The Royal

Filming of the interior scenes of "St. Aiden's" utilised both The Leeds Studios and St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, the latter of which was chosen because it had not been updated in many years, and retained the appearance of what a hospital would appear like in the 1960s. The exterior scenes of the fictional hospital used the Red Court building on Holbeck Road, within Scarborough's South Cliff, and included the nearby park area and Holbeck Clock Tower; scenes were shot during the summer months.[1][2][3] The remaining scenes outside the hospital covered the area of the North Riding of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Scarborough.

• Julian Ovenden as Dr David Cheriton (series 1–3), a GP and the series' original protagonist.
• Zoie Kennedy as Meryl Taylor (series 1–5), a Senior Staff Nurse and Cheriton's primary love interest.
• Robert Daws as Dr Gordon Ormerod (series 1–8), a GP and anaesthetist (= anesthesiologist in the USA) who in series 4 married Dr Jill Weatherill (played by Daws' real-life wife). Their only biological child together, Jonathan, a baby on the show, became a lead doctor at the Royal about 40 years later (The Royal Today)
• Amy Robbins as Dr Jill Weatherill (series 1–8), a GP and a staunch promoter of maternal medicine, and who in series 4 married Dr Gordon Ormerod (played by Robbins' real-life husband).
• Linda Armstrong as Sister Brigid (series 1–8), a nursing administrator, ward sister, and a nun (née Aisling Donahue) who lives in a convent.
• Francis Matthews as Dr James 'Jim' Alway (series 1) Dr Cheriton's predecessor who is briefly seen.
• Ian Carmichael as T.J. Middleditch (series 1–5, recurring thereafter), Hospital Secretary, Chairman of the Middleditch Trust that helps fund the hospital along with the NHS.
• Wendy Craig as Matron (series 1–8), nursing administrator, nicknamed "Toffee," a name she got whilst serving as an RAF nurse during the war. The name was bestowed on her by airmen at the RAF Station on which she was serving, thinking she was "toffee nosed". She is the strict but compassionate leader of the nursing staff.
• John Axon as Nigel Harper (series 1–4), unpopular bureaucratic District Health Authority administrator.
• Michelle Hardwick as Lizzie Hopkirk (series 1–8), receptionist, and daughter of hospital porter Ken Hopkirk. She is married when the series started, but her husband left her for another woman.
• Denis Lill as Mr Rose (series 1–8), a consultant general surgeon often assigned to St Aidan's, who is rather pompous but very skilled at his job, as well as a good diagnostician.
• Andy Wear as Alun Morris (series 1–8), a porter and theatre technician.
• Michael Starke as Ken Hopkirk (series 1–7), St Aidan's head porter, and father of Lizzie Hopkirk, hospital receptionist.
• Polly Maberly as Dr Lucy Klein (series 2–3), a consultant psychologist and a foil for Cheriton.
• Anna Madeley as Samantha Beaumont (series 3–4), a student nurse.
• Paul Fox as Dr Jeff Goodwin (series 3–6), a GP and later, Makori's primary love interest.
• Scott Taylor as Frankie Robinson (series 4–7), an ambulance driver and paramedic.
• Natalie Anderson as Stella Davenport (series 4–7), a senior staff nurse and Frankie's longtime love interest.
• Amelia Curtis as Catherine Deane (series 5–6), a senior staff nurse.
• Kananu Kirimi as Dr Joan Makori, a GP and a member of Doctors Without Borders (series 5–6)
• Robert Cavanah as Adam Carnegie (series 5–7), hospital secretary, i.e. head administrator.
• Sam Callis as Dr Mike Banner (series 6), a GP, anaesthetist, and sought-after locum physician.
• Kari Corbett as Marian McKaig (series 6–7), a staff nurse.
• Sarah Beck Mather as Susie Dixon (series 6–8), a student nurse.
• Damian O'Hare as Dr Nick Burnett (series 7), a GP recruited by Jill following Goodwin and Makori's departures.
• Chris Coghill as Bobby Sheridan (series 7), an ambulance driver.
• Gareth Hale as Jack Bell (series 7–8), head porter of St Aidan's.
• Neil McDermott as Dr Ralph Ellis (series 8), a locum GP noted for his forward-thinking approach to medicine.
• Glynis Barber as Jean McAteer (series 8), hospital secretary.
• Lauren Drummond as Faye Clark (series 8), a student nurse.
• Diana May as Carol Selby (series 8), a staff nurse.