Peak Practice

Horrible and disappointing finish to an otherwise wonderful series. Does no one ever find happiness in the Dales?

I have been watching Peak Practice for several years now and is one of the better dramas of recent years. I was shocked and annoyed when the makers of this show, Carlton, decided to axe it after 9 years, despite it attracting 7 million viewers.

This series, which is made in the same county as I live, is being axed as Carlton says they have ran out of storylines. A lot of different medical issues have been covered during its duration.

The cast has changed several times over the years and the last series included Simon Sheperd, one of the original stars who had only just returned to the series after a few years' absence. This programme also made a star of Karl Davies who played landlord's son Nick Pullen. He now plays Robert Sugden in Emmerdale. Guest stars to have appeared include Keith Barren (The Land That Time Forgot, Duty Free), John Rhys Davies (The Living Daylights, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Linda Baron (Open All Hours).

I enjoyed watching this series and it will be greatly missed.

Rating: 4 and a half stars out of 5.

I think that peak practice was one of Britain's finest dramas. It simply defines the beautiful countryside of Derbyshire. When this drama was stopped, it was a great sadness for everyone that had followed it through the twelve series that had being amazingly produced. It live in Derbyshire, about two miles from where peak practice was filmed and have many memories of the fantastic story lines. In my opinion this drama will be greatly missed by people of Derbyshire and people of Britain. With any luck peak practice may begin with another series. Although there are no more signs of a new series, people who enjoy the scenery,story lines and acting will just have to tune into the repeats.

I've been watching 'Peak Practice' for quite a while now and make it a point to never miss it. What I like most about this serial is its realistic and sensitive probing into the psyche of the doctors and the patients..It portrays life in all its ups and downs, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes cruel..The performances are first rate..Adrian Lukis is absolutely charming and Saskia Wickham is excellent as Errika Matthews, you can't help identifying with her character -she evokes a lot of empathy. What I like most about the serial is the balance the director has achieved in portraying life from both the doctor's and patient's perspective. The plight of the patients in each of the episodes is conveyed realistically. Though a tearjerker, 'Peak Practice' is one of the most touching serials I've seen..With it's beautiful country setting(the serial is set in Derbyshire) it makes a statement for the bitter-sweet life in a very English coutryside...but with stories that are universal and emotions common to all humanity... Check it out

Peak Practice was a good series but they never recaptured the Beth / Jack magic of the early seasons, which was essential to balance the tragedies / darker topics. I like that the show doesn't shy away from death but it was too much doom and gloom as the years went by. Like Midsomer Murders, having a deeply bonded and some warm/romantic humour made the sad storylines bearable. I watched this show as a teen and it is weird but good to watch it again now that I am older than the doctors - 30 years on, the storylines are still so relevant, esp the work/community struggle as I've had that in my own career.

Ironically the next episode on my Morse playlist is S2.3 which stars Kevin (regular) and Amanda (guest) before they filmed Peak Practice.