1First Impressions
The Royal is, in the 1960s, the local hospital for the North Yorkshire town of Elsinby. Its administrator T.J. Middleditch is a benevolent figure whilst the elderly matron is firm but fair with her nursing staff. Surgeon Mr. Rose is likely to light up his pipe whilst performing an operation and Dr. Jill Wetherill is a highly confident practitioner, though she does come unstuck on a home visit and Ken the hospital porter comes a cropper trying to fit an aerial on the roof. Young doctor David Cheriton turns up for his first day at the Royal and is surprised not only at how ill-equipped it seems to be but because no one was expecting him so early.
2Second Time Around
A motor-bike crash brings a cruel end to a romantic escapade for a young couple, but elsewhere Matron assists Dr. Ormerod in bringing marital harmony to patient Dennis Cording and his wife. The porters have to deal with a rodent infestation problem and unwisely turn to patient, Aidensfield wheeler-dealer Claude Greengrass, for advice, though he keeps hallucinating that spiders are crawling all over him.
3Coffin Fit
Jill Wetherill comes to learn the folly of jumping to the wrong conclusion after she suspects that older Dr. Alway has misdiagnosed a patient. David Cheriton proves himself at a car accident despite Dr. Ormerod's fears that he may have been affected by an earlier crash and Greengrass arouses the porters' suspicions after asking them to store a coffin, supposedly containing his late sister, in the hospital.
4Sister of Mercy
Jill Wetherill helps the Heatons, an elderly couple, whilst Sister Brigid, a secular Irish nun working as a nurse at the Royal, discovers an abandoned baby which she believes is linked to missing teenager Susan. Whilst a Russian sailor is admitted to the Royal, Greengrass attempts to play the system to ensure a longer stay for himself, whilst an official hospital inspection looms.
5Immediate Care
David Cheriton is faced with the unenviable task of telling young Francesca that she has only a short time to live, though it does lead to a wedding. Efficiency-mad Nigel Harper ruffles feathers with cost-cutting ideas, but the arrival of a famous jockey as a patient in the hospital means that the basic fund-raising scheme of having a raffle to help hospital coffers gives way, thanks to Greengrass, to having a flutter on the horses.
6Kiss and Tell
Aidensfield copper Ventress comes to the Royal for a bunion removal and sees a supposed amnesiac, who is not what he claims. Doctors Wetherill and Ormerod get close at Cheriton's house-warming but Middleditch is faced with the news that the hospital may be forced to close and dreads having to tell the staff.
7Crash
It's Dr. Alway's last day at the Royal before retirement but he, and the rest of the staff, are kept busy, following a bus crash, one of the wounded being Dr. Ormerod's wife Caroline. Whilst Cheriton gets cosy with Staff Nurse Taylor, Bernard Hussey, the NHS administrator, gets in everyone's way and Greengrass is re-admitted, apparently suffering from malaria.
1All at Sea
Eve Peterson comes to the Royal requiring an emergency hysterectomy. She has had an illegal abortion, which she wants to keep secret from her boyfriend, placing Jill Wetherill in an awkward situation. Jill also comforts Gordon Ormerod, whose wife is in a coma and was apparently trying to leave him. Oscar Blaketon arrives from Aidensfield to tell Greengrass that a young woman is looking for him via the newspapers. It is, apparently, his long-lost daughter.
2Snakes and Ladders
Middleditch is away and Nigel Harper, his stand-in, annoys everyone with his fussy ways. Equally annoying is wealthy hypochondriac Mrs. Lyons, who demands her dog be treated after being bitten by a snake. David Cheriton gets involved with Jeffrey Carpenter, a depressed boy who has attempted suicide but things do not work out as he had hoped. Jill and Gordon Ormerod have a passionate kiss.
3Thicker Than Water
Sister Brigid finds a clash between her faith and her profession when it becomes apparent that a devout Catholic woman be sterilised for her own good, bringing her into conflict with her priest. A hunting party ends in disaster whilst Ken fights Harper over arrangements for the hospital laundry.
4Wishing and Hoping
Mr. and Mrs. Barrie bring their young daughter Denise to the hospital for treatment for whooping cough. Her resultant death, because she was never vaccinated, causes panic as the Royal staff endeavour to immunise as many local children as possible. Mr. Rose operates on himself and Harper plans to cut costs by selling an ambulance whilst David has a weekend away with Staff Nurse Meryl Taylor.
5One of Those Days
Dr. Ormerod answers a call for help following a boating accident but goes to the wrong location and ultimately the injured man dies, causing the doctor to blame receptionist Lizzie. Alf Ventress brings in two men from Aidensfield who were fighting over a woman, when one collapsed with a brain haemmorhage. Sister Brigid comforts Jane who is having a baby for the first time at age 37 and it all goes wrong. Meryl Taylor believes she is pregnant but will not allow David to marry her purely out of duty.
6The Last Waltz
The hospital's charity ball is being organized by Meryl and David with a band led by porter Andy's brother Vic and Aidensfield barmaid Gina on vocals. When the band's van breaks down, Ken rides to the rescue. Jill treats a woman with syphilis but is on hand to comfort Gordon when he realizes that his wife may never recover.
1Absent Friends
Jill cuts short her maternity leave to return to the Royal because of staff shortages and Matron notices that Catherine is avoiding Adam. Out in Africa Jeff makes a promise to a dying woman to create a better life for her young daughter, Nkeshi.
2Home and Dry
Jeff returns from Africa with Nkeshi, whom he has smuggled into the country illegally. A shocked Matron suggests he put the child in an orphanage but he cannot go through with it. Pop singer Dorcas arrives at the Royal having deliberately injured herself to cancel her tour and escape her bullying boyfriend/manager Rick. With the papparazzi anxious for a good photo of Dorcas, Frankie becomes an innocent pawn in her plan.
3Hoping for the Best
Staff encourage put-upon wife Lesley Pinner to take a stand against her controlling husband who was more concerned about the bike than her when they fell off their tandem. Jill's alcoholic patient Jimmy Beattie is brought sharply face to face with his responsibilities to his children when his selfless wife dies of cancer and Matron assumes Adam is the father when Catherine tells her she is pregnant. Joan takes a job in Cameroon and, as Nkeshi's future in England is doubtful, agrees to take her too. Jeff decides he will soon follow.
4Fear of the Expected
Aristocratic Lady Isabella Martindale injures herself in a riding accident and is driven to the hospital by her handsome young chauffeur Tom, to whom Lizzie takes an instant shine. As Mr. Rose diagnoses her broken ankle, Adam is more concerned with persuading her to make a donation to the Royal.
5Dr Who?
Due to an administrative error two young men turn up as prospective successors to Jeff Goodwin, the post eventually going to Dr. Mike Banner. Catherine makes her feelings clear to Adam about their relationship but Stella is the victim of a horrifying attack after a night out.
6Cursed and Blessed
When expectant mother Lily Metcalfe arrives at the Royal, she is followed by her husband, intent on harassing her and the staff must find the cause. Stella is interviewed by the police after her ordeal and, although she has not picked up any infections, she feels that people are doubting her version of events.
7Starting Over
Mr Middleditch makes a surprise return to the hospital in an ambulance after hurting his ankle while fishing; Steela grudgingly welcomes new nurse Marian McKaig as her room-mate; and a frantic mother calls for Mike's help at a hippy commune.
8Coming to the Boil
Two new nurses, Marian McKaig, who rooms with Stella, and Susie Dixon, who turns out to be Matron's niece, arrive as does a man suffering from anthrax, which involves the intervention of a public health inspector. Agnes Corbett's dizzy spells call for the examination by a specialist whilst Alun and Lizziwe are intrigued by a disappearing girl patient.
9Scabs
The porters go on sympathy strike but this is bad news for Alun when he is in need of help. He also loses interest in Susie when he realises who she is. Jill has bad news for Dora Rigby, whilst piano teacher Hugh Etheridge, who collapses outside the hospital, and is rushed into casualty, is clearly giving little away about himself.
10Laura
The death of a baby in a train crash during a family day out makes Jill more determined than ever to support Adam's plan for a premature baby unit. Local farmer Sam gives cause for concern with his odd behaviour whilst Stella's attacker is brought to the hospital after being badly assaulted by the father of another of his victims.
11Can't Buy Me Love
Henry, Gordon's ex-father-in-law visits, bearing an olive branch and making a bequest to the Ormerod family whilst Adam comes under suspicion when hospital funds are unaccounted for. Mike attends a meeting to assess the future of Billy Taylor, a middle-aged man who still lives with his elderly mother on whom he is dependent. Ken has to make a confession to his colleagues.
12Love & Loss
Susie makes a play for Frankie, telling him she does not mind his being married before. Jill discovers that Alice Hibbert has stolen another woman's baby from the ward but Jill is herself expecting again and is rushed to the theatre with an ectopic pregnancy. The young nurses hold a séance in Matron's flat,spied on by Alun and Frankie. A candle is knocked over, causing a fire and the girls are trapped in the room.
1Against All Odds
Marian is returning to the Royal by rail when the train crashes and, whilst she is trapped in the carriage, she is able to move about and assist the wounded. Dr. Nick Burnett, the new locum for the hospital, is also on the train and they work together, though when the injured are brought to the Royal, staff shortages put staff under a strain.
2On the Road
Sister Brigid is giving out food to the homeless of the town when Nick suggests that they should be given treatment in the hospital's private suite which is rarely used, an idea which brings him up against Adam. Jill is called out to a car accident where a young couple, the Fishers, have swerved to avoid a dog. The wife, Teresa, is heavily pregnant and goes into labour with Jill delivering the baby in the car. Gordon feels she should not be exerting herself .
3Blood's Thicker Than Water
Penny Darnby is admitted suffering from pneumonia and is worried that her father should not be left alone with her young daughter. Nick has to amputate the hand of a fisherman, who is concerned about his future livelihood, and, at the Hopkirks' leaving party, Lizzie decides to stay in Elsinby after all and bids her father goodbye.
4Slings and Arrows
Alun is disappointed that he has been passed over as Ken's replacement and Eric Fogle has been appointed as the new head porter. Mike sends word that he will not be returning to the Royal and Gordon puts Nick forward as a permanent partner. Lucy Bayliss falls off her horse and the X-ray suggests a more long-term problem. Lizzie throws a party to celebrate staying on.
5To Love and to Lose
Moira Kilgannon, Brigid's sister, arrives from Ireland and shocks the nun by revealing that she is pregnant and is seeking an abortion. After the Danninis' ice cream parlour is vandalised, matriarch Maria comes to the Royal where a more serious diagnosis is made. Susie attempts to get rid of officious Eric but Nick decides to stay on in a permanent post.
6Stolen Dreams
An amusement arcade in the town collapses, trapping youngsters in the wreckage. One is a boy with a rare blood disorder whose mother must be found. Stella and Frankie work to free a young girl trapped beneath a fruit machine during which time Frankie tells Stella that he loves her. Unfortunately their future is cut short as there is an explosion, which kills them both.
7Home from the Hill
Jack Bell, a new head porter to replace the departing Eric, arrives and ends up as a patient. Bobby comes to replace Frankie as the new ambulance driver and takes Gordon to attend elderly Hester Hindmarsh who lives in a remote and decaying farm-house and is tormented by local youngsters as an eccentric. Susie passes her exams, Nick faces up to his feelings for Marian and Alun's band plays its first gig - in a club which catches fire.
8Pastures New
Jack is thrown in at the deep end when the hospital's boiler breaks down and he has to find a new one in a hurry. Nick is called to a dilapidated and unhygienic farm-house where young Simon Watts has a fever and high temperature. His pregnant mother takes on the same symptoms and needs to be rushed to the hospital, where Gordon and Mr. Rose are trying to persuade eccentric explorer Sir James Fawcett that he is in no fit state to travel to Mexico.
9Busman's Holiday
Jack gets a fright when a 'corpse' comes to life in the mortuary - his old pal Duncan, the worse for drink. They go out for the night and Jack lets him sleep in the private suite but then has trouble getting him out. Susie bets Lizzie she can date Adam, making Bobby jealous. Girls in bikinis crowd out casualty after a jelly-fish scare on the beach but T.J.'s birthday party, where he assures Matron she can carry on, is interrupted by a bus crash.
10In the Air
Having previously bet Lizzie that she could get Adam to date her, Susie dines out on her success but Matron is less than pleased when she is late for work again and decides to suspend her from duty. Mr. Rose faces complications when he has to operate on a golfing buddy and Gordon has to treat a man trapped beneath a combine harvester.
11The Best of Intentions
Nick has to attend to two little girls who have been overcome by carbon monoxide fumes and Jill gets involved with the family of a man training to be a priest. The real hero of the hour is Susie, who well and truly redeems herself with her aunt when they are having a cliff-top picnic and Matron collapses. Susie's actions save the day.
12Compromising Positions
Despite being advised against it by Nick, Bobby takes the law into his own hands with a local thug and ends up getting stabbed. Moira dies and the Ormerods consider adopting her child Aisling. Susie decides to put her nursing career above her private life and breaks off her engagement to Adam - who then proposes to her.
1Safe as Houses
The Ormerods accompany Sister Brigid to Ireland for Moira's funeral where married Sergeant O'Malley is among the mourners. It becomes clear that he is baby Aisling's father and his wife is about to find out. Back at the Royal new Dr. Ralph Ellis is thrown in at the deep end when he attends to Ruby, a teenager injured at a children's home, but reluctant to leave her little sister to go to hospital.
2Counting Chickens
The Ormerods relieve a troubled Sister Brigid, who was considering leaving the veil to bring up Aisling, when they agree to adopting the little girl. Back at the Royal the porters have a hare-brained scheme to raise chickens whilst Ralph Ellis faces racial prejudice when he diagnoses school-girl Tracey Wong with non-contagious leprosy to which other parents show hostility.
3These Foolish Things
Matron is put in an awkward position when her married friend Margo appears to have syphilis, about which her husband is unaware. Jack and Alun go after buried treasure but only succeed in puncturing a sewage pipe instead. Gordon and Ralph are called to a cliff-top rescue, which Ralph almost jeopardises when he ends up in need of rescuing himself. New administrator Jean McAteer gets to grips with the job.
4Any Old Iron
Rag-and-bone man Lester Marsh is brought into the hospital after being knocked down and kicked by his horse.Gordon has to be taken by lifeboat to attend an emergency on a yacht and ends up comforting a grieving widow. For Susie however,things are looking up as she asks Alun for a lift - to her wedding to a very wealthy man.
5Should I Stay or Should I Go Now
Following the departure of Susie after her whirlwind courtship and marriage a new student nurse, Faye Clarke, arrives to take up her position at the Royal .Meanwhile receptionist Lizzie falls head over heels for a handsome stunt-riding motor-bike daredevil .
6Please Release Me
Sister Brigid helps Faye overcome her fear of needles and get revenge on Jack,who has been teasing her while Ralph goes to the local jail to see self-harming prisoner Mark Bullen. Bullen is seriously disturbed and Ralph has to combat the officers' view that he is shamming to get him to a psychiatric hospital. Gordon is accused of giving cancer patient Philip Plumley a deliberate over-dose of diamorphine as an assisted suicide and is arrested before Philip's widow explains what truly occurred.
7Tutti Frutti
Alun dates ice cream saleswoman Daniella but it is clear that she is only using him so Lizzie and Jack conspire to break them up by exposing her true colours. Schoolgirl Denise Mount gives birth to a baby fathered by classmate Ray and their parents are anxious that the child should be adopted but they have reckoned without Sister Brigid's powers of persuasion. Jean is stalked by the unstable wife of a man with whom she had an affair but leads the hospital in siding with the woman against her philandering spouse's attempts to have her sectioned.She nonetheless feels she should resign.
8Manoeuvres
Jean stays on and reluctantly agrees to accompany married Mr. Rose to a golf function. Jill and Sister Brigid take the Ormerod children to an amusement park but the day ends in a double drama when a feud between employees almost kills a man and Gordon's son Tom is rushed to the Royal with appendicitis - which gets Jean off the hook when Mr. Rose is recalled. Ralph takes pity on Sheila,a depressed young widow with three small children and saves her from prison when she is charged with shop-lifting.
9Dead Air
When a Girl Guide pack camps locally one of the elderly leaders goes down with a mystery illness whilst the other,having innocently drunk spiked fruit squash,crashes the bus,landing them all in casualty.They decide it's time to quit. Lizzie and the nurses take Alun's demo disc to stoned DJ Lenny Lomax on board the Radio Neptune pirate ship but during an argument over unpaid wages Lenny accidentally shoots a crew member,requiring Gordon and Ralph to make a mercy dash in the lifeboat.
10A Hero for Our Time
Jean faces an uphill struggle with the local District Health Authority after its chairman Sir Charles's daughter is admitted to the hospital. Jack goes off on a fishing trip,which is interrupted when a car crashes into the lake. Also making a splash is the cowboy builder who accidentally disconnects the wrong pipe in casualty.
11Below the Surface
When an unexploded WW2 bomb goes off Jill and Ralph have to operate on a tramp trapped in the wreckage of a collapsed building,aware that a second bomb may also explode. Meanwhile a young boy is wounded by a shotgun blast allegedly fired by a burglar but Gordon believes the youngster's grandfather is keeping something back and the pickle magnate who donates the money to repair the casualty department damaged by the inept plumber is also not whom he claims to be - as Ralph well knows.
12The Enemy Within
Aisling's adoption party ends in tears for most of the guests but Sister Brigid and Mr. Rose,appalled that an elderly woman has been incarcerated in a lunatic asylum for having a baby as a teenager,ensure that she ends her days in comfort. Meanwhile Gordon advises a hard-drinking fisherman to cut down his intake but whilst his daughter is having fertility problems the man's wife is heavily pregnant - by her daughter's boyfriend. Chaos ensues - with Gordon as a victim.
