Born and Bred (series) was a BBC programme that aired from 2002-2006. Although completely unrelated in theme to Doctor Who, it had many production connections to the then-upcoming BBC Wales revival of the programme. Co-created and largely written by future Torchwood and Doctor Who head writer, Chris Chibnall, Born and Bred was a fairly typical "fish out of water" drama about a medical doctor who'd returned to the English village of his youth only to discover and be charmed by its colourful inhabitants.
Its twist — in a time when the schedule was crowded with "fish out of water" dramas like Dervla Kirwan's Ballykissangel, Peter Davison and Samantha Bond's Distant Shores and Martin Clunes and Ian McNeice's Doc Martin — was that it was set in the 1950s.
Ties to the DWU
The show was produced in its first season by Phil Collinson, who would leave to go to Sea of Souls the next year, and then Doctor Who in 2004. He would therefore have had responsibility for hiring Ray Holman and Barbara Southcott as two of his heads of department —people he would take with him to Sea of Souls and ultimately to Doctor Who and Torchwood. Similarly, Born's production manager, Debbi Slater, would go on to work on The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood and Doctor Who. Then-future Dalek writer, Rob Shearman, wrote a script for the show.
A number of the regulars and key guest stars would also go on to parts in Doctor Who —mostly concentrated in the first two series. Female lead, Jenna Russell was featured in the series 1 finale. Annette Badland would become a recurring Slitheen. Roger Lloyd Pack eventually became John Lumic. And Clive Swift would, soon after production wrapped on Born, co-star as Mr Copper in Voyage of the Damned. David Troughton, about four years in advance of his turn in Midnight was the main guest star in an episode in which his character dealt with the complications of leukemia.
The show also had connections to the 1963 version of the programme. Its latter seasons were produced by ex-director, Chris Clough, Donald Gee was a part of the regular cast, and Julian Glover was once a special guest star.
In addition to the television connections, a number of the regulars, like James Bolam and Maggie Steed are connected to Doctor Who through voice work for Big Finish or AudioGo.