The ITV medical drama series The Royal was originally a spin-off from Heartbeat, with the twelfth-series Heartbeat episode "Out of the Blue" serving as an introductory pilot for the show, with the Aidensfield police officers conducting parts of their investigations in "The Royal" hospital. The series initially had close ties with Heartbeat, and several Heartbeat characters made an appearance. However, over time The Royal went on to develop its own separate identity.
In January 2009 it was announced that production of The Royal would, like Heartbeat, rest due to a backlog of unaired episodes. Later The Royal was also cancelled.
Read more about this topic: Heartbeat (UK TV series)