Get Well Soon Hospital: scrubs, music videos and Dr Ranj doing the running man.
Dr Ranj returns on Monday 16th November with a brand new series of Get Well Soon but with an exciting new element - it's set in the very hospital Dr Ranj works in!
CBeebies Grown-ups sat down to have a chat to the lovely doctor and the series' producer, Gerard, to find out a little more about what the little ones can expect from the series.
What’s changed in this series?
DR RANJ: With this series, we really wanted to take things out of the doctor’s surgery and into hospital, where so many children around the country each year have appointments, tests and procedures. The opportunity to film at the Evelina London came up and I jumped at the chance - not only because it’s a beautiful place, but it’s also where I work!
We’ve got the same characters that we’ve all grown to love, but in an amazing new setting where we get to explore so much more. It was so much fun to film.
GERARD: With moving the show into the hospital, we thought it was important to make the experience as authentic as possible and that included what Dr Ranj wears. So this series we have changed his costume to the scrubs he wears in his day to day job. As Dr Ranj mentioned, this series focuses more on procedures rather than conditions and we explore the 5 most common ones that children are likely to encounter in hospital.
The focus on the hospital has also meant that we have said farewell to Nurse Morag but all your other favourite characters are back.
Why did you want to bring Get Well Soon into hospital and why is it important to explain medical procedures to kids?
DR RANJ: Every year, thousands of children have to go into hospital for appointments or procedures and it can be a terrifying time. We wanted to create something that made that whole process a lot less scary, and not only helped the children themselves, but also gives people something to use to explain things.
Working in hospital, I know how valuable a resource like this could be, so I've wanted to create it for a long time.
What have been the challenges of filming in a real, working hospital?
DR RANJ: Everyone at the hospital has been fantastic and so helpful in making this project work. We wanted it to be as authentic as possible, which is why it’s filmed in a real hospital, but needed to make sure that we didn’t get in the way of clinical work. Without having them on board we couldn’t have done it! Also, it gave my work colleagues a chance to see my ‘other job’ and what it really entails!
GERARD: Because we were filming using real hospital equipment, it gave our puppeteers quite a few challenges. Working a puppet in a CT scanner is no easy feat! We had to think very carefully how we could film each procedure and not least because puppets don’t have internal organs to give readings (or nostrils – watch the NG tube episode!).
So that we could have ‘live’ readings we had to work closely with the hospital to find things like x-rays that we could use in filming. We also had to make sure they had been taken from children the same age as that which our characters are supposed to be.
Fun fact: The sound of Deep’s heartbeat in the echocardiogram episode is the sound of Benji Phillips’ heartbeat - son of Children’s TV legend Dave Benson Phillips!
How we went about choosing which procedures to feature
DR RANJ: We chose the most common procedure or investigation that a child might have in hospital for each of the body systems we feature: heart, brain, bones, stomach and lungs. We wanted the procedures to be interesting a relevant for kids. I’m hoping that people are going to find them really useful in real life.
The topics we explored in each episode had to be both interesting and relevant to make them appeal to as many kids as possible, so we selected different body systems, and chose specific procedures which highlighted that part of the body and that children could relate to. I’m hoping that people are going to find them really useful in real life.
Can we expect new songs? Can they rival the famous ‘poo song’?
GERARD: I think the ‘poo song’ will always be the most famous song but there are indeed new songs and they are extremely catchy! Everyone who hears them can’t stop singing them. My personal favourite is the echocardiogram song.
We had a lot of fun making the music videos for them; Dr Ranj doing the running man is a particular highlight!
What you hope children and their families will get from watching the new series?
DR RANJ: I’m so immensely proud of what we’ve created with this project. We had so much positive response after the first series, and people were really keen on us covering more subject matters, including what happens in hospitals.
So we went for it, and we’ve tackled things that would traditionally be really tricky to present in a fun and interesting way, whilst keeping it true to real life. It’s down to the amazing team behind this series that we’ve actually managed to achieve it, and I’m hoping that children will like it and find it helpful if they have to go into hospital.
Likewise, parents can use it to explain things and allay fears, and teachers can use it to educate and encourage kids to explore the human body and what it means to be healthy. It’s a great all-rounder!
Get Well Soon Hospital is on Monday 16th - Friday 20th November at 4:20pm.
