Ian Midlane has shown admiration for the cast and crew of the show Doctors as filming finished on the popular soap for the last time.
The actor played Al Haskey for 11 years on the long-standing daytime series which was controversially cancelled by BBC One last year.
The show, which has been on air for 24 years, finished production on March 1, with the final episode scheduled to air in December. Ian, 48, took the chance to honor Doctors and the role of a lifetime in Al.
‘[I’m] So ridiculously, embarrassingly proud to have played Al for over eleven years on the most lovely and life changing of jobs,’ he wrote on Twitter, with a picture of Al’s signature glasses.
I’m not crying, I swear.
‘My heart is full of love for the people of that show and the joyful, creative environment we forged and worked our butts off in…….’
‘It will never be the same again. But we walk on with hope in our hearts and smiles on our cheeks. The proudest boast in TV today is ………I worked on Doctors. @BBCDoctors.
Many of TV and film’s best actors have become famous on Doctors, including Game Of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke, who had one of her first acting roles on the BBC series – the year before she would go on to get the part of Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy drama.
Fantastic Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne also appeared in Doctors, as did Emmerdale’s Gemma Oaten, who recently returned to the daytime series in a different role.
The former Coronation Street star took the time to explain how she ‘worked hard like no other’ in 2009 to get the part on Doctors, having just finished her last therapy session for treatment of an eating disorder.
‘I’d already almost lost my life 5 times & I was finally grabbing my time,’ she wrote in the strong caption. ‘So to then get the role of Sam Doyle in #Doctors it was a dream come true.
‘Cast by the amazing @brettfallis who literally changed my life, as 4mths after my debut aired, I was cast as Rachel Breckle in @emmerdale.’
Hollyoaks and Coronation Street star Lucy-Jo Hudson, who also played a key role in Doctors as Rhiannon Davis, similarly shared her warm thoughts from her time on the drama.
‘‘My time on Doctors was one of my most memorable – the cast, the crew and production team were not only incredibly talented, and hard working but also so professional,’ she said.
Doctors airs weekdays on BBC One at 1:45pm.
