HEARTBEAT'S loveable rogue, Claude Greengrass, is out and about filming for Yorkshire Television's new series, The Royal.

Actor Bill Maynard stars in the hospital drama, which is a spin-off from the hugely popular 1960s police series set on the North York Moors.

Stories and characters from the two shows will complement each other, with a host of familiar faces set to hit our screens when The Royal is broadcast.

Actress Wendy Craig, from TV sitcom Butterflies, will play the hospital's autocratic Matron, with local actor Ian Carmichael as the kindly hospital secretary.

Former Brookside favourite Michael Starke, better known as Sinbad, will take on the role of the much put-upon hospital porter.

Filming on location in Scarborough has begun in earnest, although the series will not be screened on ITV1 until next year.

Heartbeat writer's John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch have once again teamed up with series director Paul Walker for the new drama.

The series will focus on the trials and tribulations of staff and patients at a small cottage hospital during the 1960s.

Updated: 09:02 Wednesday, April 03, 2002