BBC has announced it has axed the popular medical drama Doctors after more than two decades.

The programme has been on our TV screens since it first aired in 2000, often taking up the lunchtime slot on BBC One for 23 years.

The soap follows the staff and family at the doctor’s surgery and it’s set in the fictional Midlands town of Letherbridge, which is meant to be near Birmingham.

The broadcaster has said it made the “difficult decision” to end Doctors due to “super inflation” and the cost of the programme - it’s thought filming will stop in March 2024.

Viewers will be able to watch the final episode in December 2024 and the show will be given “the finale it deserves.”

BBC thanks all Doctors cast and crew as the daytime programme ends

In a statement, the BBC explained: "We have taken the very difficult decision to bring daytime drama Doctors to an end after 23 years.

“With super inflation in drama production, the cost of the programme has increased significantly, and further investment is also now required to refurbish the site where the show is made, or to relocate it to another home.

“With a flat licence-fee, the BBC’s funding challenges mean we have to make tough choices in order to deliver greater value to audiences.

It added: “We remain fully committed to the West Midlands and all of the funding for Doctors will be reinvested into new programming in the region.

"We would like to thank all the Doctors cast and crew who have been involved in the show since 2000.

“We know the crucial role Doctors has played in nurturing talent, and we will work to develop new opportunities to support skills in scripted programming.”

Commenting on the “shock” news, a TV source told The Sun: “Doctors has ticked along fairly quietly around the 1.3million viewers mark for years now without any word of cancellation, but the news will still come as a shock.

“A full cast and crew meeting was held today where the news was shared and then a lunch was laid on in the Drama Village café.

"Some of the cast and crew have been there since the soap first began and it really felt like a job for life, plus the soap is such a central pillar for the entire community - it employs so many contractors and freelance and is known to be a real rung on the ladders for British acting talent.

“While the impact on viewers might not seem huge, in terms of the industry this is seismic."