ITV is moving The Royal into the future for a major new daytime drama commission.

The Royal Today from ITV Productions, is a 50-part half-hour series set in St Aidan's Royal Free Hospital in the present day, instead of The Royal's 1960s setting.

ITV director of factual and daytime Alison Sharman said called The Royal "a prestigious brand" for ITV1, and that she hoped the show would give its daytime audience "something of real quality."

Keith Richardson and Ken Horn will executive produce, with the show airing later this year across weekdays.

The Royal, which averaged around 8 million viewers last series, returns to ITV1 this spring.