| Always and Everyone | |
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 Series 1 (1999) Title Card | |
| Also known as | A&E |
| Genre | Medical drama |
| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Tot Taylor |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | Granada Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 7 June 1999 – 22 August 2002 |
Always and Everyone (later known as A&E) is a British television medical drama, broadcast on ITV, that ran for four series between 7 June 1999 and 22 August 2002.[1] Set in the Accident and Emergency department of Saint Victor's city hospital in Manchester (although some exterior scenes were filmed in Birmingham), the series follows the everyday lives of the doctors and nurses working in the department, and was heavily described as ITV's answer to Casualty, and the British equivalent of ER.
The series featured an ensemble cast; however, the principal characters, Robert Kingsford (Martin Shaw) and Christine Fletcher (Niamh Cusack), appeared throughout all four series. David Harewood, whose character Mike Gregson was credited as the third principal character, appeared throughout the first three series. The first series introduced a total of ten regular cast members and additional ten recurring cast members.[2] All ten regular cast members were also retained for the second series, and two additional regular characters, Andrew Argyle (Dominic Mafham) and Kate Brady (Tamzin Malleson), were introduced.
The third series saw a major overhaul in both cast and format, with the series being rebranded as A&E, a new theme being introduced to the opening titles, and storylines focusing more heavily on the inter-personal relationships between the hospital's staff members. Although all twelve regular cast members returned, by the end of the series, eight had departed, with many receiving much less screen time than in previous series. A new principal character, Jack Turner (Michael Kitchen), was introduced at the start of the series to act as a catalyst between Christine and Robert. Jane Danson was also introduced as new regular cast member Samantha Docherty.[3]
Following the loss of a large chunk of the main cast, the fourth series saw the introduction of twelve new characters, including new senior doctors Ruth Cole (Jaye Griffiths) and Danny Barton (James Murray), with only four of the show's original stars returning. A largely critical reception for the new cast, coupled with declining viewing figures, were cited as the main reasons for the show's axe. A total of forty episodes were broadcast across four series. The series has never been commercially released on either VHS or DVD, but, digital repeats of the series were broadcast on ITV Encore for the first time in 2014, and all four series were regularly repeated on a rotation basis until the channel was closed in mid-2018. All four series were also released as a box set on Sky Go in 2016.[4]
