List of Doctors characters introduced in 2023

Kirsty Millar, portrayed by Kiruna Stamell, made her first appearance on 11 January 2023. She is introduced as a receptionist at the Mill Health Centre following the dismissal of former receptionist Valerie Pitman (Sarah Moyle). In her first scene, she meets with Ruhma Carter (Bharti Patel), who she has known for years due to working with her at St. Phils Hospital. Ruhma has high praise for Kirsty, informing the staff at the Mill how experienced she is. Speaking of her first episode, ''What's on TV'' wrote that Kirsty would divide the existing staff due to her "forthright manner". On her BBC profile, Kirsty was described as an "organised, loving, opinionated" character that "doesn't suffer fools". It also stated that her reason for coming to the Mill was to seek a new life. ''What's on TV also teased the imminent arrivals of her husband and son, Rich (Richard Atwill) and Ollie (Isaac Benn). Inside Soap'' also hinted that Kirsty and fellow receptionist Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg) would have a workplace dispute when the pair "rub each other up the wrong way". However, a friendship between the pair is eventually developed when Kirsty invites Scarlett to live with her. Stamell appeared on the BBC topical series Morning Live in March 2023 to talk about her time on Doctors, where she said that she was grateful to be given a character backstory that did not revolve around being disabled. Presenter Gethin Jones remarked that Kirsty does not reference her dwarfism, which Stamell replied that she is thankful for. She felt that because Kirsty's family and colleagues would be used to her condition, there would be no point in talking about it since it is part of her everyday life. Since Stamell has an Australian-influenced accent from her time living there, Sam Quek asked how she had learned the Brummie dialect. Stamell recalled listening to audiobooks narrated by Jess Phillips and Alison Hammond and said that she was influenced by their accents. She struggled to pick up the accent at first, but began to feel more comfortable using it the longer she had stayed in the role. Alongside Atwill and Benn, Stamell was nominated for the Best Family accolade at the 2023 British Soap Awards. Stamell departed the role in 2024 and Kirsty's final episode was broadcast on 25 September 2024. Despite Doctors being confirmed to end in December 2024, Stamell's departure prior to finale was not announced to the public and was instead left as a surprise to viewers. Following her exit, Stamell said that her favourite storyline was Kirsty's romance with Dave Burns (Gareth Berliner). Berliner is Stamell's real-life husband and she revealed that her favourite scene was one that never aired, of Dave trying to seduce Kirsty with French cuisine when Berliner dropped a baguette. ==Nina Bulsara==

Dr. Nina Bulsara, portrayed by Wendi Peters, first appeared on 20 February 2023. Peters began filming for Doctors in October 2022 and announced her casting on the BBC topical series Morning Live on 2 November 2022. Prior to being cast as Nina, Peters had portrayed Nicky Connelly in a 2021 episode of Doctors. Peters clarified that Nina is a different and unconnected character. On Peters' casting, executive producer Mike Hobson said: "we are absolutely delighted to welcome Wendi to the Doctors cast. She is a familiar face every soap fan will recognise and we know she will be brilliant in this role." Daly wrote that Nina would be a good addition to the cast, as well as Metros Calli Kitson being intrigued by the character. Peters' co-star Elisabeth Dermot Walsh posted online that she was excited for viewers to meet the "charming, dynamic and maddening character". Also writing for the Metro, Chris Hallam described Nina as "bossy, interfering and annoying". ==Suni Bulsara==

Dr. Suni Bulsara, portrayed by Rahul Arya, made first appearance on 8 March 2023. He was introduced as the son of Nina (Wendi Peters). Nina becomes a partner at the Mill Health Centre and one of her first acts is getting Suni hired as a doctor there as she feels he would be perfect to work there. Upon his hiring, it was hinted in episode descriptions that he would "ruffle feathers" amongst his new colleagues. Suni arrives on his first day in a luxury sports car which he parks in the charging port section of the car park. Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg) tells him he cannot park there, but he ignores her since he wants to show off his car in a prominent location. A reluctant Scarlett gives him a tour of the building, but Suni quickly gets bored and wanders into Luca McIntyre's (Ross McLaren) nursing room where he is "favourably impressed by the sight of Luca". Suni is bisexual and after flirting with Luca, he also flirts with Scarlett. However, Luca notices that he clams up when Nina walks in on the pair talking, and eventually learns that Suni is not out to his mother. A few weeks into his tenure, Suni was the focus of a standalone episode that saw him helping Jason Neale (Darryl Mundoma) with his mental health, as well as flashing back to see his reaction to Nina getting him a job without telling him. It touched upon his memories of his dead father when Suni hoped that he would be proud of him. Suni is shown to be insecure within his friendships and tries to impress the colleagues at the Mill by treating them to lavish meals and experiences, which Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) notices and gets annoyed by. Metros Chris Hallam noted how Suni makes a bad first impression on almost everybody at the Mill and suggested that he may be "too flash and not really cut out to be a doctor". ==Binita Prabhu==

Binita Prabhu, portrayed by Nina Wadia, appeared between 6 and 17 April 2023. She was introduced as Suni Bulsara's (Rahul Arya) aunt. Metros Chris Hallam described Binita as "a dreadfully overbearing relative", When Binita's sister-in-law, Nina Bulsara (Wendi Peters) learns that she plans on visiting them, she clears the house of all microwave meals, as well as hiring a cleaner to avoid criticism from Binita. Suni assumes that Nina is overreacting, but Nina is "soon vindicated". ==Malika Dahlan==

Malika Dahlan, portrayed by Aria Prasad, first appeared on 19 April 2023 and made her final appearance on 6 June 2023. Prasad was contracted on the soap for a three-month guest stint to cover an extended break of regular cast member Bharti Patel. Malika was introduced as a temporary midwife at St. Phils Hospital who covers for Ruhma Carter (Patel), who is sent to work at East Letherbridge for three months. Malika's first episode sees her meet "troubled young couple" Katie Seary (Heather Campbell-Ferguson) and Ben Tate (Elliot Norman). Prasad's second appearance on Doctors saw her star in a standalone Ramadan-themed episode where her character "faces a heartbreaking tragedy". A mother in her care dies, which causes Malika to call in sick. She seeks advice from Ruhma, who tells her to confide in her colleagues. She is then invited to a community iftar to lift her spirits. Malika struggles with the heavy workload within the NHS and is advised by former colleague Maisie Owens (Jacqui-Lee Pryce) to become a private midwife for her wellbeing. Patient Kim Lewis (Lorraine Tai) also makes a judgemental comment about the NHS' services, which makes Malika confront Kim and defend her decision to work for the NHS. She is again shown to be a headstrong and knowledgeable character when she reprimands Dr Penny Phillips (Angelina Chudi) for not listening to her expertise as a midwife. ==Tanisha Fonesca==

Tanisha Fonesca, portrayed by Andrea Ali, first appeared on 19 April 2023 and made her final appearance on 11 May 2023. She was introduced as someone who went to university with Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee). They meet at a meeting about online accounting systems and after "the two old friends immediately hit it off again", they decide to leave the meeting early to go on a date. What to Watch journalist Simon Timblick hinted that Tanisha and Bear would have a romantic storyline. She arranges a job interview for Bear with one of her bosses without informing him prior to the day of the interview. Bear refuses to go and the pair argue, after which Tanisha storms out. ==Miles Bailey==

Miles Bailey, portrayed by Louis Saxby, first appeared on 18 May 2023 and made his final appearance on 22 June 2023. After seeing her, he finds a video of her online and sits watching it. On her first day teaching, Zara is greeted by Miles, and What to Watchs Simon Timblick confirmed that Miles has a "crush" on Zara. Once she posts the photo of them kissing, Daniel "decides to go and confront Miles at the University" under the impression that she pushed him away. Miles tells him what actually happened and shows him a video of the kiss. ==Claudia Briant==

PC Claudia Briant, portrayed by Kiza Deen, first appeared on 24 May 2023 and made her final appearance on 11 October 2023. She is a police constable that pulls Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee) over for speeding. Bear, who has previously been the target of racist stop-and-search situation, assumes that it is happening again and "prepares for trouble". However, since Claudia is a black female officer, his attitude is challenged. Bear is surprised when Claudia visits him at the Mill Health Centre later on in the day and worries that he is somehow in further trouble. Simon Timblick of What to Watch hinted that Claudia "has something rather unexpected to ask Bear". Bear then becomes "determined to fix things with Claudia". The pair later begin dating. Claudia later begins sharing scenes with established police officer character Rob Hollins (Chris Walker) when the pair begin working together. She shows more tension when she meets Bear's colleague, Nina Bulsara (Wendi Peters), who she does not take well to. After feeling ill at a concert Bear takes her to, Claudia takes a pregnancy test and learns that she is pregnant. Bear becomes worried that he has done something wrong when Claudia continues not being "a ton of fun" and she reveals the result of the pregnancy test to him. She later confides in Emma Reid (Dido Miles) that she wants to abort the pregnancy, not realising that Emma works with Bear. ==Frankie Sharp==

Frankie Sharp, portrayed by Andrea Mason, appeared from 5 to 13 September 2023. She was introduced as an angry patient that needs her repeat prescription renewed, but due to a lack of appointments for a doctor to review it, receptionist Kirsty Millar (Kiruna Stamell) informs her she may have to wait two weeks. An unhappy Frankie returns during evening surgery and takes out her anger on Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg). She refuses to leave until she is seen by Al Haskey (Ian Midlane) and she soon tries to attack Scarlett in a "shock event". She is soon escorted out of the Mill by Al. Frankie returns two days later with "heavies": her husband, Vic Butt (Neil Sheffield), and one of their scary friends. Al and business manager Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee) confront Frankie in the reception area but Bear soon calls his girlfriend, police officer Claudia Briant (Kiza Deen), who arrives with backup. ==Jenny Ackerman==

Jenny Ackerman, portrayed by Lois Pearson, first appeared on 8 November 2023 and made her final appearance on 5 December 2023. She was introduced as a newly-hired midwife that joins Ruhma Carter (Bharti Patel) at the Mill Health Centre. In her backstory, she was a nurse who did a midwifery rotation and enjoyed it so much that she decided to train in the specialism. Simon Timblick, writing for What to Watch, described her as a "bright and confident" character despite being new to midwifery. However, Ruhma becomes unnerved when she notices Jenny making mistakes on the job, including not being able to find a foetal heartbeat during a baby scan, which worries patient Tina Evans' (Eliza Williams). Timblick added that Ruhma's "pair of helping hands [would] actually going to end up creating extra work for her". The events of the day see Anne Richards (Elinor Coleman) almost die after giving birth, with her partner, Dez Cruz (Daniel J Carver), vowing to avenge her. He reports her and Ruhma, which results in a meeting with head midwife Sian Howell (Alex Murdoch). After suffering from health issues, Jenny decides that she no longer wants to be a midwife. ==Other characters==