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Two new major TV dramas are going to put Leeds at the heart of the nation's prime time viewing, as Charles Heslett and Alison Bellamy report.
BY ALISON BELLAMY
A RACY new TV drama series set in Leeds is set to send temperatures soaring in the world of nursing.
From the makers of Cops, This Life and Cardiac Arrest comes No Angels, a provocative new ten-part drama series focusing on a gang of four young nurses in Leeds who live, work and play together.
Producers say it is more Sex in the City than Holby City – and it starts on Tuesday at 10pm on Channel 4.
Exploding the myth of angels by the bedside, this is a witty and truthful expos of nursing in the modern NHS. Every day the girls face life, death and lunacy on the wards of the fictional St Margaret's.
And every night they let off steam, with a dangerous appetite for uncomplicated sex and misbehaviour. And if the drugs don't work, it's probably because the junior doctor has taken them.
Filming was carried out last summer at the disused High Royds Hospital, Menston, near Leeds, soon to be converted into a housing and leisure complex.
Jo Joyner, Sunetra Sarker, Louise Delamere and Kaye Wragg play four nurses who live in the same block of flats as well as working and playing together in Leeds.
The fresh young cast also features Derek Riddell from Clocking Off, as the girls' sexy nemesis, Senior House Officer Jamie.
C4 Head of Drama, John Yorke said: "No Angels is a portrayal of nurses as you have never seen them before.
Reality
"We wanted to create a drama that would reflect young working women with real, unflinching honesty and passion. Setting the drama on the front line of the NHS gave us huge scope to do this – it's a story of how four girls can overcome an impossibly demanding job with grit, humour, irreverence and determination.
"No Angels is a frank, funny and totally un-squeamish show, injecting the Florence Nightingale stereotype with a good dose of reality."
Filming on location entirely in and around Leeds, No Angels is devised by award-winning playwright Toby Whithouse.
Up and coming actress Sunetra, who formerly played a nurse in Brookside, said of her character, Anji: "She's a good-time girl; she has an arranged marriage but has been told she's allowed to be promiscuous until they're both ready."
Producer Helen Gregory said of High Royds: "It was perfect. The series is set at fictional St Margaret's Hospital in the city and just by sheer luck our scouts were in the area when they came across High Royds and it was available for use.
"There wasn't much more than a shell when we arrived, but, of course much of the original ward structures remained, though we spent several months creating the sets."
With large sections shot in the heart of Leeds the city is also set to get its profile boosted even further when the controversial show hits TV screens.
alison.bellamy@ypn.co.uk
By Charles Heslett
MOTORISTS driving past Bramley Fire Station could be fooled into believing it had opened up again for business.
The station was closed for frontline duties last year but is now being used as one of the main locations for a new seven part fire drama by Yorkshire Television.
Filming for the show – working title Steel River Blues – began in Leeds and Middlesbrough last week.
The series, to be shown on ITV1, explores the lives and working challenges of Blue Watch, a fire fighting team based in the heart of Middlesbrough.
It features a strong ensemble cast, including Daniel Casey, who plays Sergeant Troy in ITV1's Midsomer Murders; Kelly Wenham – Jessica Buckley in Where the Heart Is and Hannah in Channel 4's Hollyoaks – and Charles Dale, from Coronation Street.
Waking the Dead's Stuart Graham, Daniel Ryan from Bob and Rose, and Clare Buckfield from 2 point 4 Children also star.
Producer Ken Horn, who was in charge of The Royal series shot in Whitby, wanted to use Yorkshire locations as they are closer to YTV's Leeds headquarters.
Merged
He picked out the station – which was merged along with Pudsey into the new Stanningley Fire Station – as an ideal location for interior and exterior filming as it closed less than a year ago.
A Yorkshire Television spokesman said: "They will be filming at the abandoned fire station in Bramley until the summer.
"We made every effort to use locations in Yorkshire and Yorkshire resources.
"The station is clearly signposted to make sure everyone knows it is not a working station."
YTV Controller of Drama Keith Richardson is the executive producer of the show .
He said: "This is a very exciting commission for Yorkshire Television.
"We've been interested in developing a series set in this unique part of the country for a while now.
"Using the lives of a team of young firefighters gives us a broad basis to tell stories about the many aspects of the region, particularly the dangers of living so close to the industrial plants found in Middlesbrough."
• West Yorkshire Fire Service said residents should call 999 to report an emergency or, if seeking advice on fire safety should contact Stanningley Fire Station on 0113 236 3826.
charles.heslett@ypn.co.uk
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