The Worst Episodes of The Royal
Every episode of The Royal ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Royal!
Follows the staff and patients of a Yorkshire cottage hospital in the 60s, embroiled in tangled love lives and bitter power struggles.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "The Royal" is "Compromising Positions", rated 7/10 from 19 user votes. It was directed by David Kester and written by Sarah Bagshaw. "Compromising Positions" aired on 7/5/2009 and is rated 0.4 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Coffin Fit".
7.0/10 19 votes#1 - Compromising Positions
Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 7/5/2009
Sister Brigid helps to make a bright future for her sister Moira and her baby. However when things take a shocking twist Gordon and Jill have to make a heartrending decision. Susie does her best to be the perfect nurse and ends her relationship with Carnegie. However he proposes to her. Meanwhile Bobby has to deal with the violent stepfather of a local thug, taking matters into his own hands.
Director: David Kester
Writer: Sarah Bagshaw
- 7.4/10 30 votes
#2 - Coffin Fit
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 2/2/2003
Claude Greengrass causes a kerfuffle with a coffin containing the remains of his deceased sister and a mysterious phone call only serves to raise suspicions. Jill Weatherill has trouble with a patient who refuses to accept her condition, while Dr. Cheriton panics when he arrives at the scene of an accident bereft of vital medical equipment.
Director: Paul Walker
Writer: Mark Holloway
- 7.4/10 19 votes
#3 - Should I Stay or Should I Go Now
Season 8 Episode 5 - Aired 6/12/2011
A new student nurse arrives at the Royal. Lizzie falls for a motorcycle stunt rider who is convinced he’s destined to live fast, die young. But Dr Ormerod comes up with a different diagnosis.
Director: Neil Adams
Writer: Patrick Melanaphy
- 7.4/10 21 votes
#4 - Dead Air
Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 7/10/2011
A girls’ trip out on board a pirate radio ship ends badly when they are embroiled in a siege. And Drs Ormerod and Weatherill are mystified when a girl guide leader recovers miraculously from a stroke.
Director: David Kester
Writer: Dawn Harrison
- 7.4/10 18 votes
#5 - A Hero for Our Time
Season 8 Episode 10 - Aired 7/17/2011
There is a near crash on the road which involves a woman called Dolly and her daughter Alison and a rich aristocratic heir and his girlfriend. Ellis and Ormerod are called out to attend the scene of the accident. The car with Dolly and Alison in it ends up crashing into the lake to avoid the other car. With the car sinking Jack attempts to get them out. The other couple are taken to the hospital to be checked out where a water tank comes crashing through the ceiling and traps Tom the male driver. Suffering with a a ruptured spleen, Ormerod and Rose manage to free him and get him to theatre for surgery.
Director: David Kester
Writer: Susan Wilkins
- 7.5/10 18 votes
#6 - These Foolish Things
Season 8 Episode 3 - Aired 7/26/2009
Weatherill treats a schoolgirl whose crush on a teacher has spiralled out of control, while Ormerod and Ellis launch a daring cliff rescue when a family picnic goes awry. Jack and Alun use an old map to hunt for buried treasure underneath the hospital, and an old friend of Matron is taken ill.
Director: Ian Barber
Writer: Susan Wilkins
- 7.6/10 18 votes
#7 - Waifs and Strays
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 4/30/2006
It is revealed that a couple have unofficially adopted an unwell child.
Director: Tim Dowd
Writer: Sarah Bagshaw
- 7.6/10 17 votes
#8 - Busman's Holiday
Season 7 Episode 9 - Aired 4/1/2009
Mr. Middleditch's 70th Birthday celebrations are interrupted by a bus crash.
Director: Dominic Keavey
Writer: Mark Holloway
- 7.6/10 17 votes
#9 - Please Release Me
Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 6/11/2011
A patient with cancer dies unexpectedly after a visit from Dr Ormerod, and the grieving family point the finger at him. Dr Omerod is arrested on suspicion of murder – how will he prove his innocence? Dr Ralph Ellis holds a clinic at the local prison and is concerned about the mental health of one of his patients. When a full scale riot breaks out, Ralph’s trapped. Will he escape unscathed?
Director: Neil Adams
Writer: Jane Hollowood
- 7.6/10 16 votes
#10 - Manoeuvres
Season 8 Episode 8 - Aired 7/3/2011
A family outing causes trouble for the Ormerods and Lizzie attempts to improve her vocabulary.
Director: Tim Dowd
Writer: John Flanagan, Andrew McCulloch
- 7.6/10 22 votes
#11 - The Enemy Within
Season 8 Episode 12 - Aired 7/31/2011
A can of worms is opened when Gordon attends to a local family's problems, and when violence spills onto the Royal's wards he gets caught up in the crossfire. Meanwhile, baby Aisling's adoption is final. However, Sister Brigid is confused by her feelings.
Director: Ian Barber
Writer: Sarah Bagshaw
- 7.7/10 23 votes
#12 - All at Sea
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 5/25/2003
Gordon struggles to cope following the coach crash which left his wife horrifically injured and turns for comfort to colleague Jill, who tries to persuade him to take time off work. Meanwhile, a woman arrives at the Royal requiring an emergency hysterectomy following an illegal abortion, and pleads that the whole affair be kept secret from her fiance, and Greengrass is shocked to discover he has a long-lost daughter.
Director: Keith Boak
Writer: Sarah Bagshaw
- 7.7/10 26 votes
#13 - Snakes and Ladders
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 6/1/2003
A teenage boy is brought into the Royal having fallen from a cliff, but it soon emerges that the incident was a suicide attempt as evidence of extreme depression comes to the surface. Cheriton contacts the youngster's psychiatrist but is taken aback when electroshock therapy is suggested as a form of treatment, so ventures to the family home to recommend an alternative — only for tragedy to strike. Meanwhile, a hypochondriac causes chaos at the hospital when she insists her dog be treated following a snake bite, and a heart-to-heart between Weatherill and Ormerod leads to a passionate kiss.
Director: Paul Duane
Writer: Michael Russell
- 7.7/10 17 votes
#14 - Best of Intentions
Season 7 Episode 11 - Aired 6/28/2009
Nick races against time to save two schoolgirls who have been poisoned by carbon monoxide, Susie has to use quick thinking when Matron falls ill during their picnic on the cliff front and has to go into hospital, giving Susie an opportunity to prove herself. In the meantime, a man is training to become a priest, which causes a family problem which Jill needs to sort out.
Director: David Kester
Writer: Dawn Harrison
- 7.7/10 20 votes
#15 - Counting Chickens
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 7/19/2009
Dr Ellis confronts local prejudice when he discovers one of his patients has contracted a rare disease abroad. Jack and Alun begin a crackpot scheme to raise chickens, Brigid makes a decision about baby Aisling's future, while Jean becomes more frustrated with Lizzie's incompetence.
Director: David Kester
Writer: John Flanagan, Andrew McCulloch
- 7.7/10 16 votes
#16 - Tutti Fritti
Season 8 Episode 7 - Aired 6/26/2011
A secret from Jean’s past resurfaces when the wife of a former lover arrives at the Royal and accuses Jean of being up to her old tricks. When things take a shocking turn Jean is forced to reconsider her future as well as her past.
Director: Tim Dowd
Writer: Mark Holloway
- 7.8/10 21 votes
#17 - Thicker Than Water
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 6/8/2003
Sister Brigid has a crisis of faith over a mother whose life is in danger. Family secrets are exposed when a hunting trip ends in tragedy, and Ken and Harper clash over the hospital laundry.
Director: Paul Walker
Writer: Jane Hollowood
- 7.8/10 20 votes
#18 - On the Road
Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 6/29/2008
Carnegie disapproves when Nick admits several homeless people from Elsinby to the hospital. Gordon is reluctant to let Jill take on heavy duties. However his plans fall apart when she is called to attend to road along the coast when a female victim of a car accident goes into labor. Meanwhile, Matron is stunned when she sees who is the new student nurse, and patient who enjoys gossip discloses where Ken is.
Director: Ian Barber
Writer: John Flanagan, Andrew McCulloch
- 7.8/10 16 votes
#19 - In the Air
Season 7 Episode 10 - Aired 6/21/2009
With Susie and Carnegie's relationship becoming the focus of talk in the hospital, Matron reaches the end of her patience and decides to suspend Susie when she's late for work. Mr Rose faces a personal test when a golfing friend of his has to into the operating theatre, Nick copes struggles with a dilemna and Gordon and Bobby are called to a farming accident where a man is trapped by a combine harvester.
Director: Dominic Keavey
Writer: John Flanagan, Andrew McCulloch
- 7.8/10 16 votes
#20 - Any Old Iron
Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 6/5/2011
Mr Middleditch has come in to St Aidan's hospital, accompanied by his wife, for a routine operation. Noticing that Mrs Middleditch looks unwell, the hospital decides to give her a blood transfusion. Distracted by the attentions of a rich divorced playboy, who has promised to marry her, Susie Dixon administers the wrong blood, which later results in serious consequences for both her and the patient.
Director: Ian Barber
Writer: Mark Holloway
- 7.9/10 24 votes
#21 - It's What's on the Inside That Counts
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 1/16/2005
New recruit Thelma Parker catches the eye of Harper, but proves to be less popular with the rest of the team, and an injured boxer causes concern for the staff at the hospital. Dr. Weatherill finds herself caught in an ethical battle when the parents of a dangerously ill baby refuse treatment, while Samantha receives unwanted news.
Director: Ken Grieve
Writer: Patrick Melanaphy
- 7.9/10 18 votes
#22 - Say a Little Prayer
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 2/13/2005
Sister Brigid is concerned about the head of her convent who is refusing treatment and Jill hears from Samantha.
Director: Graeme Harper
Writer: Jane Hollowood
7.9/10 24 votes#23 - Starting Over
Season 6 Episode 7 - Aired 9/16/2007
Mr Middleditch makes a surprise return to the hospital in the back of an ambulance, having hurt his ankle while fishing. Stella grudgingly welcomes Marian McKaig as her room-mate, but the new nurse quickly catches Alun's eye. Meanwhile, a frantic mother calls for Mike's help at a hippie commune, where her hostile husband is refusing help from the outside world.
Director: Tim Dowd
Writer: Marc Pye
- 7.9/10 20 votes
#24 - Below the Surface
Season 8 Episode 11 - Aired 7/24/2011
The hospital’s future is in doubt following DHA's decision not to sanction a financial package to repair the Casualty department. The hospital is only offered an authorised high interest loan, that doesn’t cover all the costs of the everything that needs to be done. The hospital's budget for the year ahead has also been cut so that the Royal will need to dip into the Middleditch trust fund to keep the hospital open. Jean ends up announcing that the only way forward is to consider a a complete closure of Casualty. Ralph ends up taking some secret action to rectify the situation but also ends up bringing up some difficult issues in his past. Carol and Ralph finally end up getting together.
Director: Ian Barber
Writer: John Flanagan, Andrew McCulloch
- 8.0/10 26 votes
#25 - Crash
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 3/2/2003
A serious coach crash throws the Royal into chaos, and for one member of the staff, the incident proves exceptionally traumatic. Cheriton has a bombshell for Nurse Taylor.
Director: Tim Dowd
Writer: Mark Holloway