After years of captivating daytime audiences, Doctors is coming to an end, and beloved stars Chris Walker and Kiruna Stamell have opened up about their favorite moments, personal highlights, and the memories they’ll hold onto long after the cameras stop rolling.
Chris, who played Rob Hollins, reflected on the storyline he found most challenging and rewarding—Rob’s PTSD journey. ‘It was wonderfully challenging to be out of your acting comfort zone,’ Chris said, appreciating how the role pushed him to new heights. His fondest memory, though, is from the very start. ‘Far too many memories to list,’ he said, ‘but I’ll go with realising how fabulous it was going to be on day one of filming!’
Asked what made Doctors so special, Chris highlighted the unique range of stories and formats the show explored. ‘The massive diversity,’ he explained. ‘Different genres, standalone episodes, having almost “all to yourself” episodes, to long-running storylines—everything an actor could wish for.’ But above all, it’s the people he’ll miss most. ‘The wonderful people, always the wonderful people,’ he shared.
As Chris looks to the future, he’s already embraced a new passion: cooking. He’s set up a pop-up kitchen at the Navigation Inn, a pub in Wakefield, to share homemade dishes from around the world with his son Gabriel. ‘Apart from acting it’s what I do best,’ he laughed, though he made it clear that acting remains close to his heart. ‘When the next acting job turns up, I wouldn’t be able to resist going back to the first love of my life… with the exception of my family, of course!’
Kiruna, who portrayed Kirsty Millar, shared her own fond memories from the show, recalling how much she loved Kirsty’s romance with Dave Burns, played by her real-life husband, Gareth Berliner. A scene that never aired remains one of her funniest moments. ‘Dave was trying to woo Kirsty with French cuisine,’ she laughed. ‘He was parading around with his baguette in hand when it spontaneously flopped over.’
For Kiruna, Doctors was special for its approach to storytelling and representation. ‘It was really important to me that we showed disability in a believable and natural way,’ she said. Playing a ‘pragmatic disabled woman’ who navigated life’s practicalities without making disability the focal point of the storyline meant a lot to her.
Living in Birmingham, Kiruna appreciated the routine of filming close to home. ‘It was as close to a “normal” job that an actor can get,’ she said. ‘I’ll miss seeing Midlands faces every day.’
As for what’s next, Kiruna hinted at an exciting sci-fi project on the horizon. ‘There’s something spectacular and sci-fi that I cannot name… just yet,’ she teased.
Both Chris and Kiruna agree that the show’s final episodes will be a fitting end to a cherished experience, with Chris calling them ‘very moving and memorable.’
Doctors airs on BBC One at 2pm from Monday to Thursday
You must be logged in to post a comment.