Andrew Davies originally wanted to film the series at the University of Warwick, Coventry (UK). The University were unhappy as to how they would be portrayed. Instead, the Lowland exterior shots were all done at either Keele or Birmingham Universities.
Peter Davison played the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who (1963) and David Troughton was the son of the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton.
Daker's predecessor O'Hara was originally to have been a doctor at the practice, and something of an old-school 70s pill-pusher. BBC Head of Drama Jonathan Powell suggested more of a 1980s update, so the character evolved into Bob Buzzard.