|
| |
Derby Evening
Telegraph reports on the fans plea for one final Peak Practice......
PEAK PRACTICE
FANS IN FINAL SHOW PLEA
Fans of axed Derbyshire-based medical drama Peak Practice have made a desperate
plea to programme makers to film one last episode.
The show ended in January on a cliff hanger - literally - with leading lady,
Doctor Alex Redman, being pulled over the edge of an abandoned quarry by a
psychotic nurse.
Now, more than 400 desperate fans from as far afield as Australia have signed a
petition calling for the drama to be resurrected one last time.
The petition was set up by the website Peak Practice Online.
"I know that there is little chance of another series being commissioned now,
but I think it is only fair on the fans that they find out if Dr Redman lived or
died," she said.
Programme makers Carlton are adamant that there will be no more new visits to
Cardale.
Spokeswoman Fiona Johnston said: "The series has come to an end. We appreciate
that many people are upset that Peak Practice will be no more, but we felt we
had explored every avenue.
"The end of series 12 was both very dramatic and inconclusive, but many films
end in this sort of way. It can be left to the viewers to imagine what might
have happened to Dr Alex Redman."
Since filming began in 1992, Peak Practice has attracted tourists to Derbyshire.
The fictional village of Cardale where the drama was set was based in Crich and
the programme surgery, The Beeches, was in Fritchley. Scenes have also been
filmed in Belper, Ashbourne and Duffield.
Tourism development officer for Amber Valley Borough Council, Reg Whitworth,
said: "Peak Practice has always attracted people to the area - one lady came all
the way from Australia just to see where the series was filmed."
Tourism in the district is worth £61m a year to the local economy and generates
1,900 jobs.
It is estimated that 2.6m visitors come to the area annually, but Mr Whitworth
says only a tiny proportion of these would come to see the Peak Practice sights
alone.
"Peak Practice has definitely generated extra business and we would much rather
it was here then not," he said. "But other factors are likely to have a more
dramatic effect on tourism here - like the strength of the pound."
Ian Welby, who owns Crich News in the Market Place, Crich, said: "We get people
from across the country and world coming in and asking where sites are that
featured in Peak Practice. I doubt this will have a serious effect on the
economy of the shops here. We were never very dependent on the income it
generated."
Brochures and leaflets describing Amber Valley as Peak Practice Country are
already being taken off the shelves of tourism offices, but Mr Whitworth remains
confident that the Derbyshire series set to replace Peak Practice, Sweet
Medicine, will tempt more people into the area.
The series will follow the lives of Nicholas and Deborah Sweet as they attempt
to set up a health centre in a Derbyshire village.
Derby Evening Telegraph -
Read the article on their website
|
