Tony Haygarth

Where the Heart Is is a British television family drama series set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Skelthwaite. First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone, and focuses on the professional and personal lives of the district nurses who work in the town. The original leads were Sarah Lancashire and Pam Ferris, who played sisters-in-law and colleagues at the Skelthwaite Health Centre. Both actresses had left the series by 2000; however, the format of at least two female leads continued with various different actresses until the show’s end. A typical episode would focus on one or two medical storylines interweaved with personal stories featuring one or both nurses.

One of ITV’s longest-running shows, Where the Heart Is was known for being what has been described as a haven for former soap stars, including Lancashire, Philip Middlemiss, Samantha Giles, Kerrie Taylor, Brian Capron and Shobna Gulati. In October 2006, the series was cancelled after nine years, despite viewing figures of well over 7 million.

The theme song “Where the Heart is” was performed by Prefab Sprout. It was released as a single and appears on the band’s 38 Carat Collection.