List of Doctors characters introduced in 2023
Doctors is a British medical soap opera which began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 March 2000. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery, as well as its sister surgery, the University of Letherbridge Campus Surgery. Kirsty Millar is hired as a receptionist in January, while Wendi Peters made her debut as Nina Bulsara in February. In March, Rahul Arya joined the cast as Dr. Suni Bulsara, Nina's son. He was followed by his aunt, Binita Prabhu, who appeared for a guest stint in April. April also saw the arrival of midwife Malika Dahlan, as well as Tanisha Fonesca, a love interest for Bear Sylvester. In May, student Miles Bailey made his first appearance, as well as [|PC Claudia Briant], a police officer and love interest for Bear. September saw a guest stint from Andrea Mason as Frankie Sharp, an angry patient at the Mill. Then in November, midwife Jenny Ackerman debuted. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] appear throughout the year.
Kirsty Millar
Kirsty Millar, portrayed by Kiruna Stamell, made her first appearance on 11 January 2023. She is introduced as a receptionist at the Mill Health Centre following the dismissal of former receptionist Valerie Pitman. In her first scene, she meets with Ruhma Carter, who she has known for years due to working with her at St. Phils Hospital. Ruhma has high praise for Kirsty, informing the staff at the Mill how experienced she is. Speaking of her first episode, What's on TV wrote that Kirsty would divide the existing staff due to her "forthright manner". On her BBC profile, Kirsty was described as an "organised, loving, opinionated" character that "doesn't suffer fools". It also stated that her reason for coming to the Mill was to seek a new life. TVTimes wrote that thirty-something Kirsty would surprise the staff; Bear Sylvester "quickly realises she isn't backwards in coming forwards" when she immediately demands a new reception desk due to her dwarfism, while Emma Reid is "thrown" when Kirsty intercepts and takes over between herself and an angry patient.What's on TV also teased the imminent arrivals of her husband and son, [|Rich] and [|Ollie]. Simon Timblick of What to Watch confirmed that Kirsty's home life would be a focal point of her first storyline in the series. She is shown to not want to be with Rich anymore and a week into her time on Doctors, she tells him to pack his belongings and leave. She also has difficulties with Ollie reluctantly joining the army. Inside Soap also hinted that Kirsty and fellow receptionist Scarlett Kiernan would have a workplace dispute when the pair "rub each other up the wrong way". However, a friendship between the pair is eventually developed when Kirsty invites Scarlett to live with her.
Stamell appeared on the BBC topical series Morning Live in March 2023 to talk about her time on Doctors, where she said that she was grateful to be given a character backstory that did not revolve around being disabled. Presenter Gethin Jones remarked that Kirsty does not reference her dwarfism, which Stamell replied that she is thankful for. She felt that because Kirsty's family and colleagues would be used to her condition, there would be no point in talking about it since it is part of her everyday life. Since Stamell has an Australian-influenced accent from her time living there, Sam Quek asked how she had learned the Brummie dialect. Stamell recalled listening to audiobooks narrated by Jess Phillips and Alison Hammond and said that she was influenced by their accents. She struggled to pick up the accent at first, but began to feel more comfortable using it the longer she had stayed in the role. Alongside Atwill and Benn, Stamell was nominated for the Best Family accolade at the 2023 British Soap Awards.
Stamell departed the role in 2024 and Kirsty's final episode was broadcast on 25 September 2024. Despite Doctors being confirmed to end in December 2024, Stamell's departure prior to finale was not announced to the public and was instead left as a surprise to viewers. Following her exit, Stamell said that her favourite storyline was Kirsty's romance with Dave Burns. Berliner is Stamell's real-life husband and she revealed that her favourite scene was one that never aired, of Dave trying to seduce Kirsty with French cuisine when Berliner dropped a baguette.
Nina Bulsara
Dr. Nina Bulsara, portrayed by Wendi Peters, first appeared on 20 February 2023. Peters began filming for Doctors in October 2022 and announced her casting on the BBC topical series Morning Live on 2 November 2022. Prior to being cast as Nina, Peters had portrayed Nicky Connelly in a 2021 episode of Doctors. Peters clarified that Nina is a different and unconnected character. On Peters' casting, executive producer Mike Hobson said: "we are absolutely delighted to welcome Wendi to the Doctors cast. She is a familiar face every soap fan will recognise and we know she will be brilliant in this role."Helen Daly of the Radio Times described Nina as "a chatterbox who has an opinion on everything and everyone" and opined that while she can be overbearing for her fellow colleagues, she is "a ray of light and will always find the positive in any difficult situation". Daly wrote that Nina would be a good addition to the cast, as well as Metros Calli Kitson being intrigued by the character. Peters' co-star Elisabeth Dermot Walsh posted online that she was excited for viewers to meet the "charming, dynamic and maddening character". Also writing for the Metro, Chris Hallam described Nina as "bossy, interfering and annoying".
Suni Bulsara
Dr. Suni Bulsara, portrayed by Rahul Arya, made first appearance on 8 March 2023. He was introduced as the son of Nina. Nina becomes a partner at the Mill Health Centre and one of her first acts is getting Suni hired as a doctor there as she feels he would be perfect to work there. Upon his hiring, it was hinted in episode descriptions that he would "ruffle feathers" amongst his new colleagues. Suni arrives on his first day in a luxury sports car which he parks in the charging port section of the car park. Scarlett Kiernan tells him he cannot park there, but he ignores her since he wants to show off his car in a prominent location. A reluctant Scarlett gives him a tour of the building, but Suni quickly gets bored and wanders into Luca McIntyre's nursing room where he is "favourably impressed by the sight of Luca".Suni is bisexual and after flirting with Luca, he also flirts with Scarlett. However, Luca notices that he clams up when Nina walks in on the pair talking, and eventually learns that Suni is not out to his mother. A few weeks into his tenure, Suni was the focus of a standalone episode that saw him helping [|Jason Neale] with his mental health, as well as flashing back to see his reaction to Nina getting him a job without telling him. It touched upon his memories of his dead father when Suni hoped that he would be proud of him. Suni is shown to be insecure within his friendships and tries to impress the colleagues at the Mill by treating them to lavish meals and experiences, which Sid Vere notices and gets annoyed by. Metros Chris Hallam noted how Suni makes a bad first impression on almost everybody at the Mill and suggested that he may be "too flash and not really cut out to be a doctor".
Binita Prabhu
Binita Prabhu, portrayed by Nina Wadia, appeared between 6 and 17 April 2023. She was introduced as Suni Bulsara's aunt. Metros Chris Hallam described Binita as "a dreadfully overbearing relative", with What to Watchs Simon Timblick adding that she is "hard to please". When Binita's sister-in-law, Nina Bulsara learns that she plans on visiting them, she clears the house of all microwave meals, as well as hiring a cleaner to avoid criticism from Binita. Suni assumes that Nina is overreacting, but Nina is "soon vindicated".Upon her arrival, she uses Nina "like a human coat hanger" and makes comments about how she is not feeding Suni enough. Binita then attempts to set Suni up with an Indian scientist that she knows, as well as offending Nina by billing her work at the Mill Health Centre a hobby. Hallam hinted that both Nina and Suni would not be able to put up with more of Binita's behaviour over time. Her guest stint climaxed with a showdown between the three of them when Nina and Suni tire of Binita's judgements.
Malika Dahlan
Malika Dahlan, portrayed by Aria Prasad, first appeared on 19 April 2023 and made her final appearance on 6 June 2023. Prasad was contracted on the soap for a three-month guest stint to cover an extended break of regular cast member Bharti Patel. Malika was introduced as a temporary midwife at St. Phils Hospital who covers for Ruhma Carter, who is sent to work at East Letherbridge for three months. Malika's first episode sees her meet "troubled young couple" [|Katie Seary] and [|Ben Tate]. Prasad's second appearance on Doctors saw her star in a standalone Ramadan-themed episode where her character "faces a heartbreaking tragedy". A mother in her care dies, which causes Malika to call in sick. She seeks advice from Ruhma, who tells her to confide in her colleagues. She is then invited to a community iftar to lift her spirits.Malika struggles with the heavy workload within the NHS and is advised by former colleague [|Maisie Owens] to become a private midwife for her wellbeing. Patient [|Kim Lewis] also makes a judgemental comment about the NHS' services, which makes Malika confront Kim and defend her decision to work for the NHS. She is again shown to be a headstrong and knowledgeable character when she reprimands [|Dr Penny Phillips] for not listening to her expertise as a midwife.