Heartbeat (British TV series)

Heartbeat
Opening title (series 9–16)
Genre	Police procedural Period drama
Created by	Johnny Byrne Keith Richardson Gerry Mill
Based on	Constable series by Nicholas Rhea
Starring	Nick Berry (S1–7) Niamh Cusack (S1–5) Jason Durr (S7–12) James Carlton (S12–13) Jonathan Kerrigan (S13–16) Joe McFadden (S17–18) (for full cast list)
Opening theme	"Heartbeat" performed by Nick Berry
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	18
No. of episodes	372 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Keith Richardson (369 episodes, 1992–2010) Kathleen Beedles (12 episodes, 2008)
Producers	Gerry Mill (187 episodes, 1996–2004) Archie Tait (97 episodes, 2004–2008) Steve Lanning (20 episodes, 1993) Martyn Auty (16 episodes, 1994) Carol Wilks (15 episodes, 1995) Stuart Doughty (10 episodes, 1992)
Running time	45–51 mins. per episode
Production company	Yorkshire TV (now part of ITV Studios)
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	10 April 1992 (1992-04-10) – 12 September 2010 (2010-09-12)
Related
The Royal The Royal Today
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Heartbeat is a British police procedural period drama series, based upon the Constable series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by Yorkshire Television until it was merged with ITV, then by ITV Studios,^[1] from 1992 until 2010. The series is set in the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s, with plots centred on the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly. It stars Nick Berry (S1–7), Jason Durr (S7–12), Jonathan Kerrigan (S13–16) and Joe McFadden (S17–18)

The programme initially starred Nick Berry, Niamh Cusack, Derek Fowlds, William Simons, Mark Jordon and Bill Maynard, but as more main characters were added to the series, additional actors included Jason Durr, Jonathan Kerrigan, Philip Franks, Duncan Bell, Clare Wille, Lisa Kay, Tricia Penrose, Geoffrey Hughes, Peter Benson and Gwen Taylor. Production of episodes involved filming of outdoor and exterior scenes around the North Riding, including in and around Whitby and Goathland, with interior scenes filmed at The Leeds Studios.

Heartbeat proved popular from the beginning, when early series consistently drew over 10 million viewers,^[2] achieving a peak audience of 13.82 million in 2001,^[3] and 12.8 million viewers in 2003.^[4] Its success eventually led to a spin-off series, titled The Royal, as well as a special episode, and three documentaries. In June 2010, ITV announced the cancellation of Heartbeat after its eighteenth series, following discussions on its future.