Peak Practice
| Peak Practice | |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Central |
| Theme music composer | John Altman (1993–1994), Craig Pruess (2000–2002) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 12 |
| No. of episodes | 147 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Ted Childs (1993–1996) Jonathan Powell (1997–1998) Sharon Bloom (1999–2002) |
| Location(s) | Derbyshire |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) |
Central (1993–1999) Carlton (1999–2002) |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3, 16:9 |
| Original release | 10 May 1993 – 30 January 2002 |
Peak Practice was a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series.
The series was axed on 30 January 2002 and ended on a literal cliffhanger when two of the series' main characters plunged off a cliff. Viewers wrote to ITV in their thousands and a petition for one last episode was set up by website Peak Practice Online. However, all pleas were unsuccessful and ITV said they would not make any more episodes.
Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Fritchley, Matlock, Belper and Ashover.
Series 1 – 1993
Dr Jack Kerruish returns to the UK after setting up a clinic in Africa. He has dreams of being a country GP and heads to Derbyshire for an interview at the Beeches surgery. The Beeches is run by Dr Beth Glover who took the practice over from her father when he died. Beth's partner at the practice is Dr Will Preston who, at this time, would prefer a day on the golf course to a full days' surgery. After initial tensions and despite Will's concerns, Beth invites Jack to be a partner at the practice. Jack and Beth share an instant chemistry and after several misunderstandings they finally get together towards the end of Series 1. Will on the other hand faces marital problems with his wife Sarah. He is broken when he discovers she has been having an affair with Daniel Acres, a doctor from the rival health centre. Pressure to keep her and their two children, Tony and Julien, in a posh house results in Will committing a fraudulent drugs trial. When his scam is revealed, Sarah threatens to leave him, and in turn Will has a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, after years of trying for a baby, landlords of the local pub Chloe and James White have a daughter named Sarah-Jane.
...
Wikipedia