The fourth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 October 2001, and concluded on 1 October 2002. The episode run for this series was actually commissioned for 26 episodes, however a further 26 episodes were given the go ahead and were bolted onto the end of Series 4 resulting in a 52-episode series run. In essence, it is a combination of two separate series, but classed as one. From here on, each series was commissioned as a full 52-episode run.
In 2002, the BBC was condemned by critics who felt that the network "no longer believed it had a duty to shape public taste." David Cox of the New Statesman commented that this became clear during the 2001 Christmas schedule, when BBC One scheduled Holby City against a contemporary version of Othello. On this basis, Cox advocated the abolition of the licence fee, explaining: "The BBC was invented in a period when the elite decided what the population should know. If that has gone, then the licence fee should go too."[1]