Australia’s favourite bad boy, Dr Hugh Knight ( Rodger Corser ), and his dysfunctional family will face their biggest challenges ever.
When the Knight family and the entire township of Whyhope are plunged into crisis, all eyes turn to Hugh to save them. Will Whyhope’s philandering medico be their Messiah – or is this a recipe for an even bigger disaster? And … will Hugh finally find true love with the woman of his dreams?
Doctor Doctor boasts an outstanding returning cast including Nicole da Silva (Charlie), Ryan Johnson (Matt), Tina Bursill (Meryl), Hayley McElhinney (Penny), Matt Castley (Ajax), Chloe Bayliss (Hayley), Belinda Bromilow (Betty), and Charles Wu (Ken).
Joining the cast and causing the hearts of Whyhope to flutter are Zoë Ventoura (Love Child, Packed to the Rafters, Underbelly Files: Chopper), Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel, Dead Lucky, Tangle), Darren McMullen (SeaChange, House Husbands), John Waters (Halifax: Retribution, Mystery Road, The Commons, Offspring) and Chantelle Jamieson (Crownies, House Husbands, Underbelly Files)
Based on an original idea by Tony McNamara and Ian Collie, Doctor Doctor is produced by Easy Tiger Productions for Nine with the assistance of Screen NSW and Screen Australia. International sales by Fremantle International.
When the Knight family and the entire township of Whyhope are plunged into crisis, all eyes turn to Hugh to save them. Will Whyhope’s philandering medico be their Messiah – or is this a recipe for an even bigger disaster? And … will Hugh finally find true love with the woman of his dreams?
Doctor Doctor boasts an outstanding returning cast including Nicole da Silva (Charlie), Ryan Johnson (Matt), Tina Bursill (Meryl), Hayley McElhinney (Penny), Matt Castley (Ajax), Chloe Bayliss (Hayley), Belinda Bromilow (Betty), and Charles Wu (Ken).
Joining the cast and causing the hearts of Whyhope to flutter are Zoë Ventoura (Love Child, Packed to the Rafters, Underbelly Files: Chopper), Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel, Dead Lucky, Tangle), Darren McMullen (SeaChange, House Husbands), John Waters (Halifax: Retribution, Mystery Road, The Commons, Offspring) and Chantelle Jamieson (Crownies, House Husbands, Underbelly Files).
When asbestos is found at Whyhope Hospital forcing its total shutdown and a move to temporary premises at the local veterinary surgery, Hugh (Rodger Corser) decides the fates are telling him it’s time he resumed his career in Sydney. The new Clinic can only offer limited services, preventing Hugh from being able to do what he does best – major surgery. However, Hugh changes his mind when he discovers that Penny (Hayley McElhinney) is back in the district; her marriage to Jarrod is over and she’s working in a rival hospital while she sells her house. Hugh ’s sense of betrayal is such that he resolves to stay in Whyhope until the new Clinic is up on its feet. Another contributing factor is the appearance in town of high-powered administrator, Sharna Bahtt (Chantelle Jamieson) who promptly sacks Mayor Meryl (Tina Bursill) and the entire Council, and then has Meryl arrested and charged for fraud. Problem is… Hugh and Sharna are immediately attracted to one another.
Penny meanwhile is looking to rebuild her life, her battered ego, her mojo. She’s on a journey of self-discovery, shedding her old skin and opening herself up to new possibilities while insisting that she will never - ever - go back to Whyhope. However Penny and Hugh can never be kept apart for long and Penny returns to the Clinic, as a locum, leaving Hugh still very much in charge.
Matt (Ryan Johnson) and Charlie (Nicole da Silva) hurriedly return from their year-long spell in Europe where Matt has been interning at a world-famous brewery, when some scathing on-line reviews suggest that The Brewery – which is being managed in their absence by Hayley – is on a downward spiral. Charlie confesses to Hayley that it was she, Charlie , who penned the reviews because she was desperate to come home. But it’s Hayley who has to endure Matt ’s wrath… And Hayley is not happy about it. However, it’s Sharna who rebuilds Matt ’s confidence by encouraging him to take Whyhope’s beers to the world.
Some deep-seated issues in Ajax (Matt Castley) and Hayley ’s (Chloe Bayliss) marriage come to the surface when Ajax hires good-looking Tom (Lincoln Younes) to help him on the farm and Hayley and Tom fall head-over-heels with one another… Hayley comes close to breaking up with Ajax and leaving Whyhope with Tom … but realises at the last moment that Ajax , home and family have
the bigger claim on her. Hayley and Ajax – who’s had his own problems with gambling – set about rebuilding their relationship.
Despite Meryl ’s desperate attempts to dispose of the evidence that has led to her fraud charges, her day in court is looming when, to the rescue, comes Michael Rasmussen (John Waters), an old flame and a lawyer who has never quite allowed his feelings for her die. Michael sets about organising Meryl ’s defence which depends on discrediting Sharna ’s testimony by revealing in court that she perjured herself as a 16 year old when she was involved in a Hit & Run accident. However, discrediting her in court will put Sharna ’s whole career - not to mention an increasingly passionate relationship with Hugh - at risk.
On the morning of her trial, Meryl asks Hugh if he really does love Sharna and when he replies that he does, Meryl stops Michael from introducing the Hit & Run in evidence. Meryl is found guilty and given a Community Service Order with Hugh and Sharna ’s relationship now back on track and the pair making plans for their life together in Sydney with baby Eliza.
Matt attempts to propose to Charlie so they can remarry following their divorce but all his efforts are stymied, most recently because Sharna has offered her a job as replacement administrator when Sharna goes back to Sydney. However, Matt has a win when he travels to Sydney with Sharna and Hugh to attend some marketing meetings that Sharna has set up for him and his Whyhope beers score a million dollar offer.
Hugh too, has a major win in Sydney when he performs life-saving surgery at his old hospital and is offered a prestigious appointment running a Cardiothoracic Centre of Excellence. It looks like Hugh ’s long-held dream of a return to Sydney are all about to come true, but Hugh doesn’t reckon with the depth of his feelings for Penny, who truly is the love of his life. Hugh returns to Whyhope, late as always, for Matt and Charlie ’s wedding … Where he and Penny fall lovingly into one another’s arms. The couple who we’ve always known are destined to be together.
