city centre including shopping areas of

Briggate Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It contains many h ...

and

Headrow The Headrow is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of the most important thoroughfares in central Leeds, hosting many of the city's civic and cultural buildings, including Leeds Town Hall, ...

. On 17 October 2011, Rhys Thomas and Channel 4 confirmed that there would not be a second series. In November 2013,

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

revealed it was airing an American version of the show, which ran for two seasons from 2014 to 2015 before being canceled.

Main cast

* Rhys Thomas as Stuart Bayldon, a talented Emergency Medical Technician. He has intimacy issues that Maxine believes stem from his estranged father. *

Richard Madden Richard Madden (born 18 June 1986) is a Scottish actor. He was cast in his first role at age 11 and made his screen acting debut in 2000. He later began performing on stage whilst a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2007, he t ...

as Ashley Greenwick, Stuart's best friend and co-worker. He is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, but does not like discussing it with Rachid. *

Kayvan Novak Kayvan Novak (born 23 November 1978) is a British actor and comedian.Kadivar, DariuSyriana breaks Iranian stereotypes, ''Persian Mirror''. Retrieved 3 August 2007. He co-created and starred in the comedy series ''Fonejacker'' (2006–2008) an ...

as Rachid Mansaur, the trainee on Stuart and Ashley's team. He pushes Ashley's buttons. *

Amy Beth Hayes Amy Beth Hayes (born 8 October 1982) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Kitty in ''Mr Selfridge''; Lucy in " The Entire History of You", an episode of ''Black Mirror''; Ruth in '' Misfits''; Clem in '' Shameless''; Amy in ' ...

as Sgt Maxine Fox, Stuart's other best friend.

Minor cast

Ben Batt Ben Batt (born 7 February 1986) is an English actor, best known for his role as Joe Pritchard in Channel 4's comedy drama '' Shameless''. He has also appeared in ''Scott & Bailey'' as DC Kevin Lumb, Alf Rutter in '' The Village'' and in ''Sire ...

as Craig Scruton, the fireman. *

Morven Christie Morven Christie is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama '' The A Word,'' Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama ''Grantchester'', and Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series '' The Bay.'' ...

as Kirsty Schelmerdine, the hospital therapist *

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Kobna Kuttah Holdbrook-Smith (born 23 August 1977) is a Ghanaian-English actor. He has played roles in films, including Father Richard Emery in '' Ghost Stories'' (2017), Oliver in '' The Commuter'', Templeton Frye in '' Mary Poppins Returns'' ...

as Ryan Bailey, Maxine's colleague. *

Annie Hulley Annie Hulley (born 23 October 1955 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English television and stage actress and voice over artist. She is the narrator of The Yorkshire Auction House. Annie featured in Mr Bates vs The Post Office. She ...

as Stella Woodvine, paramedic (Stuart, Ashley & Rachid's boss). *

Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Amelia Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is a British actress. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appeared in various films before making her breakthrough ...

as Sarah Fraisor, Rachid's girlfriend. * Robert Stone as Fat Carl, a fellow paramedic.

Episodes

Home release

A DVD of ''Sirens'' was released on 12 March 2012. A book called ''Sirens'' (written by Tom Reynolds) was released on 25 July 2011, following the day-to-day life blogs of members of the emergency services.

US remake

ordered a remake of the show before it even premiered in UK.

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, he first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and th ...

developed the project and co-wrote it with Bob Fisher. They're also executive producers of the show alongside

Jim Serpico Jim Serpico is the American co-founder, along with Denis Leary, of Apostle, a production company in New York City, specializing in television production. Career Serpico was also an executive producer for Leary's stand-up shows from the 1990s, in ...

, Hal Vogel and

David Aukin David Aukin (born 12 February 1942) is an English theatrical and executive producer as well as a qualified solicitor. He has been nominated for multiple British Academy Television Awards and has won twice for producing films about Tony Blair: '' ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sirens (2011 Tv Series) 2011 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2010s British medical television series 2010s British LGBTQ-related comedy television series 2010s British LGBTQ-related drama television series 2010s British workplace comedy television series 2010s British workplace drama television series Channel 4 comedy dramas British English-language television shows Television shows set in Leeds