| The story of Eleanor Bramwell , a pioneering female doctor in the late nineteenth century, and the struggles she has with her friends, her colleagues and society. Determined to take the medical profession out of the dark ages, her strongly held opinions often draw her into conflict with the chief surgeon, a man keener on tradition than he is on progress. |
| Name | Character | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| David Calder | 27 | |
| Jemma Redgrave | 27 | |
| Ruth Sheen | 27 | |
| Kevin McMonagle | 27 | |
| Andrew Connolly | Bramwell | 18 |
| Cliff Parisi | 17 | |
| Jenny Agutter | Mrs. Bruce | 2 |
| Patrick Godfrey | Bishop of Stepney | 2 |
| Kelly Reilly | Kathleen Le Saux | 1 |
| Idris Elba | Charlie Carter | 1 |
| David Bradley | Charles Matthews | 1 |
| Nicholas Farrell | Major Stuart Hyde | 1 |
| Nicholas Jones | Lord Edward Carstairs | 1 |
| Philip Jackson | Ronald Kennedy | 1 |
| Danny Dyer | Danny | 1 |
| Robert Hardy | Sir Herbert Hamilton | 1 |
| Robert Hardy | Sir Herbert Hamilton | 1 |
| Linda Bassett | Maud | 1 |
| Tony Haygarth | Frank Harrison | 1 |
| Ron Cook | Percy Banks | 1 |
| Anthony Calf | Andrew Armstrong | 1 |
| Timothy West | Colonel Kindersley | 1 |
| Joanna David | Mrs. Elizabeth Quail | 1 |
| Robert Pugh | Mr. Sullivan | 1 |
| Robert Glenister | Charles Sheldon | 1 |
| John Castle | Guy Le Saux | 1 |
| Sarah-Jane Potts | Rose Tully | 1 |
| Richard McCabe | Osborne | 1 |
| Julian Wadham | Charles Kilshaw | 1 |
| Richard Hope | George Talbot | 1 |
| Tim Woodward | Aubrey Savier | 1 |
| Colin Welland | Mr. Barclay | 1 |
| Bill Thomas | Wallace | 1 |
| Shirley Anne Field | Peggy Heart | 1 |
| Eve Pearce | Nanny Pat | 1 |
| Sheila Burrell | Mrs. Lomax | 1 |
| Amanda Walker | Mrs. Johnson | 1 |