The Royal Today
The Royal Today is a British medical soap opera, and a spin-off of the similarly themed drama, The Royal. The concept is that whilst The Royal is set in the late 1960s, The Royal Today featured the same hospital in the present day, with a new set of characters working in the same location. Each episode followed the events of a single day, and the show was broadcast daily, so the series could be said to progress in real time. The first series of 50 half-hour episodes began on 7 January 2008 on the ITV network airing from 4 pm-4.30 pm. Although there were a number of running storylines, the series generally eschewed the use of cliffhangers. The series was axed in March 2008 after poor ratings, on an average of 1.175 million viewers.
Cast and characters
Setting
There are two separate blocks at St. Luke's in Bradford used for shooting The Royal and The Royal Today. One of the previously unused blocks has undergone a makeover to transform it into a modern hospital, this also includes a bar area having been built. Exterior shots are filmed around North Yorkshire, particularly Scarborough. The last day of shooting the series was Friday 16 November 2007.Named wards include:
| Ward | Opened by | Named After | Explanation |
| Middleditch Wing | Unknown | Middleditch Family | Mr. TJ Middleditch was the Hospital's Secretary from 1948 until the late 1960s, and his grandfather was the founding member of The Royal when it was opened in 1886. |
| Woods - Coombes Ward | Mr. Coombes | Mr. Woods Mr. Coombes | Woods - Coombes ward is part of Middleditch wing. in 2008 millionaire Mr Ray Coombes was taken into surgery for a life saving operation. Mr Woods had a bet with Coombes that if he got out alive he would fund a new ward. As Mr Woods convinced him to, Matron said his name could be on the ward instead of Coombes'. But Mr Woods said that would be unfair and that both their names should be on it. |
| Middleditch Ward | Unknown | Middleditch Family | Middleditch Ward is housed in the Middleditch Wing and run by Charge Nurse Adam Fearnley. |
| Goodwin Ward | Unknown | Dr. Jeff Goodwin | Goodwin Ward is housed in the Middleditch Wing upstairs and as of episode one of series one is currently closed for redecoration as stated by Pearl. |
| Premature Baby Unit | Dr. Jill Weatherill | Dr. Jill Weatherill | Jill campaigned to open this ward in the late 1960s. However, the Maternity unit at The Royal was closed in 2006. |
| High Dependency / Intensive Care Unit | NHS | Nobody | Ward where critically ill patients are closely monitored and treated. |
| Radiology | NHS | Unknown | X-ray Department run by Vijay |