The eighth series of the British medicalsoap operaDoctors originally aired between 24 April 2006 and 13 April 2007. It consisted of 185 episodes. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHSdoctor's surgery.[1] The series saw the departure of the last remaining original cast member when Christopher Timothy quit his role as Mac McGuire. Fellow original Maggie Cronin reprised her role as Kate McGuire to aid in his exit storyline. Alongside Timothy, numerous other regulars departed in the series, which resulted in the castings of new regular cast members Donnaleigh Bailey, Stephen Boxer and Martha Howe-Douglas.
Alongside Bailey joining as nurse Michelle, Martha Howe-Douglas was cast as receptionist Donna Parmar. Her family were introduced alongside her and it transpires that she had to persuade husband Ash (Simon Nagra), a Hindu, to allow her to work at the Mill.[5]Stephen Boxer was then cast as doctor Joe Fenton. His teenage daughter, Emily Fenton (Rachael Cairns), is introduced alongside him[6]