Green Wing is a British surreal sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. It was created and produced by Victoria Pile, from the team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, and was broadcast on Channel 4. The series ran for two seasons, airing between 3 September 2004 and 19 May 2006, followed by a 90-minute special on 4 January 2007. On 29 April 2024, a six-part audio revival titled Green Wing: Resuscitated was released by Audible.
Premise and Style
The series follows the personal and professional lives of the hospital staff, with a focus on new surgical registrar Dr. Caroline Todd (Tamsin Greig) and her romantic entanglements with anaesthetist Guy Secretan (Stephen Mangan) and surgeon "Mac" Macartney (Julian Rhind-Tutt). The show is notable for its surreal, sketch-like structure, use of slow-motion and speeded-up footage, and minimal focus on actual medical treatment. Creator Victoria Pile described it as "a sketch-meets-comedy-drama-meets-soap."
Main Cast
- Tamsin Greig as Dr. Caroline Todd
- Stephen Mangan as Dr. Guy Secretan
- Julian Rhind-Tutt as Dr. "Mac" Macartney
- Karl Theobald as Dr. Martin Dear
- Pippa Haywood as Joanna Clore
- Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham
- Sarah Alexander as Dr. Angela Hunter
- Michelle Gomez as Sue White
- Oliver Chris as Boyce
- Olivia Colman as Harriet Schulenburg
- Sally Bretton as Kim Alabaster
- Katie Lyons as Naughty Rachel
- Lucinda Raikes as Karen Ball
Production
The show was written by eight writers: Victoria Pile, Robert Harley, Gary Howe, Stuart Kenworthy, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy, Fay Rusling, and James Henry. Filming took place at Northwick Park Hospital in Middlesex and North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke. The title originated from a small plastic green figure with wings that fell onto Pile's desk, which appears at the end of the credits.
Reception
The first series received generally positive reviews, winning the BAFTA Pioneer Audience Award in 2005. Pippa Haywood won the 2005 Rose d'Or for Best Female Comedy Performance, and Tamsin Greig won Best Comedy Performance at the 2005 RTS Awards. The second series received more mixed critical reception. The show has developed a cult following.
