Angels (TV Series 1975–1983) Poster

(1975–1983)

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7/10
Quite hard hitting for its time
glenn-aylett8 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Angels was a long running BBC drama concerning the lives and loves of a group of student nurses in the seventies and eighties. It was originally a 50 minute drama, but adapted to a twice a week style soap format in 1979, although it only ran for part of the year. Quite successful, Angels attracted 12 million viewers at times and made stars of Fiona Fullerton and Kathy Apanowicz( Mrs Richard Whiteley). Also the drama was an inspiration for Casualty,

Angels was quite a hard hitting and controversial show as it portrayed storylines such as a nurse becoming an alcoholic and receiving little help for her problem, interracial relationships, nurses having affairs with doctors, and the problems the NHS faced at the time. Kathy Apanowicz was brlliant as the tough as nails Northern nurse, Rose Butchins, who often riled her superiors and wasn't very popular with the other nurses.

However, for all Angels could be a gripping show at times, it was cheaply made( being mostly done in a studio with some cheap looking sets), the last series developed a political slant with some poorer characters, and the BBC pulled the plug in 1983 as Angels was losing viewers.

I would encourage viewers to check out the DVDs of the early series, as the characterisations are good( Fiona Fullerton is on top form as a posh nurse), but the soap type years are patchy in quality .later on.
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"Angels with dirty bed pans!"
dgrahamwatson16 July 2005
Before 'casualty' there was "Angels". Ironically the title today would be regarded as sexist with an obvious reference to Florence Nightingale. However, soon the series got into the swing of women's lib because as the years progressed male nurses were brought into series just to square things up. Originally the series was a one-hour show per week and focused on six new SRN nurse trainees. The stories mostly centered on the difficulties of adjusting to the nursing profession, relationships with the opposite sex, tensions and character clashes between the various members of the staff as well as the stress of working shifts in the National Health Service. Some of the trainee nurses adapted and got promoted however some did not stay on in the profession.

By comparison to 'Casualty and NBC's 'ER' Angels was neither as gruesome or as fast paced as the more mundane tasks of nursing were focused on. Angels never intended to be as heavy on the political aspects of the national health with cuts and strikes as the later 'Casualty' but it was certainly held greater emphasis especially as the series progressed. As in any series cast members moved on and new ones were brought in and by about 1980 it was cut to a half-hour show but came on about 7.00pm at least two nights per week but it could have been three.

The series finally wound up in 1983 but many of the former cast members from Angels found themselves passing through Albert square when Eastenders started it's run in 1985!
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