Heartbeat - the TV series

What is Heartbeat?

Heartbeat is a long-running and highly popular TV series produced by Yorkshire Television in the UK. The picture below shows a location shot from the filming of the eighteenth series; since its first screening on Friday 10th April 1992, the show has run to over 350 hour-long episodes. And it all began with Nicholas Rhea's books.

Heartbeat's setting, some of the early storylines, and many of the characters, were taken from the Constable novels by Nicholas Rhea. The stories feature an English policeman in a rural village in North Yorkshire during the 1960's, although cast changes and story developments have resulted in group of village characters sharing the attention with the local village bobby. The Heartbeat title refers to an English bobby 'on the beat', the medical stories that are woven into each episode, and the way each programme puts a finger on the pulse of the rural community of Aidensfield.

Now Nicholas Rhea has written a book, lavishly illustrated and with input from the makers and stars of the show, as well as his own unique inside information about the making of Heartbeat. It is published by Mortons of Horncastle, and can be ordered from them via its own dedicated web site, where you can also see some of its many pictures, and read extracts from the text. Publication is now scheduled for September 22nd, after which it will also be available from WH Smiths - and look out here for more information about launch events

After all these years, Heartbeat is still a fixture on television in the UK and round the world; Nicholas Rhea was delighted to receive this cutting from Woman magazine from a fan, and was tickled to see the series described as "a national treasure"! We constantly receive enquiries about whether the series is available on DVD (to which the answer, regretfully, is no, although videos are still available). You may find the TV Genius service helpful for tracking down current showings on UK television (sorry, it isn't available for other countries!).

Nicholas Rhea describes his part in giving Heartbeat an authentic setting »

Heartbeat International

The fame of the little village of Aidensfield spreads way beyond Yorkshire, all round the world. We receive enquiries from fans in Canada and Australia; and we have recently heard that the show is a favourite with the police force of the Pacific island of Vanuatu. Heartbeat is popular throughout Scandinavia: we receive messages from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland (and even Estonia, where they watch it on Finnish television!).

A new page on this site tracks Heartbeat's progress worldwide; it lists the countries in which the series has been shown, and passes on messages with an international flavour!

Read more about Heartbeat round the world »

Heartbeat in Bloom

Heartbeat was really winning bouquets in 2005: Scarborough Borough Council chose "Heartbeat" as the theme of their entry to the RHS National Flower Bed Competition (between 20^th and 24^th July). The design, entitled Only a Heartbeat Away depicts the wild beauty of the Yorkshire Moors and the fact that they are only a step away from the superb Yorkshire coastline. The flower bed shows typical features of the Yorkshire countryside, with a stile, carpet bedded stonewalling and carpet bedded figures, leading down towards the Yorkshire coastline's golden sands.

"I was impressed by the realistic portrayal of aspects of Heartbeat Country, in particular the sheep, authentic dry stone walling, smout-hole, and stile. Scarborough Borough Council is to be congratulated and the gold medal is thoroughly deserved."

The characters of Heartbeat

Nicholas Rhea dreamed up most of the original Heartbeat characters in his Constable books. The series introduced a number of new characters, and adapted some of the books' stories and characters for the benefit of screen serialisation.

More about the key characters in Heartbeat with comments from Rhea and the actors »

Interview with Carol Williams

Ever wondered how it all started, and why Yorkshire Television thought a series about a Yorkshire bobby could be a success?  How do they keep up with the enormous success, and will Greengrass continue to be the local rogue? Carol Williams was been part of the production team from the beginning. Susie Holland interviewed her exclusively for this website.