Dr. David Cheriton arrives at St. Aidan's Royal Free Hospital in Elsinby, newly qualified and keen to impress at his job interview - only to discover they aren't even expecting him. Meanwhile, Dr. Jill Weatherill's professional competence is called into question during a home visit, and hospital porter Ken Hopkirk's efforts to put up a television aerial end in disaster.

A romantic escapade goes horribly wrong when a young couple are involved in a motorbike accident, and the tragic events of the night leave the staff of St Aiden's struggling to heal more than just a broken heart. Dr. Ormerod grows suspicious when one of his patients is uneasy about returning home, but an investigation by Matron soon reveals the reasons for his reluctance. Meanwhile, Ken and Alun face trouble when a plague of rodents looks set to close down the hospital - but is local rogue Claude Greengrass really the best person to ask for advice?

Claude Greengrass causes a kerfuffle with a coffin containing the remains of his deceased sister and a mysterious phone call only serves to raise suspicions. Jill Weatherill has trouble with a patient who refuses to accept her condition, while Dr. Cheriton panics when he arrives at the scene of an accident bereft of vital medical equipment.

Sister Bridget discovers a baby on the steps of the hospital. PC Bellamy and Dr. Alway link it to a girls disappearance for a couple of days. Dr. Alway sets out to find the girl and informs her shocked parents that their daughter has had a baby.

Dr. Cheriton has the unenviable task of informing a patient she has little time to live, and the situation soon prompts the wedding of the year. Arriving at the scene of an accident at the railway station, Dr. Ormerod is forced to make a drastic decision, but an oncoming train signals disaster. Gambling fever grips the hospital when a champion jockey is admitted and, as always, Greengrass is in the thick of the furore.

The cause of a schoolboy's illness is found too close to home, while a bit of teamwork brings Ormerod and Weatherill closer than they expect. Cheriton's flatwarming party goes with a bang, and Ventress spots an impostor on the ward.

A serious coach crash throws the Royal into chaos, and for one member of the staff, the incident proves exceptionally traumatic. Cheriton has a bombshell for Nurse Taylor.

Gordon struggles to cope following the coach crash which left his wife horrifically injured and turns for comfort to colleague Jill, who tries to persuade him to take time off work. Meanwhile, a woman arrives at the Royal requiring an emergency hysterectomy following an illegal abortion, and pleads that the whole affair be kept secret from her fiance, and Greengrass is shocked to discover he has a long-lost daughter.

A teenage boy is brought into the Royal having fallen from a cliff, but it soon emerges that the incident was a suicide attempt as evidence of extreme depression comes to the surface. Cheriton contacts the youngster's psychiatrist but is taken aback when electroshock therapy is suggested as a form of treatment, so ventures to the family home to recommend an alternative — only for tragedy to strike. Meanwhile, a hypochondriac causes chaos at the hospital when she insists her dog be treated following a snake bite, and a heart-to-heart between Weatherill and Ormerod leads to a passionate kiss.

Sister Brigid has a crisis of faith over a mother whose life is in danger. Family secrets are exposed when a hunting trip ends in tragedy, and Ken and Harper clash over the hospital laundry.

A frantic mother and father bring their daughter to the Royal for whooping cough treatment, and Cheriton is shocked to hear the girl hasn't been vaccinated because of her parents' fears of the side-effects. Tragically, the youngster dies - leaving the worried staff to cope with an influx of children in need of immunisation.

Ormerod rushes to help following a boating accident, but realises he's been sent to the wrong location, and when he finally arrives at the disaster scene, his efforts to save a man's life prove futile. On returning to the hospital, he angrily chastises Lizzie for the misinformation - only to realise he was too hasty in blaming her. Can he make amends? Meanwhile, PC Ventress comes to the Royal with two men who had been fighting over a girl, and one promptly collapses due to a brain haemorrhage. Weatherill faces a testing time when she helps deliver a baby which is tragically stillborn and nurse Meryl reveals she suspects she may be pregnant.

As preparations get under way for the Royal's charity ball, Ken Hopkirk is forced to rescue the band hired for the evening when their van breaks down en route. Meanwhile, Dr. Weatherill faces a traumatic time as one of her patients discovers she has contracted syphilis and Dr. Ormerod resolves to move on when it emerges that his wife will not recover from her coma.

A student nurse causes quite a stir when she arrives in the middle of the night, while Ken and Alun contend with a farming family suffering a crisis. Brigid and Jill deliver a Down's syndrome baby whose parents don't want anything to do with it, and Lizzie's crash diet has alarming consequences.

Tragedy strikes at the Royal v Ashfordly General rugby match, as Cheriton dives to score a try, only to be pounced on by opponents. It soon emerges that his injuries are serious, and Ormerod rushes to help his colleague - but his efforts prove futile and Cheriton dies at the scene. Meanwhile, Alun is involved in a road accident caused by a man who recently suffered a stroke, and student nurse Samantha Beaumont fails to impress Matron and Sister Brigid by putting pink sheets on the ward's beds.

New GP and anaesthetist Dr. Jeffrey Goodwin has a tough first day at work when he witnesses a car crash, gets attacked by one of the drivers involved and has his own vehicle and possessions stolen on his way to The Royal. After recovering from his injuries, Goodwin treats local landowner Lord Firminger who's collapsed on his estate, and gets off to a shaky start with Rose by asking him to perform emergency surgery on a cancer victim. Back at the hospital, Cheriton's mother Annette arrives to collect her dead son's things, surprising staff nurse Meryl Taylor by revealing a photo of a fiancee she never knew about.

Ormerod faces a difficult dilemma when Caroline's father Henry turns up suggesting they turn off her life-support machine, having done all they can, but the guilt-ridden doctor wonders whether he'd only be letting her die so he can be with Weatherill. Meanwhile, Goodwin puts his career on the line when he allows a member of the public to cure a back injury, student nurse Samantha Beaumont is less than impressed by a date with theatre technician Alun Morris and a patient's pet parrot causes chaos in the hospital.

Harper accidentally puts insect powder in his tea and Jeff wrongly orders the closure of a cafe after a jazz band is poisoned.

The staff are excited by the arrival of a TV film crew at the hospital, especially Mr Harper, who is desperate to be caught on camera - and it looks like his dreams of stardom may be about to come true when Mr Middleditch gives him an important job for the broadcast. Elsewhere, the atmosphere is much more tense, as Dr. Ormerod and nurse Meryl Taylor are called out to help a boy who has been trapped below the surface of an icy lake for 20 minutes - and to make matters worse, the ambulance carrying the unconscious lad back to hospital gets caught in a snowdrift. On a lighter note, Ray Piper is brought in with a huge bump on his head - and there's much hilarity when it turns out his wife has hit him with a frozen turkey. But before the day is out, he's not the only member of his family to be admitted.

Brigid arrives at a decision and Lucy Klein is disturbed by the unscheduled reappearance of a figure from the past. Mr. Harper rests on his laurels, certain his future is assured, while Ormerod and Weatherill reveal they are about to end their relationship - only to find the news is already common knowledge.

Goodwin comes to the aid of a man brought in with a leg injury which his friend claims was sustained in an agricultural accident, but it soon emerges that he's actually suffering a gunshot wound - prompting his panic-stricken acquaintance to pull a revolver on the hospital staff. As armed police surround the Royal, the doctors strive to persuade him to hand over the gun, but will they be able to prevent further bloodshed? Meanwhile, Ormerod helps fossil collectors hurt in a landslide, Matron tries to convince Sister Brigid to return to work and student nurse Samantha Beaumont is less than impressed at the offer of a date with Alun Morris.

The residents are pleased when a fair comes to Elsinby, but Jeffrey and Samantha have their work cut out when the waltzer operator becomes trapped in the ride's mechanism. He's rushed to the hospital, where Mr. Rose operates, and reveals his father has been suffering dizzy spells recently. A concerned Jeffrey heads back to the fairground, but he's too late to prevent disaster. Meanwhile, Ken hatches a dubious money-making scheme and Jill is forced to confront a patient's wife.

A group of drunken mods arrive at the hospital in a shocking state, and Ken Hopkirk soon makes the grim discovery that they have been drinking industrial alcohol supplied by their friend, theatre technician Alun Morris. Meanwhile, a fourth member of the boozing group is brought in and has his stomach pumped immediately - but it soon emerges that the illicit hooch has blinded him. Elsewhere, Mr Rose and his surgical team treat a widow with a gangrenous toe at her farmhouse, and student nurse Samantha Beaumont receives a telling-off for laying out operating instruments in an incorrect order.

The hospital staff have an intriguing case on their hands when local tramp Sebastian Fox is found dead. Ken Hopkirk rummages through his belongings and is surprised to find war medals, leading to the discovery that he was a decorated Navy hero. When a relative is traced but refuses to help with funeral arrangements, the Royal team decide to give him a fitting send-off by scattering his ashes at sea. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Goodwin is shocked to discover a farmer's cattle herd have contracted a disease which has passed into cheese that's available in the area, and Jill Weatherill, Matron and Sister Brigid encounter a runaway girl.

Dr. Ormerod is furious to discover the police have launched an investigation into his wife's death, and reveals in a heated outburst that she was planning to leave him at the time of the accident. Bad news strikes a family when it emerges a couple's son has developed a hereditary heart disorder, a mother-to-be suffers kidney failure during childbirth and hospital porter Ken Hopkirk needs an operation after injuring himself while lifting a piano. Romance blossoms for Dr. Goodwin and student nurse Samantha Beaumont, and Lizzie Kennoway's driving lesson ends in disaster when she slams into the back of Mr. Harper's parked car.

Ormerod faces a taxing time when a prison van overturns on the moors. The driver is killed, a guard is seriously injured and one of the convicts escapes, while the others are rounded up and taken for treatment at the hospital, where Ken Hopkirk recognises an old friend. Goodwin fails to diagnose a serious case of post-natal depression - an error which almost ends in tragedy when the mother is found standing perilously close to a cliff-edge - and student nurse Samantha Beaumont discovers she has an unexpected love rival.

Ormerod faces a testing time when his father-in-law arrives demanding to know whether he was seeing Dr. Weatherill while his late daughter was still alive. Following a heated exchange, it emerges that the disgruntled patriarch has hired a private detective to investigate the couple - but the situation only serves to bring them closer together, culminating in a marriage proposal. At the Royal, a painfully thin girl causes concern for Goodwin - whose green-eyed monster emerges when student nurse Samantha Beaumont agrees to a date with a younger man - and the hospital is evacuated after a suicide victim's corpse is brought in emitting toxic fumes.

Jill and Gordon's wedding day finally arrives, but a huge explosion at a nearby care home disrupts proceedings in spectacular fashion. As the Royal staff help pull the elderly residents out of the rubble, the horrifying truth behind the cause of the accident is discovered.

Mr. Harper prepares for the arrival of an important private patient, who proves useful when a badly injured teenager is brought in after an industrial accident after Dr. Goodwin puts his career on the line to fight for justice for the accident victim. Sister Brigid helps a terminally ill alcoholic called Rory, and Lizzie comes to terms with her husband's recent behaviour and looks ahead to the future.

Jill visits a war veteran and is taken hostage and Harper os spotted paying visits to a strange woman.

Dr. Weatherill is involved in an air rescue to save an unconscious girl and finds herself braving a cliff abseil to reach the youngster. Dr. Ormerod faces a difficult time when he misdiagnoses a patient who is left fighting for life later in hospital. Sister Brigid has an accident on her bike, while Harper faces a staff revolt.

New recruit Thelma Parker catches the eye of Harper, but proves to be less popular with the rest of the team, and an injured boxer causes concern for the staff at the hospital. Dr. Weatherill finds herself caught in an ethical battle when the parents of a dangerously ill baby refuse treatment, while Samantha receives unwanted news.

Samantha struggles to cope with the reality of her recent discovery and takes desperate action which leaves her life hanging in the balance. Frankie and Gordon attempt a daring rescue to help a teenager in danger on the weir, while Ken has something to hide from Harper. Jeff's casual encounter with a friend of Lizzie's suddenly turns serious when he realises his career could be at risk.

Nurse Stella Davenport arrives at the Royal with a less than favourable reputation, and soon causes a stir among the staff and patients as rumours about her circulate the hospital. Matron and Harper discover a new approach to interviewing when they try to fill a ward domestic vacancy, while Dr. Ormerod is left to deal with the dramatic aftermath of a domestic dispute, and Lizzie realises her new scooter might have been an ill-advised purchase.

Matron is injured by a thief and Jeff fears he is gaining a bad reputation. Meanwhile, an outbreak of tubercolosis keeps the staff busy.

Sister Brigid is concerned about the head of her convent who is refusing treatment and Jill hears from Samantha.

Dr. Goodwin faces the pressure as rumours about him frantically circulate the hospital and when Dr. Weatherill passes on some important news, he wastes no time in using it to set the record straight. Nurse Taylor's happiness about her future with Frankie is sensationally shattered as the extent of his dishonesty is revealed, while Matron is shocked to see a familiar face on the ward.

A dangerous situation arises on board a sinking trawler and Matron hands in her resignation.

Matron is forced to change her plans after a tragic turn of events and decides to withdraw her resignation. Nurse Taylor grows closer to Jeff as they tackle an unusual medical emergency, but later finds herself confronted by an angry Frankie. Harper's money-saving schemes backfire in spectacular fashion, while an argument over a patient's health sparks off a chain of events which leaves Gordon's life hanging in the balance.