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| Series Number: | 8 |
| Num Episodes: | 185 |
| Network: | BBC One |
| Prev Series: | Series 7 |
| Next Series: | Series 9 |
The eighth series of the British medical soap opera Doctors originally aired between 24 April 2006 and 13 April 2007. It consisted of 185 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery.[1] The series saw the departure of the last remaining original cast member when Christopher Timothy quit his role as Mac McGuire. Fellow original Maggie Cronin reprised her role as Kate McGuire to aid in his exit storyline. Alongside Timothy, numerous other regulars departed in the series, which resulted in the castings of new regular cast members Donnaleigh Bailey, Stephen Boxer and Martha Howe-Douglas.
The eighth series saw the final appearance of original character Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy). He was the final remaining character from the original line-up of characters. Maggie Cronin, who departed in the sixth series, reprised her role as Kate McGuire to aid his exit.[2] Eva Fontaine was the next regular to depart when she quit her role as Faith Walker. Faith's exit storyline sees her diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, and realising she will soon be unable to do her job, she hands her position over to Michelle Corrigan (Donnaleigh Bailey).[3] Then at the end of the series, Greg Robinson (Ben Jones) and Rico Da Silva (Felix D'Alviella) depart together. For their exit storyline, Matilda Ziegler was cast as Rico's friend, Jess Butler, who he secretly impregnated as a favour to her. Rico moves abroad to be with their son, Charlie Butler (Shane Burke), with Greg accompanying him.[4]
Alongside Bailey joining as nurse Michelle, Martha Howe-Douglas was cast as receptionist Donna Parmar. Her family were introduced alongside her and it transpires that she had to persuade husband Ash (Simon Nagra), a Hindu, to allow her to work at the Mill.[5] Stephen Boxer was then cast as doctor Joe Fenton. His teenage daughter, Emily Fenton (Rachael Cairns), is introduced alongside him[6]
The episodes "Shreds" and "Aftermath" won the Best Single Episode accolade at the 2009 British Soap Awards.[7] The episodes were based around Julia Parsons (Diane Keen) being attacked by Leo Jackson (Pavel Douglas), with Ronnie Woodson (Seán Gleeson) saving her.[8] Douglas was also nominated for the Villain of the Year award for his portrayal of Leo. At the same ceremony, new casting Martha Howe-Douglas was nominated for both Best Comedy Performance and Best Newcomer.