Characters of Holby City
Encyclopedia
Holby City is a British
medical drama
television series that premiered on 12 January 1999 on BBC One
. The series was created by Tony McHale
and Mal Young
as a spin-off
from the established BBC
medical drama Casualty
. It is set in the same hospital as Casualty, Holby General, in the fictional city of Holby
, and features occasional crossovers of characters and plots with both Casualty (in episodes broadcast as Casualty@Holby City
) and the show's 2007 police procedural
spin-off HolbyBlue
.
Holby City follows the professional and personal lives of surgeons, nurses, other medical and ancillary staff and patients at Holby General. It features an ensemble cast of regular characters, and began with 11 main characters in its first series, all of whom have since left the show. New main characters have been both written in and out of the series since. In addition, Holby City features guest stars each week, as well as recurring guests that take part in story arcs that span a portion of a series. Occasionally, the recurring guest storylines will span multiple series. Many actors in the series have made prior, minor appearances as both patients and staff members in both Holby City and Casualty - in some instances crediting these former appearances for their later casting as main characters in Holby City.
background. He cast Michael French as Nick Jordan, George Irving
as Anton Meyer
, Angela Griffin
as Jasmine Hopkins, Lisa Faulkner
as Victoria Merrick and Nicola Stephenson
as Julie Bradford. Young explained: "Soap actors are the best actors. There's been so much snobbery before. The whole thing about typecasting was probably invented by actors who couldn't get other work. From day one I knew I wanted to put on screen people that viewers want to watch. There’s no downside to that." This propensity for hiring established actors continued as the soap progressed, with later roles being awarded to comedian Adrian Edmondson
, former film actress Patsy Kensit
, and Jesus of Nazareth star Robert Powell
. When Jane Asher
was cast in the recurring role of Lady Byrne in 2007, Inside Soap
magazine asked series producer Diane Kyle whether the production team intentionally sought out "well-known-names", or whether roles simply went to the actor best-suited for the part. Kyle responded: "It's lovely when we have a new member of the cast come in and bring an audience with them. But we want the best actors, and the star names we cast are always the best - which is why we go for them."
Many cast members who play main characters have made previous appearances in Holby City and Casualty in minor roles. Amanda Mealing
, who plays cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp
, appeared as the mother of a paediatric patient in the show's fourth series. Luke Roberts
, who plays registrar Joseph Byrne, appeared as the son of a medical professor in Holby City seventh series, Rosie Marcel
, who plays registrar Jac Naylor
appeared in both Holby City and Casualty as a patient on three occasions. Stella Gonet
, who plays CEO Jayne Grayson
, had a minor role as an anaesthetist in Casualty, while Hari Dhillon
, who plays general surgical consultant Michael Spence, previously appeared as a recurring anaesthetist in Holby City. In some instances, actors have stated that it was their guest appearances which lead to their casting in more permanent roles. Roberts believes that his single scene in series seven was enough for him to be called in for the part of Joseph, explaining: "I hear it got the attention of the producers. Amanda Mealing put a good word in for me that day as well." Conversely, Dhillon dismissed his minor role as Dr Sunil Gupta as a part he took immediately after leaving drama school, unable to even recall the year of his appearance.
. He appears from series three, episode one
until series five, episode 45. A romance with SHO Sam Kennedy almost ends his career, when Sam gets him drunk in an attempt to lure him into spending the night with her. Unaware he is over the speed limit, Alex causes the death of a young boy due to drink driving. He escapes a jail sentence, but departs for America when Meyer accepts a position overseas. He later returns and has a brief romance with Jess Griffin, as a result of which she becomes pregnant, but opts for an abortion. Alex goes on to suffer from the onset of Parkinson's disease
, affecting his ability to work. He comes close to attempting suicide, but is talked out of it by Diane Lloyd, after which he leaves Holby for good.
, she has previously only worked on the Orthopedic ward - not one of the four wards the show focuses on. Daisha forms a close friendship with nursing consultant Mark Williams (Robert Powell
). She flirts with Mark in order to win a transfer to Darwin ward, and moves in with him after breaking up with her boyfriend and being assaulted by her landlord, coming to rely on him yet further upon discovering herself to be pregnant. Mark also aids Daisha in becoming ambassador of the Byrne Foundation for cardiothoracic care, and promotes her to Sister of Keller ward, leading some to question the true nature of their relationship.
to series six, episode two.
plays Tash Bandara, a general surgical registrar who appears from series two, episode five
until series four, episode 37. Tash had a relationship with SHO Kirstie Collins prior to her arrival at Holby. She clashes with nurse practitioner Jasmine Hopkins, disparaging her position in the hospital. When Tash's father visits the hospital, she discovers he has Alzheimer's disease
. She tells him she is a lesbian, and he refuses to accept her identity. When Tash's ex-girlfriend arrives, terminally ill from complications arising from AIDS
, Tash decides to join her on a world tour, and departs from Holby.
plays Rachel Baptiste, who appears from series eleven, episode six as a staff nurse on the general surgery ward, Keller. Antoine had formerly appeared in Holby City series seven, episode five, as Mel Allen, the relative of a patient. She described her character upon her introduction as "quite nervous, but very excited", expanding that: "She loves her job, caring for people and being helpful. She is at the beginning of a new stage in her life, and it's quite an upturn for her, and she's just very interested in getting to know everyone and is excited at being part of a group." The BBC describe Rachel as: "warm and kind but perhaps a little too trusting. She's anxious to please. She loves nursing but her real passion is her boyfriend, Patrick." Antoine received just a thumbnail sketch of Rachel's background, but commented that: "I love it. Give me a bit of spare time and I'll tell you what my character did age four and a half - whether it's a lot or a little, it's all good." During Holby City eleventh series, Rachel uncovers Daisha Anderson's post-natal depression and helps to support her, before being transferred to the hospital's geriatric ward. Executive producer Tony McHale
commented on Rachel's transfer: "Although she is still working in the hospital, we are not likely to see her on our regular wards for some time."
plays Mike Barratt, a consultant
general surgeon who previously appeared in Casualty
practising emergency medicine
. He appears in Holby City from series two, episode five until series three, episode 30, working on the hospital's Keller ward. At the end of the second series, Mike severely damages his leg after stepping on a poacher's trap and rolling hundreds of feet down a hill on a team building course. He recovers, and returns to work on crutches. At the end of the third series he is offered a job in New Zealand
, which he refuses, although he does not return for the fourth series.
plays Connie Beauchamp, a consultant
cardiothoracic surgeon
on Holby General's Darwin ward. Connie first appears in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", She is initially portrayed as a married man-eater, engaging in extra-marital trysts with Ric Griffin
and registrars
Mubbs Hussein and Will Curtis, though goes on to become a loving mother to her daughter, Grace, fathered by surgical registrar Sam Strachan
. Connie was briefly written out of the series in 2007 to allow Mealing time out to work on separate projects, but returned to the show at the end of the year in the series ten episode "Elliot's Wonderful Life". She departs the show in
plays Julie Bradford, an original character who appears until series three, episode 29. Julie is a single mother with mounting debts. When she is passed over for promotion to deputy ward sister, she resorts to lap dancing at night to care for her daughter. Her alter ego Crystal is exposed when a member of the lap dancing club is admitted to Holby General as a patient and recognises her. Julie is reprimanded, but is given a temporary promotion to help with her financial circumstances. During series two, Julie embarks on a relationship with one of the builders renovating the hospital, but he breaks up with her when he learns she has a child. When her ex-husband Martin arrives and begs Julie to give their relationship another chance, she agrees. They remarry, and leave Holby to start a new life with their daughter in Brighton
.
plays Joseph Byrne, a cardiothoracic surgical registrars introduced in the series eight episode "A Mother's Love". Roberts had made a former appearance in the show's seventh series as a minor character, and attributes this prior role to his eventual casting as Joseph. His major storylines have included an accidental drugs overdose, a relationship with fellow surgical registrar Jac Naylor
, who cheated on him with his own father, and a relationship with the show's "black widow" character, Ward Sister Faye Morton
. Roberts' portrayal of the role saw him longlisted for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award at the 2006 National Television Awards
.
plays Tom Campbell-Gore, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon who appears between series four, episode 45 and series six, episode 33.
plays Dan Clifford, a general surgical consultant who first appears in series nine, episode seven, "It's Been a Long Day". Dan is described as: "sexist, materialistic and egotistical but also incredibly charismatic", and engages in several romantic relationships during his single season on the show. He arrives having left his third fiancé at the altar, and goes on to develop feelings for both SHO Maddy Young
, and his sister-in-law Louise. Of Dan's relationship with Maddy, Wingfield explained: "There was a line in one of the last episodes, 'one of them seems perfect for you' and I always thought that summed it up. Dan and Maddy have always been incredibly close without becoming lovers, but it is obvious that they are great together, so when it happens it is effortless and joyous and has wonderful potential. But Dan's private demons prevent it from being allowed to live and grow. I always thought it might be great for him, if only he could have let it be." Similarly, Nadine Lewington who plays Maddy assessed: "Dan loved Maddy sincerely which is why he didn't want to risk hurting her anymore than he already had. He was too messed up to be good for anyone and he knew it."
Wingfield describes Dan as "decisive, quick-thinking and pragmatic", explaining that "he doesn't allow emotion to control his choices". He says of his reception: "People really responded to the character. He had such a roguishness and a wildness and you never quite knew what he might do or say next and I think that was exciting for people." Dan leaves Holby in series ten episode two "The Last Throw" to accept a prestigious job in France, though reappears briefly in episode "Love Will Tear Us Apart", arranging a meeting with Maddy but ultimately standing her up. He reappears again in Holby City eleventh series, and although Wingfield left the show in order to spend more time with his family in Los Angeles
, he has stated that he would return again "in a heartbeat". He explained: "The story would have to be good, but I don't have any doubts that there is much more to explore and more fun to be had with Dan."
plays Kirstie Collins, an original character who appears until series three, episode six as a cardiology registrar. Kirstie flirts with many of the staff, including nurse Danny Shaughnessy. In the second series, it is revealed that Kirstie had previously had a lesbian relationship with registrar Tash Bandara. Kirstie's father, who she has been estranged from for six years, is admitted to the hospital with a damaged liver after years of alcohol abuse. Kirstie agrees to see him and urges him to seek help. She leaves the hospital after undertaking a dangerous rescue.
plays Linden Cullen, the head of Holby General's Acute Assessment Unit
, introduced in series ten, episode 14, "Stolen". Linden is motivated by his strong Catholicism, admitting in confessional to feeling he has betrayed his dead wife Olivia by developing romantic feelings for Ward Sister Faye Morton
, after he and registrar
Joseph Byrne track her down in a special episode set on location in Cape Town
. He reveals that Olivia was killed in a car crash, for which he blames himself, and that he has a daughter, Holly, who reminds him of Olivia to the extent that he cannot bear to see her, so is being raised by Olivia's parents instead of him. A long-running series ten plot strand sees Linden become deeply involved with the plight of a pair of Korea
n asylum seekers, one of whom is pregnant with conjoined twins
. As the couple are Christian, he feels compelled by his faith to help them, and ensures that the hospital hosts the twins' separation operation, despite political red-tape.
plays Will Curtis, a cardiothoracic surgical registrar who appears between series five, episode 32 and series seven, episode 13.
plays Owen Davis, a consultant obstetrician
who appears between series four, episode three and series eight, episode ten.
plays Greg Douglas, a registrar in cardiothoracic surgery who first appears in series twelve, working for Connie Beauchamp in London. He follows her back to Holby and begins working on Darwin ward, mentoring F2 doctor Oliver Valentine.
as part of the BBC's "Africa Lives" season. While the role was created for Edmondson as a one-off guest-appearance, he has since reprised the role of Abra six times, stating that he has loved the show since its 1999 conception. Abra's initial role in the show is that of Third World
rights champion and humorous surgical maverick, whose major storylines center around serious rule breaking, and his relationship with colleague Kyla Tyson
. Upon returning to the show in series eleven, the character takes a darker turn, resorting to self harm as a symptom of post-traumatic stress, following a harrowing experience in the war torn Congo
. Abra returns to Africa after seeking psychiatric help, and makes his final appearance soon thereafter, returning briefly to Holby in an attempt to convince Kyla to move to Ghana with him.
plays nurse Liam Evans, who appears from series three, episode 15
until series four, episode 35. Liam originally works on Keller ward as an agency nurse. He plans to leave the hospital to get married and move to Australia, but when he is jilted on his wedding day, he applies for a permanent position. When Liam overhears his neighbours arguing, he intervenes in an instance of domestic violence and is pushed off a balcony. He is left paralysed from the waist down, and becomes depressed, feeling unable to cope. When his ex-fiancée returns to Holby, she and Liam reconcile and move to Australia.
plays Lisa Fox, who first appears in Holby City in series four, episode 13, "Shadow of a Doubt (Part 1)", as a midwife on the hospital's maternity ward. She later goes on to become sister of the Acute Assessment Unit
, then clinical matron of Keller, the hospital's general surgical
ward. Following her departure from the show, the official series website described Lisa as: "ambitious, highly capable at her job and didn't suffer fools gladly. However, she sometimes took herself too seriously and was afraid to let her hair down. She had a determined nature and while she could cause friction, she was genuine and honest." Her major storylines revolve around her advancing career, an on-off relationship with colleague Mubbs Hussein, and her father's death by assisted suicide
. Lisa also appears in the Casualty@Holby City
interactive episode "Something We Can Do". Upon announcing her forthcoming departure from the show on 8 June 2005, BBC Publicity commented: "The character of Lisa has been wonderful in the show and she has always had a huge sense of fun and adventure. So in the months to come we will see her unable to resist the challenge of working in a setting very different to Holby City Hospital." In her final appearance, series 7, episode 48 "Great Expectations", Lisa decides to leave Holby with surgeon Abra Durant
and relocate to work with him in Ghana
. Although the character had only recently embarked on a new relationship with Mubbs, Bradshaw-White explained: "When he does finally declare his undying love for her and asks to move in with him, Lisa realises it isn't what she wants at all." She expanded that "Lisa's waited so long to hear those words, but she's annoyed to discover he assumed she'd jump at the chance [to move in with him]." She stated that she was "pleased it's a positive ending for [Lisa] as she's been so miserable", and explained that her motivation for leaving Holby City was "Purely because I've been in it four years. I've loved every second here and I probably stayed a year longer than I wanted to, just because I loved it so much."
plays ward sister Kath Fox between series two episode five and series six episode 26. Kath is the mother of nurse Danny Shaughnessy, and during her early years on the show escapes a violent marriage marred by domestic abuse to Danny's father. Her Christian faith is a strong element of her character, and she struggles emotionally when the hospital's Father Michal develops romantic feelings towards her. She rejects his advances, and he responds by attempting suicide. Later, she falls in love with and marries Terry Fox, father of midwife Lisa Fox. Terry is suffering from cancer, and later takes his own life. Kath is accused of aiding him in euthanasia by Lisa, and is arrested and tried in court, eventually deemed to be innocent. She and Lisa do not reconcile until Kath departs from Holby, leaving the country with her most recent love interest.
plays Jess Griffin, the daughter of consultant general surgeon Ric Griffin
. Jess first appears in series 4, episode 15, becoming the personal assistant
of Owen Davis. She goes on to become a nurse, and departs from the show in series 9, episode 29. She reappeared in series 13, episode 3 on 2 November 2010, married to a man named David and 18 weeks pregnant, and again in series 13, episode 21 on 8 March 2011.
, and a cardiothoracic registrar. She is quickly promoted to critical care consultant
and head of the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit
. However, the fast pace of the AAU combined with her "feisty, controlling" nature culminates in her being fired from the hospital and suffering a heart attack on the same day. Lola recovers following surgery, and is re-employed by the hospital, switching roles once again to become a post=operative care consultant. It has been announced that the character will depart from the show later in 2008, to allow Clarke to return to musical theatre. When Holby General's CEO Jayne Grayson is forced to make a consultant redundant, Lola is top of the list. She leaves the hospital to work as medical officer at a private psychiatric clinic. With the help of Ric, she manages to fool Jayne into doubling her redundancy package even though she has a better job to go to. On her first day, she is reunited with former colleague Abra Durant who is being treated for post traumatic stress syndrome following his time in Africa. When Abra discharges himself and decides to return to Ghana, Lola realises that the new job isn't right for her, so hands in her resignation and leaves with Abra.
plays Ric Griffin, the hospital's Head of general surgery
. He is portrayed as "stubborn, impulsive and self-destructive," but at the same time "noble and righteous", unafraid to fight for his principles and medical ethics. His major storylines concentrate on his gambling addiction, and his inability to find the right woman. Ric has been married six times (twice to fellow Holby doctor Lola Griffin), and has eight children and two grandchildren, both of whom died. He is the second longest serving character on the show, having arrived at the start of Holby City fourth series. The character was briefly written out in 2006 to allow Quarshie time off to film two episodes of BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who
, but returned again to the serial in 2007.
. Astill had wanted a role in the series for some time prior to his casting. Billed as charming and sometimes lacking courage, Dan begins a relationship with ward sister Chrissie Williams. However his rivalry with registrar Antoine Malick develops into something more.
general surgeon
and joint Director of Surgery at Holby General, who first appears in the premiere episode of the thirteenth series
, "Shifts". Hanssen was sent to the hospital by the Department of Health
to make budget cuts. He is presented as "punctilious, pedantic and passionate about his work", but with a dry sense of humour.
. The actress became the centre of extensive media attention when on 15 June 2003, she fell 40 ft (12.2 m) from the balcony of her boyfriend's second floor flat, suffering serious head injuries. Sadler was taken off life support
and died one day later, in Charing Cross Hospital
. Eight further Holby City episodes featuring Sadler as Sandy had already been filmed, and were aired as scheduled posthumously. BBC scriptwriters consulted Sadler's mother, Sonja Sadler, when devising the character's exit storyline. Mal Young said: "I went there thinking we were all going to be in tears and it turned into an unofficial storyline conference. I said we would find a way of explaining Laura's absence and her mum came up with an idea we all liked." Sandy's farewell episode, "A Friend in Need", revealed that the character had won £150,000 on the lottery
, and left for Australia to follow former love interest Danny Shaugnessy. After discovering various amounts of money she had left behind for her friends at Holby City Hospital, the characters gathered together in the hospital bar at the end of the episode, and raised a toast "To the one and only Sandy!"
plays Mickie Hendrie, a midwife who first appears in series six, episode 24. Mickie goes on to become a staff nurse, before departing in series eight, episode 47 to attend medical school to become a doctor.
plays Elliot Hope, who first appears in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot is introduced as a consultant
surgeon and Clinical Lead on Holby General's cardiothoracic surgery
ward. His storylines see his wife Gina, a Motor Neurone Disease
-sufferer, commit assisted suicide
, and his relationship with his children subsequently deteriorate. Elliot considers suicide himself, before reconciling with his family. He ends a brief romance with colleague Lady Anne-Marie Byrne
as he is still mourning Gina, and later shares a kiss with his old friend Tara Sodi. Bradley was cast in the role after originally auditioning for a more minor part, and impressing executive producer Richard Stokes. He observed real heart surgery being performed in preparation for the role, and bases his portrayal of Elliot on his own father, who was a doctor. Elliot is portrayed as "a disorganised genius", and "a medical Columbo". He was the focus of Holby City 2007 Christimas episode, based on the 1964 film It's a Wonderful Life
. The assisted suicide storyline proved controversial, though the Elliot-centric Christmas episode was generally well-received by critics. The Times
David Chater called it "highly effective in what it sets out to do", though Robert Hanks of The Independent
deemed it "incompetent to the point of sacrilege".
plays nurse Jasmine Hopkins, a nurse who appears from Holby City first episode until the end of series three
. Jasmine begins the serial as a staff nurse on the cardiothoracic surgery
ward, Darwin. She is promoted to ward sister, causing tension with her best friend Julie Fitzjohn, who also applied for the position. Jasmine is engaged to Carl, an IT user support technician at the hospital. They argue when he decides to set a date for their wedding without consulting Jasmine about it. When Carl hits Jasmine, she breaks off their engagement. Jasmine walks in on a group of youths stealing from the ward drug store, and is stabbed. Nick Jordan repairs damage to her heart, and as she is stabilised, it is discovered that Jasmine is pregnant. Upon recovering, she plans to have an abortion. Carl threatens to get an injunction to stop her, but Jasmine miscarries. Following the opening of the general surgery ward, Keller, Jasmine becomes a nurse practitioner. During series three, with the introduction of the children's ward, Otter, Jasmine often works with Otter nurse Steve Waring. They fall in love, and sleep together while Steve is still married to his wife, Emma. Steve's son Robbie discovers the affair and threatens to reveal it. Jasmine breaks up with Steve and departs from the hospital.
plays Mubbs Hussein, an obstetrics
registrar who appears from series four, episode eight until series seven, episode 52.
plays Ward Sister Donna Jackson. Since her first appearance in Holby City in the series six episode "Baptism of Fire", Donna has become more serious about her work, despite her "chaotic" personal life. Jacobs was cast in the role of Donna alongside fellow series six newcomer Kelly Adams
, as midwife Mickie Hendrie. The pair's arrival in the show was heavily publicized, and subject of a documentary entitled "Making It at Holby", chronicling their casting process. The two characters embarked on a brief lesbian liaison, however caused the BBC to ban its actresses from appearing in raunchy photo-shoots, after being photographed cuddling and kissing while dressed in nurse's uniforms for various 'lads mags'.
. Following Nick's 2006 departure from Holby City, the series' official website described him as: "decisive, confident, charismatic and passionate. He was constantly striving for the top and wanted to emulate Meyer
." During his time on Holby City, Nick has several romantic interests, including ex-wife and ward sister Karen Newburn, theatre sister Ellie Sharpe, SHO
Kirstie Collins, and registrars
Diane Lloyd and Jac Naylor
. The series homepage assesses that: "He had tremendous pulling power with women, but commitment was not his strong point." Michael French, discussing his character shortly after the show's 1999 conception, asserted that: "Like most blokes, he sometimes treats women as playthings – if they're willing. A little bit of hanky panky is part of the human condition, after all!" Of his decision to transfer to Casualty, French explained: "The BBC came up with the idea [...] At first, I wasn't sure about him moving away from heart surgery, but we soon thrashed some ideas around and I realised it would work. It's certainly great to play Nick again and I'm having a fantastic time on the show." French was nominated for the "'Most Popular Actor" award in the 2006 National Television Awards
for his portrayal of Nick. Both The Guardian
and the Sunday Mirror
have likened the character to George Clooney
's ER
character Doug Ross
- "the one everyone fancies", but while Andrew Billen for the New Statesman
agrees that Nick is "good-looking", he suggests French's playing another "love rat" character after his EastEnders
role as David Wicks
to be typecasting
.
plays Ed Keating, a cardiothoracic registrar who appears from series four, episode 45 until series six, episode 33, working under Tom Campbell-Gore.
plays Maria Kendall, who arrives in Holby City ninth series as a student nurse, later qualifying as a staff nurse. Although the character did not make her Holby City debut until 28 November 2006, Thomas appeared as Maria on the 17 November 2006 Children in Need
charity telethon appeal - which included a segment featuring the Holby City cast performing a version of Hung Up
by Madonna
.
discovers Sam advised the parents to withdraw their son, she is forced to leave the hospital, but exacts her revenge by telling the press about Meyer's "unsafe" operations.
plays Zubin Khan, a consultant anaesthetist and the head of the hospital's intensive care unit
, who appears from series five, episode 37 until series seven, episode 51.
plays Sacha Levy, a general surgical registrar who arrives in series twelve. Sacha is the father of Chrissie's son, Daniel, and has un-reciprocated feelings for Chrissie.
plays Diane Lloyd, a general surgical registrar who appears between series four, episode 39 and series nine, episode 38. Diane has a disastrous love life, dating a number of hospital staff and marrying consultant obstetrician Owen Davies, who has an affair with his former lover, sister Chrissie Williams. Diane's storylines include a fling with nurse Danny Shaugnessy, aborting the child of Steve Waring and miscarrying Owen's child, the death of her sister, and facing an old medical schools teacher of hers who raped her. She also has an on/off relationship with Ric Griffin, who proposed marriage to her before her arrival in the serial, only to be turned down. Diane is promoted to locum general surgical consultant following the departure of Abra Durant
. When the stress of the job becomes too much for her and Diane feels betrayed by Ric, she hands in her resignation. Consultant Elliot Hope suggests she take a sabbatical and lends her his car and a cottage to house-sit for a few months. Diane accepts the offer, but that evening parks the car on train tracks and commits suicide.
plays surgical registrar Antoine Malick. Akingbola had previously appeared in Holby City as a guest star, and impressed the producers to the extent that he was cast in a permanent role. Executive producer Belinda Campbell described Malick as "a complex character who completely divides opinion amongst his Holby colleagues", explaining: "He absolutely refuses to play the political game and his bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired. However, there is no doubt he excels at his job and what would overwhelm other medics is like nectar to Malick." Akingbola deemed his character "an alpha male who doesn't suffer fools gladly". He explained that Malick aims to become a consultant, but has been held back from promotion due to his inability to engage in hospital politics. Akingbola stated that Malick has "a lot of dark layers", but will become calmer as the series goes on.
. His jealous nature causes problems between them, and during a drunken row, he slashes her face with a scalpel. Hobley, who plays Chrissie, described the scene as "shocking" and "hard to film", revealing that she was three months pregnant at the time, but had not told anyone on set apart from Mullen "so he knew not to be too rough". Stuart is subsequently arrested, and makes his final appearance in series ten, episode 18, "The Extra Mile".
plays original character Muriel McKendrick, who appears in Holby City first nine episodes. Muriel is frequently at odds with Anton Meyer
over beds on the wards. Muriel goes to the board and obtains four of Meyer's beds behind his back, and when he finds out he is furious. Muriel has a good working relationship with most of the staff, but is noted for her strict ways and no-nonsense personality.
plays PRHO
Victoria Merrick, who appears from Holby City first episode until series three, episode 26. Victoria is a surgeon who had a good grasp of the human anatomy but struggles to cope under the intense pressure of operations. Her father, Sir Charles Merrick, is an eminent surgeon and she struggles with his high expectations. Her boss, Anton Meyer, considers her an intelligent young women with a lot of potential, but did not consider her to be suitable material for a surgeon and transfers her to the paedatric wing to work as a doctor. Victoria tries to convince him to reinstate her as a surgeon, but he insists the experience will be good for her. Victoria begins an operation on a young girl, which she decides to terminate. The girl's father cannot accept the decision, and stabs Victoria to death. He confesses to Meyer whilst they are trapped in a lift, before taking an overdose. Meyer is outraged and attempted to revive the man so that he can be brought to trial and punished for Victoria's murder, but is hampered by the lack of equipment available to him in the lift.
plays cardiothoracic consultant Anton Meyer from Holby City first episode until series four, episode 46. Irving had considerable input in creating the character, who was initially envisioned by the series producers as an Iranian surgeon named Hussein. At Irving's suggestion, Meyer became Hungarian, an emigrant to Britain following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Little of the backstory created for Meyer was ever revealed on-screen, as part of a deliberate bid to present the character as enigmatic, allowing viewers to project their own imagination onto him. Meyer is a sarcastic, arrogant surgeon, with high expectations of his colleagues. His major storylines see him operate on his own sister, fear that he may have Motor Neurone Disease
, lose his spleen after being shot in a road rage incident, and ultimately depart from Holby
for Michigan
when the hospital Board make impositions on his autonomy. Irving made the decision to leave the series as he struggled to set the character aside outside of work, which had a negative impact on his personal life. He has ruled out the possibility of returning to Holby City in future, preferring his memory of Meyer to remain untarnished.
Meyer proved popular with viewers and critics. Following the series launch, he was described by Jaci Steph of the Daily Mail
as the series' "only distinctive character". Peter Paterson, also of the Daily Mail, has deemed Meyer an asset to the show, which he finds "feeble" in Meyer's absence. Jim Shelley
of The Mirror has described Meyer as "one of the best chatacters on television in recent years". Meyer was particularly well-received by female fans, attaining sex-symbol status, described by journalist Lynda Lee-Potter
as "the kind of domineering, unsmiling hero who made Mills & Boon
heroines swoon."
plays ward sister Faye Morton. The character's introductory storyline, shot on location in Dubai
, sees Faye leave her third husband for dead after a violent row. The fate of her previous husbands, and her intentions towards on-screen lover Joseph Byrne, later unravel in another special episode, this set on location in South Africa
. Kensit was short-listed for the "Best Actress" award at the 2007 TV Quick
and TV Choice Awards for her portrayal of Faye, within three months of arriving on the show. However, the dramaticism of the character's storylines and the manner in which they reflect upon real NHS
nurses has come under criticism.
plays registrar Jac Naylor. Her storylines focus on her attempts to gain promotion, going as far as to sleep with her boyfriend's influential father, and switch specialties from general
to cardiothoracic surgery
. She appears in a crossover episode with HolbyBlue
, when she is arrested for the attempted murder of a patient. After being cleared of the attack, Jac briefly becomes softer in her outlook, attempting to make amends with colleagues and dabbling with Catholicism
.
plays ward sister Karen Newburn, who appears from series one, episode three until series two, episode 16. Karen has a good rapport with most of the staff, but puts them in their place if they do something she disagrees with. Karen is the ex-wife of registrar Nick Jordan. She agrees to give their relationship a second chance, but when their attempt at reconciliation fails, Nick leaves Holby, and Karen does likewise.
plays medical student Matt Parker. He appears from series seven, episode 29, until series nine, episode 24.
portrays ward sister Frieda Petrenko. Introduced as the cardiothoracic surgery
ward's night shift sister, Frieda transfers to day shifts on the Acute Assessment Unit
to cover the maternity leave of sister Chrissie Williams
(Tina Hobley
). Frieda has an initially antagonistic relationship with F2 doctor Penny Valentine
(Emma Catherwood
). When Penny learns that Frieda was a qualified doctor in her home country, Ukraine
, she encourages her to retrain in the UK. Frieda resists the suggestion, but after being made redundant and having her diagnostic ability challenged by registrar Antoine Malick
(Jimmy Akingbola
), decides to apply for an F1 position, which she achieves early in 2011.
The official Holby City website describes Frieda as "sincere, compassionate, supportive [and] honest", but "self conscious, emotionally closed [and] sarcastic." In 2011, Fedori was short-listed for the "Best Newcomer" award at the National Television Awards
for her performance as Frieda. The award was ultimately won by EastEnders
Ricky Norwood
. Ian Cullen of Monsters and Critics
lamented Fedori's loss, opining that her performance in Holby City is hilarious. Frieda has received critical acclaim, with the Daily Mirror Jim Shelley
naming her the "best character on television". Shelley has included several of her one-liners in his regular "Soundbites of the Week" column, including her excuse: "I saw it in one of your Carry On films. I thought he might like it", delivered after inserting a sunflower into the rectum of a racist patient. Fellow Mirror critic Jane Simon has also praised Frieda, deeming her one of the series' most interesting characters. Simon describes her as a "fearless, straight talking [...] super-nurse", enjoying her ability to "liven up the place with her unlikely combination of ghoulish demeanour and slapstick sense of humour." When a 2011 storyline featured Frieda facing redundancy, Simon commented, "we would be gutted if she left. Her friendly scowl is one of the best things about the show."
plays ward clerk Paul Ripley, who appears in the first three episodes of Holby City. Paul is ordered to leave the hospital after he is seen kissing an unconscious girl in the high dependency unit.
plays midwife Rosie Sattar, who appears from series five, episode 32 until series seven, episode 13.
will appear as surgeon Sahira Shah from February 2011. Announcing her casting, Daniel Kilkelly of media entertainment website Digital Spy
described Sahira as a rival for Jac and love interest for Greg, who shares a "dark history" with Hanssen. Rouass was able to relate to the role as, like herself, Sahira is a mother attempting to balance her personal and professional lives. Executive producer Belinda Campbell stated that Rouass brought a "fresh new energy" to the series and that Sahira had been a "joy to create", commenting on the character: "While on the surface she appears to be cool and calm, underneath it all, she is kicking madly just to keep afloat. It will be fascinating to explore what is really going on underneath the façade of perfection Sahira has created for herself. I'm sure her character will be someone a lot of viewers will recognise in themselves."
plays midwife Ben Saunders, appearing between series four, episode 17 and series five, episode 29. Ben is the first regular male homosexual character in the show. He has a crossover romance, with Tony Vincent from Casualty
. The pair's frequent clashes and Ben's cheating with another man lead to a violent dock-side fight, as a result of which Tony suffers serious kidney damage. The two break up, and are unable to reconcile. Ben struggles with coming out as gay to his parents, and at one stage enlists the help of fellow midwife and good friend Lisa Fox. When Ben's car is stolen by the teenage son of colleague Steve Waring, a car chase ensues, resulting in a crash which traps both Ben and Steve inside Steve's car. Ben dies within minutes of being cut out of the vehicle.
plays healthcare assistant Danny Shaugnessy, who appears from series two, episode one until series five, episode 31. Danny works alongside his mother, ward sister Kath. he has relationships with Victoria Merrick and Diane Lloyd, and later trains as a student nurse on Otter ward. He eventually leaves to start a new life in Australia.
plays consultant general surgeon Michael Spence, who first appears in the episode "Unfinished Symphony" - series ten, episode six of the programme. Dhillon describes his character as: "kind of the counterpoint to Ric Griffin
. So he's just a little bit lippy; if he's thinking it, it's out of his mouth, and a total straight shooter, very direct." Michael is married to anaesthetist Annalese Carson. His storylines see him cheat on his wife with nurse Donna Jackson, with Dhillon explaining: "(H)e's kind of a serial womaniser. [...] The trouble is, Michael had an affair at another hospital. He left because he wanted a clean slate. Essentially he wants to flirt - it's in his nature. With the introduction of the character, a new private ward was annexed to the hospital, known as HolbyCare.
plays cardiothoracic registrar Sam Strachan. Chambers was cast as Sam after auditioning for the smaller role of an American doctor, and impressing casting director Julie Harkin so much that he was invited back to audition for the bigger role. The character takes a more serious turn after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
, a storyline for which Tom Chambers actually shaved his own hair for realism. Sam has proved highly popular amongst fans of the show, voted in the 2007 fan awards "Favourite All-Time Male" character. However, he also attracted controversy when a scene in which he was depicted binge drinking caused drinks regulatory body the Portman Group
to lodge an official complaint with OFCOM
, for what they deemed a "highly irresponsible portrayal of excessive and rapid drinking".
plays staff nurse Ray Sykes, who appears from the first episode of Holby City until series two, episode 16. Ray is Darwin ward's comedian. He often engages in jokes with patients and enjoys match-making and gossiping. Ray is unsure of his sexuality and starts dating a former patient, Damien. When he tells Damien he wants to break up, Damien takes it badly and has another heart attack. Ray calls an ambulance and Kirstie Collins arrives, but is unable to save Damien, leaving Ray devastated.
plays Alistair Taylor, a cardiothoracic consultant who appears from series four, episode 45 until series six, episode 33. Alistair has an unstable marriage with his wife and colleague Janice, with whom he has a daughter, Flora. The relationship collapses after he pursues an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
. Alistair is killed off in the 2004 Casualty@Holby City
crossover after escaping a fire by jumping out of a window.
plays consultant paediatrician Janice Taylor, who appears from series three, episode two until series four, episode 44. Janice is married to Alistair, who works at Holby on a locum basis on Darwin ward. She is initially oblivious to the fact that her husband has been having an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
, until she finds out she is pregnant. Janice decides to keep the baby but move away from Alistair. Her last episode sees her have an emergency caesarean. Her baby, Flora, needs a heart operation which Alistair carries out. Flora survives, Janice thanks him, then departs from the series.
who appears in series seven from episode six until episode 43. Sean is a love interest of nurse Jess Griffin. He initially believes he is the father of her baby, but even after she revealed the child is anaesthetist Zubin Khan's, he continues to support her. After Jess leaves him for Zubin, he transfers quietly to neighbouring hospital St. James'.
plays nurse Kyla Tyson, who first appears in the series eight episode "I'll Be Back". Ayola had made a former minor appearance in the show several years prior to being cast as Kyla, and was asked to return in a more permanent role three years later. The character is the focus of a number of hard hitting plot strands, including being subjected to domestic abuse, having her son taken into foster care
, and battling resultant alcoholism
. In August 2006, Ayola was shortlisted for the "Female Performance in TV" award at the fourth Screen Nation Awards
for her portrayal of the character, and was granted "Honourable Mention" in the same category the following year. Ayola chose not to renew her Holby City contract, in order to have a second child. She makes her final appearance in series eleven, when she decides between moving to Rotterdam
with her son, or to Ghana
with lover Abra Durant
.
plays Oliver Valentine, who first appears in series eleven, along with his sister, Penny, as a Foundation House Officer
. Registrar Jac Naylor
originally dislikes Oliver, but later realises that not only is he a good doctor, but he also tries to understand the patients, and has him transferred to the Acute Assessment Unit
. On AAU, Oliver becomes friends with Chrissie Williams
. They sleep together, and Chrissie becomes pregnant, but goes on to miscarry. Oliver is transferred to the general surgery
ward, Keller, after annoying AAU lead Linden Cullen
. Oliver works alongside Jac on Keller ward, and the two share a kiss, which Penny photographs and posts throughout the hospital. Oliver attempts to hide the photos from ward sister Daisha Anderson, who he is casually dating. When Daisha discovers the photos, she slaps him and ends their relationship. Oliver caused friction on Darwin when he treated a patient that nearly killed him and lied to Connie that Greg left him unsupervised to save his own skin. Greg however found out and got his own back at him by setting him up with a prostitute. On 1st March 2011, Oliver landed himself in hot water when the patient he made a mistake when closing him up a while ago was brought back on AAU. Under stress that the mistake would make him repeat his F2 year, tried to persuade Penny to take the blame. With an enquiry looming, Oliver snuck into Michael Spence's files and deleted his name from the list, trying to put Penny's name instead thus jeopardising her own career which had gone from strength to strength. However, he was eventually caught out by registrar Antoine Malick and was reported. When Penny found out what he tried to do, she said what he did was unforgivable and said he was "Toxic". It was then revealed that Oliver is actually practicing illegally, as he stole his sister's papers and passed them off as his own. Penny told him to admit it all to Michael Spence or she will, and gave him a deadline. Although the results showed that Oliver was innocent, he somewhat started to spiral out of control and breaks down in front of Penny when he confesses that he cheated on their final exams before starting work at Holby, passing her exam off as his, therefore not legally qualified to work as a Doctor. Penny was furious for what he did and told him that he has to confess his bombshell by the time she returns from annual leave, or she will. On the episode broadcast on 12th April 2011, Penny was killed saving a patient at the wreckage of train crash, leaving Oliver to identify the body. He plans tells the truth to Mallick, who convinces him not to tell anyone, saying that this conversation NEVER HAPPENED. Oliver is last seen in this episode sitting on a bench with Penny's belongings.
played Penny Valentine, who first appears in series eleven, along with her brother, Oliver, as a Foundation House Officer. Catherwood sat in on several bypass operations
as preparation for the role. She also dyed her hair red, commenting: "I think it suits Penny. She's quite feisty and ambitious and enjoys a friendly rivalry with her brother Oliver". On her first day at the hospital, Penny proves herself confident but averse to becoming close to patients. Registrar Jac Naylor
takes an instant dislike to her, and ignores her request to be transferred to AAU, instead placing her on Keller ward. After improving herself as a doctor on Keller, Penny is transferred to Darwin with Elliot Hope as her mentor. While working on Darwin, Penny secretly starts a relationship with patient Scott James, who requires a heart transplant. Elliot realises what has transpired between doctor and patient, and is disappointed with Penny. Disillusioned with her career, Penny decides to move to Spain with Scott, however Scott ends their relationship on Oliver's advice. Penny occasionally smokes, much to the disdain of her brother. Penny's full name is revealed to be Persephone, not, as might be supposed, Penelope. She died in the episode broadcast on 12 April 2011 after an accident at a train crash, her body was identified by her brother, Oliver.
plays charge nurse Steve Waring, who appears from series three, episode two until series five, episode 31. Steve falls in love with nurse practitioner Jasmine Hopkins, and has an affair ith her. His son, Robbie, finds out about the affair, but decides not to tell his mother. The relationship between Steve and Jasmine falls apart. Steve later has a relationship with registrar Diane Lloyd, and takes a new job working on AAU. When Robbie joyrides in a colleague's car, Steve chases him and is involved in a car accident, later dying from his injuries.
plays Dean West, a fourth year medical student who appears in Holby City from series seven, episode 29 until series nine, episode 24. The character has cerebral palsy
and was introduced to the show as part of the BBC's commitment to diversity on television, with series producer Emma Turner explaining: "The BBC aims to make Holby City truly representative of its audience and Paul is an essential ingredient of that." Henshall, who became the first disabled actor to feature permanently in a TV series, was cast after applying for the BBC's Talent Scheme, which also won him a role in the eighteenth series of sister show Casualty. The role of Dean was created specifically for Henshall, who describes the character as: "cheeky but kind hearted. He's probably not really as confident as he appears." Dean's storylines concentrate on his attempts to progress in his career despite his disability, and his friendship with fellow medical student Matt Parker. After falling out with Matt, Dean leaves to pursue a career opportunity in psychiatry. While Henshall stated: "I never attempt to play Dean as a 'disabled character'. I just try to make him as real as I can as a person", upon his departure from the series, he commented: "I would have liked to see Dean doing more on the show and not always making mistakes and being a scapegoat. I wasn't happy that I'd seen myself described as being 'brought in to honour the BBC's commitment to disabled actors'; if Dean had done more on the show, they would have been able to talk about my storylines." With regards to public reception of the character, Henshall stated: "I get a lot of positive responses about Dean. Some are from disabled people who see Dean as an inspiration and some from people who just think he's a great character."
plays ward sister Chrissie Williams, the longest serving main character to date, having appeared in the programme since its third series
. Chrissie is presented as a classic "maneater", with major storylines focusing around her affairs with colleagues Alistair Taylor, Owen Davis, Ed Keating, Mubbs Hussein, Michael Beauchamp and Sam Strachan
. The character was written out of the series for a month in 2006, when Hobley was suspended for breaking her contractual agreement with the BBC not to appear on any other shows whilst starring in Holby City. She returned in 2007, though was again temporarily written out whilst Hobley took maternity leave following the birth of her second daughter. Chrissie returned briefly in October 2008, before returning again in the February 2009 episode "Take Her Breath Away".
plays consultant nurse Mark Williams, who arrives in Holby City
in the series seven episode "Stick or Twist", as an addition to the series' existing Williams family, consisting of his daughter, Chrissie
and wife Tricia. Powell commented that he took the role of Mark as: "I've never done a drama series of this kind before. It's great fun being allowed to develop a character over years rather than weeks." Mark's major storylines center around his relationship with his family, having to deal with Tricia's breast cancer
, the revelation that Chrissie is not his biological daughter, and Tricia's death in a road traffic accident. In the aftermath of Tricia's death, Mark is seen to battle a cocaine
addiction - a storyline criticised by the media for its surrealism. Mark is now the CEO of the hospital after being involved in a new relationship with Judith Marchant.
plays Tricia Williams, a staff nurse and the mother of ward sister Chrissie Williams, who appears from series five, episode 27 until series nine, episode six.
plays staff nurse Kelly Yorke, who appears from series five, episode 39, until series six, episode 17. Kelly is revealed to be a serial killer, responsible for multiple deaths on Keller ward. She kills herself after causing her brother Nic's death in an explosion.
plays SHO Maddy Young, introduced in the series nine episode "Face Value", as a sidekick to, and old friend of established character Dan Clifford. The character's storylines see her embark on a short-lived romance with Dan, and address hidden family secrets, including treating her escaped convict father, and attempting to help her heroin addict twin sister cover up the death of her daughter from a methadone
overdose. The character proved popular with fans, and was long-listed for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award at the 2007 National Television Awards
, as well as voted Holby City fans' "Favourite Newcomer" of series nine. However, in October 2007, the character came under criticism from drinks industry body the Portman Group
, resulting from an incident of on-screen binge drinking, which the group lambasted as "highly irresponsible." Maddy departs from the serial in series eleven after being stabbed to death by one of her sister's prison enemies.
plays general surgical
registrar
Thandie-Abebe Griffin. She first appears in the series 9 episode "Stargazer" as the new fiancé of consultant Ric Griffin
(Hugh Quarshie
), having become engaged to him during his sabbatical in Uganda
. Thandie struggles as a doctor, and has Ric write her a reference when her real one proves uncomplimentary. She accuses cardiothoracic consultant Elliot Hope
(Paul Bradley
) of racial discrimination when he comments on her poor performance. On her wedding day, it is revealed that Thandie never actually qualified as a doctor, and Ric breaks up with her, escorting her back to Uganda.
Thandie returns in series 12, hired as a locum cardiothoracic registrar. She makes amends with Elliot, though clashes with Ric, who files for divorce. Ric attempts to stop Thandie from being hired at the hospital on a permanent basis, however when she is investigated by the Home Office
, he realises he still has feelings for her. Quarshie explained that upon Thandie's return, Ric initially believes her to be a "terrible person", however ultimately realises that he has been allowing his emotions to interfere with his work, and when Thandie correctly diagnoses a patient, he is impressed to realise that he has underestimated her medical ability. He and Thandie renew their relationship, until Thandie's terminally ill brother arrives and requests that Thandie euthanise him. Holder has commented that Thandie is "horrified" by his request, but ultimately complies out of mercy. Thandie's decision ends her relationship with Ric, as her husband is: "a man of principle" who "doesn't agree with what she's done, but he does understand." Thandie then hands in her resignation and returns to Uganda with her brother's body. Holder has stated that there is a possibility Thandie may return in the future, revealing that she did not expect to return for the show's twelfth series, so could be invited back again.
plays Michael Beauchamp, chairman of the hospital board and husband of cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp. He has a marked ruthless streak, on one occasion having his own wife removed from duty to cover up his negligence. He has an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
, promoting her to matron because of their relationship. His corruption ultimately leads to his downfall. He covers up an outbreak of VRSA
, which causes the death of several patients. Connie forces him to unwittingly confess, and Michael is arrested for manslaughter. He spends ten months in prison then is released on appeal.
plays Lord Charles Byrne, a cardiothoracic consultant and the father of registrar Joseph Byrne. He works at Holby General's neighbouring hospital St. Luke's, and holds positions of power within the local medical sphere, including a role on the board of Holby's Trust. He has close ties to the Durant family, and is an old friend of the father of Abra Durant
, for whom he finds research work after a brief spell at Holby General. He manipulates Connie Beauchamp
to secure Joseph's position at the hospital, and constantly pushes his son to advance his career. His younger son, Harry, attempted suicide whilst a student at medical school, and is in a comatose state for several series before dying. Charles initially encourages the developing relationship between Joseph and general surgical registrar Jac Naylor
, however after a hospital night out, he sleeps with Jac himself and begins an affair. When his wife, Anne-Marie, learns of his infidelity, she ends their marriage. Charles suffers a heart attack during series nine, and dies following surgery.
plays Lady Anne-Marie Byrne, the wife of consultant Lord Charles Byrne, and the mother of registrar Joseph Byrne. Anne-Marie first appears in the series nine episode "After the Fall". After making several guest appearances throughout series nine and ten, Asher signed a three month contract to become a series regular from May 2008 onwards, for a period of 10 episodes. Her initial storyline saw her son's girlfriend, Jac Naylor
, embark on an affair with Anne-Marie's own husband - eventually culminating in his death, and leaving the character a widow. Upon her return to Holby City, she takes over Charles' position as Executive Chairman of the Byrne Foundation - a charity committed to research into Cardiac Valve Disease
. She also begins a relationship with Joseph's mentor, Elliot Hope
, which ends as he is still mourning his deceased wife Gina.
plays Annalese Carson, a locum consultant anaesthetist and the wife of general surgeon Michael Spence. Annalese arrives in series 11, discovering that her husband has had an affair with nurse Donna Jackson
. Hari Dhillon
has revealed of his character's relationship with his wife: "I think Michael and Annalese are complements to each other. They are certainly very different to each other, but they understand one another, and have a deep, loving relationship. I'm starting to realize that Annalese is the one person in the world - along with his children - that Michael truly loves. [...] It would be unimaginable to Michael to envision a world without his wife. He certainly would never try to hurt Annalese deliberately, but he just loves attention from women."
After confronting Michael about his affair, Annalese loses concentration during an operation, leading to the death of a patient. Michael attempts to cover up for her mistake, but in a random breathalyser test, Annalese tests positive for alcohol consumption. When cardiothoracic surgeon Connie Beauchamp
discovers the result of the test, she has CEO Jayne Grayson
admit Annalese's negligence to the patient's relatives, and Annalese is charged with manslaughter. Although she is acquitted of the charge, she is suspended from work and leaves the hospital, after telling Michael she is pregnant with their fourth child, but is leaving him over his infidelity. Annalese returns briefly in series eleven, when her daughter is admitted to hospital after falling down the stairs. After Michael and colleague Ric Griffin
save her life, Annalese and Michael renew their relationship. She later gives birth to a son, Charlie. When Michael announces that Annalese has given birth, he jokingly tells his colleagues that the baby's name is Brock.
A year later, Michael and Annalese are seeing a marriage counsellor, who, during their last session, collapses, having suffered a cardiac arrest. They get him to the hospital, though Annalese does not turn up to meet Michael after he comes out of surgery. She then throws him out of their home. A few weeks later, having left Michael several messages on his answering machine, Annalese arrives at the hospital and tells him that she wants a divorce. She later begins a relationship with Ric. Annalese later finds out Ric has Cancer.
plays Carlos Fashola, a plastic surgeon
who appears between series six, episode 42 and series seven, episode 34.
plays physiotherapist Justin Fuller in series eight, from episode 23 to 37.
plays CEO
Jayne Grayson, who first appears in the series nine episode "Under the Radar". Gonet's casting as Jayne was announced on 15 June 2007, when Gonet said of joining the cast of Holby City: "I am absolutely delighted to be hiring and firing at Holby." The BBC
describe Jayne as "a witty and ambitious go-getter who strives relentlessly to achieve her aims", but who "thinks of herself as Solomon." Jayne's first official act as Holby City Hospital's new CEO is to investigate a fabricated racial discrimination allegation made against consultant
cardiothoracic surgeon
Elliot Hope
by staff surgeon
Thandie Abebe - making her immediately unpopular amongst the staff. In episode "The Q Word", it is revealed that prior to arriving at Holby, Jayne worked as a management consultant, and that when asked for help by her own father with his struggling business, she dismissed him from his position and took control of the company herself in a hostile takeover. In episode "Temporary Insanity", Jayne furthers her growing unpopularity amongst the staff by again turning down Abra Durant
and Ric Griffin's
proposals for charity operations at night. In July 2008, Jayne convinces the hospital's Board of Directors to create a Director of Surgery post. She has Connie Beauchamp
and Ric Griffin
apply for the job, secretly pitting them against each other by professing to support each of them. However, Jayne is successful in keeping the immigrant Tan family at Holby to have their baby rather than being deported back to a nation where they would be killed.
plays Keith Greene, a consultant anaesthetist who is constantly maligned within the show for his poor sense of humour and irritable temper. He has featured in Holby City since its seventh series, becoming the show's Head of Anaesthetics following the departure of Zubin Khan. In episode "The Key Is Fear", Keith is verbally abused by a drunken Stuart McElroy, who surmises him to be an "obsequious, supercilious, insipid four-eyed toss-pot." In the episode "Breathe Deeply", Greene collapses during surgery after becoming contaminated by a toxin from a patient. It causes him to stop breathing; resulting in him being intubated
, though he goes on the make a full recovery. He tells Joseph Byrne that he was formerly married but Mrs. Greene divorced him. Greene applies for the Director of Surgery job, clashing with Connie Beauchamp, however neither of them get the position - which instead goes to general surgical consultant Michael Spence.
Macqueen is set to depart the show in the near future to concentrate on other acting projects.
plays Gina Hope, the wife of cardiothoracic consultant Elliot Hope
, and mother of James and Martha Hope. Gina has Motor Neurone Disease
, and as her condition deteriorates, she becomes increasingly bleak in her outlook - at one point having a DNR
put on her records, which Elliot directly defies. When she collapses at home, he enlists Martha and registrar Joseph Byrne to aid him in fitting Gina with a tracheotomy
against her express wishes. Although Gina thanks him for saving her, she soon returns to losing the will to continue. She refuses experimental treatment in Singapore, and after befriending Connie Beauchamp
, goes away to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide. She changes her mind about not telling Elliot at the last minute, and he flies to Switzerland to join her as she ends her life. Gina's death occurs in series eight, episode 52, though the character reappears in series ten in a fantasy sequence in the episode Elliot's Wonderful Life.
plays Martha Hope, the daughter and youngest child of Gina and Elliot Hope
, and sister of James Hope. She first appears in Holby City in the episode "Quality Time", when she discovers her mother has Motor Neurone Disease
. When Gina goes into respiratory arrest, she assists her father and Joseph Byrne
in resuscitating her and surgically fitting a tracheotomy, against Gina's express wishes. After her mother's suicide, Martha relies heavily on Joseph, developing a crush on him much to the irritation of his girlfriend, Jac Naylor
. She begins working in the hospital as a Healthcare Assistant, supporting her father through his grief. However, Elliot succeeds in convincing his daughter to return to university in the episode "Can't Buy Me Love". In series ten, episode nine, Martha is shot in the arm by STI nurse Tim, and is trapped in a lift with Chrissie when they try to escape. She survives, however, and returns in the eleventh series, having married in Las Vegas
in secret.
plays Bradley Hume, the Assistant General Manager of the Holby City Hospital PCT
, who appears in series eight from episode 32 to 52.
plays recurring character Ed Loftwood, a cardiothoracic consultant and Clinical Lead at the hospital. He encourages Alex Adams to return to the hospital following his departure, and also has lab technician Reg Lund on his firm for a time. He opposes Connie Beauchamp's planned expansion of Darwin ward, however still recommends that she apply for his Clinical Lead position upon his retirement. Loftwood steps down from the position, but remains at the hospital in a surgical capacity.
plays Reg Lund, a medical researcher and registrar who appears from series seven, episode 37 until series eight, episode 32. He works in the hospital lab alongside Diane Lloyd, and explains to her that while he had been technically competent as a registrar, he found it hard to summon the people skills to work with patients, resulting in a number of fatalities. However, on several occasions he is able to aid both Diane and Abra Durant
in emergency operations, and eventually moves to work on the Acute Assessment Unit
. While there, he develops a crush on nurse Donna Jackson
which goes unreciprocated. He confesses his love to her and attempts to convince her that her boyfriend, manager Bradley Hume does not really care for her. Although Donna eventually breaks up with Bradley, she explains to Reg that she values him as a friend and nothing more.
plays CEO Vanessa Lytton. Vanessa arrives in the episode "The Spirit Dancing" - series eleven, episode 52 of the programme, replacing former CEO Jayne Grayson. Ash was cast in the role after a five-year break from acting, due to complications arising from MSSA
. As Ash is disabled, Vanessa walks with the aid of a walking stick
. Ash has praised Holby City producers for their willingness to cast a disabled actress, though faced some media criticism for accepting the role, as she had previously received £5 million compensation for loss of earnings from the hospital at which she contracted MSSA. Vanessa is a "scheming", "conniving and calculated" executive, whose storylines see her clash with several members of the hospital's senior staff.
plays clinical matron Judith Marchant. She initially clashes with consultant nurse Mark Williams, though they become closer when Mark supports her during a hard day. Mark's daughter Chrissie starts dislikes Judith when she discovers she suggested Mark be made redundant and they later clash when Chrissie accuses her of embarrassing her in front of her nurses. When Judith's son Connor is admitted to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, her ex-husband Paul arrives and blames Judith for not informing him sooner. Mark is hostile towards him and annoys Judith by interfering, so Mark then talks to Paul and they reach a truce, and Judith and Mark are friends again and decide to meet up on boxing day. Judith and Mark begin a romantic relationship. She loses her job when CEO Vanessa Lytton
requires a scapegoat for a hospital scandal, and Judith decides to move to Manchester, where Paul is moving with Connor. She later returned in March to get a reference from Vanessa for another job. The reference is useless and Mark has been preoccupied with Daisha and hasn't taken the time to talk to Vanessa as he promised Judith he was. After a small confrontation they agree to meet in the cafe. When Mark doesn't turn up because he is with Daisha, Judith leaves a voicemail telling him it's over between them; she can't be second best again, and leaves for Manchester that night.
appears in Holby City series ten and eleven as Tom O'Dowd, a friend of Leo Griffin, Ric's son. He is a heroin addict who dropped out of medical school, but re-enrols after Leo dies from an overdose. He works at Holby General as a student doctor, but begins using drugs again. Ric tells his father about his drug abuse, and Tom is disinherited in his will. When his father dies, Tom departs from the hospital.
plays Tara Sodia, a cardiothoracic consultant who first appears in the series eleven episode "Attachments". She is an old university friend of Elliot Hope's, with whom she co-created a pioneering medical technique which resulted in the death of a child. Tara is described as "a prickly character" who rubs other doctors up the wrong way. She was created to add a comedic presence to the series following the departure of Adrian Edmondson
as Abra Durant
. In preparation for the role, Syal observed real surgeons performing several operations. Tara arrives in Holby as a surprise for Elliot, who is celebrating his 50th birthday. She convinces him to attempt to repeat their pioneering medical technique on another child. Elliot initially refuses, but later changes his mind. The operation is successful, and, impressed with Tara's experience and commitment to work, Jayne Grayson offers her a full-time contract. When Tara refuses to respect a patient's DNR
order, she re-considers her future at the hospital, but is convinced to stay by Elliot, with whom she shares a kiss.
, which he almost immediately revokes when Abra proved uncompliant with the will of the board - opposing Sutherland's plans to reserve one operating theatre for emergency cases only. He is instrumental in Abra's departure - hiring Dan Clifford to uncover the corruption he suspects within the general surgery department. He also convinces Connie Beauchamp
not to leave Holby for Sweden by securing extra funding for the cardiothoracic department. He is seen to pit rival surgeons Dan Clifford and Ric Griffin
against one another upon Ric's return from a sabbatical in Uganda. Towards the end of his tenure, he fires Lola Griffin after she proves resistant to hectic AAU workloads and attempts to cause drama in the local press about departmental overcrowding. When Sutherland refuses to pay for agency nurses, leading to a work to rule day amongst the nursing staff, Elliot Hope
calls a vote of no confidence against him, and he is subsequently dismissed and replaced by Jayne Grayson
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
television series that premiered on 12 January 1999 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. The series was created by Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
and Mal Young
Mal Young
Mal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
as a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from the established BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
medical drama Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
. It is set in the same hospital as Casualty, Holby General, in the fictional city of Holby
Holby
Holby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border...
, and features occasional crossovers of characters and plots with both Casualty (in episodes broadcast as Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
) and the show's 2007 police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
spin-off HolbyBlue
HolbyBlue
HolbyBlue was a British police drama series that aired on BBC One from 2007 to 2008. Produced by the BBC, Red Planet Pictures and Kudos for BBC One, it is a spin-off of the successful BBC One medical drama Holby City, itself a spin-off of the long-running series Casualty.The first series was...
.
Holby City follows the professional and personal lives of surgeons, nurses, other medical and ancillary staff and patients at Holby General. It features an ensemble cast of regular characters, and began with 11 main characters in its first series, all of whom have since left the show. New main characters have been both written in and out of the series since. In addition, Holby City features guest stars each week, as well as recurring guests that take part in story arcs that span a portion of a series. Occasionally, the recurring guest storylines will span multiple series. Many actors in the series have made prior, minor appearances as both patients and staff members in both Holby City and Casualty - in some instances crediting these former appearances for their later casting as main characters in Holby City.
Casting
In casting the first series of Holby City, Young selected actors who were already established names in the acting industry, primarily from a soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
background. He cast Michael French as Nick Jordan, George Irving
George Irving (English actor)
George Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...
as Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
, Angela Griffin
Angela Griffin
Angela Griffin is a British actress and television presenter.-Acting career:She appeared in the popular long-running British soap operas Emmerdale and most famously in Coronation Street as Fiona Middleton from 1993 to 1998...
as Jasmine Hopkins, Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
as Victoria Merrick and Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
as Julie Bradford. Young explained: "Soap actors are the best actors. There's been so much snobbery before. The whole thing about typecasting was probably invented by actors who couldn't get other work. From day one I knew I wanted to put on screen people that viewers want to watch. There’s no downside to that." This propensity for hiring established actors continued as the soap progressed, with later roles being awarded to comedian Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, former film actress Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
, and Jesus of Nazareth star Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
. When Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
was cast in the recurring role of Lady Byrne in 2007, Inside Soap
Inside Soap
Inside Soap is a weekly UK magazine, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas shown in the United Kingdom....
magazine asked series producer Diane Kyle whether the production team intentionally sought out "well-known-names", or whether roles simply went to the actor best-suited for the part. Kyle responded: "It's lovely when we have a new member of the cast come in and bring an audience with them. But we want the best actors, and the star names we cast are always the best - which is why we go for them."
Many cast members who play main characters have made previous appearances in Holby City and Casualty in minor roles. Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
, who plays cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
, appeared as the mother of a paediatric patient in the show's fourth series. Luke Roberts
Luke Roberts (actor)
Luke Roberts is an English actor, most notable for his role as Joseph Byrne on Holby City. He has previously appeared as Captain Dan Pieterson in the Sky1 drama Mile High and before that had a principal role in the short-lived third series of the TV classic Crossroads...
, who plays registrar Joseph Byrne, appeared as the son of a medical professor in Holby City seventh series, Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
, who plays registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
appeared in both Holby City and Casualty as a patient on three occasions. Stella Gonet
Stella Gonet
Stella Gonet is a Scottish theatre, film and TV actress.- Career :Gonet trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and is known for playing Beatrice Eliott, one of the two lead roles, in three series of the television drama, The House Of Eliott and Chief Executive Officer Jayne...
, who plays CEO Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Stella Gonet. The character first appeared on-screen on 10 July 2007 in episode "Under the Radar" - series 9, episode 39 of the programme...
, had a minor role as an anaesthetist in Casualty, while Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City.-Background:...
, who plays general surgical consultant Michael Spence, previously appeared as a recurring anaesthetist in Holby City. In some instances, actors have stated that it was their guest appearances which lead to their casting in more permanent roles. Roberts believes that his single scene in series seven was enough for him to be called in for the part of Joseph, explaining: "I hear it got the attention of the producers. Amanda Mealing put a good word in for me that day as well." Conversely, Dhillon dismissed his minor role as Dr Sunil Gupta as a part he took immediately after leaving drama school, unable to even recall the year of his appearance.
Alex Adams
Jeremy Sheffield plays Alex Adams, a cardiothoracic registrar and a protege of Anton MeyerAnton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
. He appears from series three, episode one
Holby City (series 3)
The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
until series five, episode 45. A romance with SHO Sam Kennedy almost ends his career, when Sam gets him drunk in an attempt to lure him into spending the night with her. Unaware he is over the speed limit, Alex causes the death of a young boy due to drink driving. He escapes a jail sentence, but departs for America when Meyer accepts a position overseas. He later returns and has a brief romance with Jess Griffin, as a result of which she becomes pregnant, but opts for an abortion. Alex goes on to suffer from the onset of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, affecting his ability to work. He comes close to attempting suicide, but is talked out of it by Diane Lloyd, after which he leaves Holby for good.
Daisha Anderson
Rebecca Grant plays nurse Daisha Anderson, who first appears in the episode "Twelve Hour Nightmare", series ten, episode 24. Daisha is described by the BBC as "a forthright and assertive Filipina with a highly tuned sense of right and wrong. She doesn't understand hierarchy or tact but is straightforward and honest and has a natural antenna when it comes to flirting." Holby City was Grant's first television role. She explained of her introductory storyline: "Some characters get a huge introduction, but mine has a 'flow' to it." Daisha's first appearance in Holby City explains that, although the character has been working at Holby City Hospital for some time in order to financially support her family in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, she has previously only worked on the Orthopedic ward - not one of the four wards the show focuses on. Daisha forms a close friendship with nursing consultant Mark Williams (Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
). She flirts with Mark in order to win a transfer to Darwin ward, and moves in with him after breaking up with her boyfriend and being assaulted by her landlord, coming to rely on him yet further upon discovering herself to be pregnant. Mark also aids Daisha in becoming ambassador of the Byrne Foundation for cardiothoracic care, and promotes her to Sister of Keller ward, leading some to question the true nature of their relationship.
Stan Ashleigh
Paul Shane plays Stan Ashleigh, a healthcare assistant who appears in Holby City from series three, episode oneHolby City (series 3)
The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
to series six, episode two.
Tash Bandara
Thusitha JayasunderaThusitha Jayasundera
Thusitha Jayasundera is a Sri Lankan actress based in the United Kingdom.Thusitha played Tushura 'Tash' Bandara in the BBC Hospital Drama Holby City for three years. She later played Ramani DeCosta in the ITV1 police drama The Bill....
plays Tash Bandara, a general surgical registrar who appears from series two, episode five
Holby City (series 2)
The second series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 25 November 1999, and concluded on 9 March 2000.-Production:...
until series four, episode 37. Tash had a relationship with SHO Kirstie Collins prior to her arrival at Holby. She clashes with nurse practitioner Jasmine Hopkins, disparaging her position in the hospital. When Tash's father visits the hospital, she discovers he has Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. She tells him she is a lesbian, and he refuses to accept her identity. When Tash's ex-girlfriend arrives, terminally ill from complications arising from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, Tash decides to join her on a world tour, and departs from Holby.
Rachel Baptiste
Ayesha AntoineAyesha Antoine
Ayesha Antoine is an English actress. She is known for portraying Rachel Baptiste in Holby City, and Poppy Silver in Grange Hill.-Background:...
plays Rachel Baptiste, who appears from series eleven, episode six as a staff nurse on the general surgery ward, Keller. Antoine had formerly appeared in Holby City series seven, episode five, as Mel Allen, the relative of a patient. She described her character upon her introduction as "quite nervous, but very excited", expanding that: "She loves her job, caring for people and being helpful. She is at the beginning of a new stage in her life, and it's quite an upturn for her, and she's just very interested in getting to know everyone and is excited at being part of a group." The BBC describe Rachel as: "warm and kind but perhaps a little too trusting. She's anxious to please. She loves nursing but her real passion is her boyfriend, Patrick." Antoine received just a thumbnail sketch of Rachel's background, but commented that: "I love it. Give me a bit of spare time and I'll tell you what my character did age four and a half - whether it's a lot or a little, it's all good." During Holby City eleventh series, Rachel uncovers Daisha Anderson's post-natal depression and helps to support her, before being transferred to the hospital's geriatric ward. Executive producer Tony McHale
Tony McHale
Tony McHale is a British actor, writer and director who has the dubious honour of being best known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on Game For A Laugh and later, Beadle's About. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He also enjoyed a long stint as a writer/director on the top rated BBC1 soap opera...
commented on Rachel's transfer: "Although she is still working in the hospital, we are not likely to see her on our regular wards for some time."
Mike Barratt
Clive MantleClive Mantle
-Early life and education:Mantle was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was a pupil at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire and a chorister in St John's College Choir for four years...
plays Mike Barratt, a consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
general surgeon who previously appeared in Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
practising emergency medicine
Emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
. He appears in Holby City from series two, episode five until series three, episode 30, working on the hospital's Keller ward. At the end of the second series, Mike severely damages his leg after stepping on a poacher's trap and rolling hundreds of feet down a hill on a team building course. He recovers, and returns to work on crutches. At the end of the third series he is offered a job in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, which he refuses, although he does not return for the fourth series.
Connie Beauchamp
Amanda MealingAmanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
plays Connie Beauchamp, a consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
cardiothoracic surgeon
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
on Holby General's Darwin ward. Connie first appears in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", She is initially portrayed as a married man-eater, engaging in extra-marital trysts with Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
and registrars
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Mubbs Hussein and Will Curtis, though goes on to become a loving mother to her daughter, Grace, fathered by surgical registrar Sam Strachan
Sam Strachan
Samuel Noel "Sam" Strachan is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Tom Chambers. The character first appeared on-screen on 3 January 2006, in episode "Mother Love" - series 8, episode 12 of the programme...
. Connie was briefly written out of the series in 2007 to allow Mealing time out to work on separate projects, but returned to the show at the end of the year in the series ten episode "Elliot's Wonderful Life". She departs the show in
Julie Bradford
Nicola StephensonNicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
plays Julie Bradford, an original character who appears until series three, episode 29. Julie is a single mother with mounting debts. When she is passed over for promotion to deputy ward sister, she resorts to lap dancing at night to care for her daughter. Her alter ego Crystal is exposed when a member of the lap dancing club is admitted to Holby General as a patient and recognises her. Julie is reprimanded, but is given a temporary promotion to help with her financial circumstances. During series two, Julie embarks on a relationship with one of the builders renovating the hospital, but he breaks up with her when he learns she has a child. When her ex-husband Martin arrives and begs Julie to give their relationship another chance, she agrees. They remarry, and leave Holby to start a new life with their daughter in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Joseph Byrne
Luke RobertsLuke Roberts (actor)
Luke Roberts is an English actor, most notable for his role as Joseph Byrne on Holby City. He has previously appeared as Captain Dan Pieterson in the Sky1 drama Mile High and before that had a principal role in the short-lived third series of the TV classic Crossroads...
plays Joseph Byrne, a cardiothoracic surgical registrars introduced in the series eight episode "A Mother's Love". Roberts had made a former appearance in the show's seventh series as a minor character, and attributes this prior role to his eventual casting as Joseph. His major storylines have included an accidental drugs overdose, a relationship with fellow surgical registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
, who cheated on him with his own father, and a relationship with the show's "black widow" character, Ward Sister Faye Morton
Faye Morton
Faye Lindsey Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Patsy Kensit. The character first appeared on-screen on 30 January 2007 in the episode "Into the Dark" - series nine, episode 17 of the program...
. Roberts' portrayal of the role saw him longlisted for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award at the 2006 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
.
Tom Campbell-Gore
Denis LawsonDenis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
plays Tom Campbell-Gore, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon who appears between series four, episode 45 and series six, episode 33.
Dan Clifford
Peter WingfieldPeter Wingfield
Peter Wingfield is a Welsh born television actor, well known for his television roles as Dan Clifford in Holby City, Dr. Robert Helm in Queen of Swords and Inspector Simon Ross in Cold Squad...
plays Dan Clifford, a general surgical consultant who first appears in series nine, episode seven, "It's Been a Long Day". Dan is described as: "sexist, materialistic and egotistical but also incredibly charismatic", and engages in several romantic relationships during his single season on the show. He arrives having left his third fiancé at the altar, and goes on to develop feelings for both SHO Maddy Young
Maddy Young
Madeleine "Maddy" Young is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Nadine Lewington. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 January 2007, in episode "Face Value" - series 9, episode 15 of the programme. Her final appearance in the show was in the Series...
, and his sister-in-law Louise. Of Dan's relationship with Maddy, Wingfield explained: "There was a line in one of the last episodes, 'one of them seems perfect for you' and I always thought that summed it up. Dan and Maddy have always been incredibly close without becoming lovers, but it is obvious that they are great together, so when it happens it is effortless and joyous and has wonderful potential. But Dan's private demons prevent it from being allowed to live and grow. I always thought it might be great for him, if only he could have let it be." Similarly, Nadine Lewington who plays Maddy assessed: "Dan loved Maddy sincerely which is why he didn't want to risk hurting her anymore than he already had. He was too messed up to be good for anyone and he knew it."
Wingfield describes Dan as "decisive, quick-thinking and pragmatic", explaining that "he doesn't allow emotion to control his choices". He says of his reception: "People really responded to the character. He had such a roguishness and a wildness and you never quite knew what he might do or say next and I think that was exciting for people." Dan leaves Holby in series ten episode two "The Last Throw" to accept a prestigious job in France, though reappears briefly in episode "Love Will Tear Us Apart", arranging a meeting with Maddy but ultimately standing her up. He reappears again in Holby City eleventh series, and although Wingfield left the show in order to spend more time with his family in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he has stated that he would return again "in a heartbeat". He explained: "The story would have to be good, but I don't have any doubts that there is much more to explore and more fun to be had with Dan."
Kirstie Collins
Dawn McDanielDawn McDaniel
Dawn McDaniel is a British actress who has played Kirstie Collins in Holby City, and she has appeared in Soldier Soldier, Murphy's Law and Doctors----Other work includes* LIFE BEGINS Granada* MURPHY'S LAW BBC....
plays Kirstie Collins, an original character who appears until series three, episode six as a cardiology registrar. Kirstie flirts with many of the staff, including nurse Danny Shaughnessy. In the second series, it is revealed that Kirstie had previously had a lesbian relationship with registrar Tash Bandara. Kirstie's father, who she has been estranged from for six years, is admitted to the hospital with a damaged liver after years of alcohol abuse. Kirstie agrees to see him and urges him to seek help. She leaves the hospital after undertaking a dangerous rescue.
Linden Cullen
Duncan PowDuncan Pow
Duncan Pow is a Scottish actor best known in his role in Sky One's Dream Team, as Liam Mackay the captain of Harchester United F.C. and as Linden Cullen in the BBC1 medical drama, Holby City.-Early life:...
plays Linden Cullen, the head of Holby General's Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
, introduced in series ten, episode 14, "Stolen". Linden is motivated by his strong Catholicism, admitting in confessional to feeling he has betrayed his dead wife Olivia by developing romantic feelings for Ward Sister Faye Morton
Faye Morton
Faye Lindsey Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Patsy Kensit. The character first appeared on-screen on 30 January 2007 in the episode "Into the Dark" - series nine, episode 17 of the program...
, after he and registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Joseph Byrne track her down in a special episode set on location in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He reveals that Olivia was killed in a car crash, for which he blames himself, and that he has a daughter, Holly, who reminds him of Olivia to the extent that he cannot bear to see her, so is being raised by Olivia's parents instead of him. A long-running series ten plot strand sees Linden become deeply involved with the plight of a pair of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n asylum seekers, one of whom is pregnant with conjoined twins
Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
. As the couple are Christian, he feels compelled by his faith to help them, and ensures that the hospital hosts the twins' separation operation, despite political red-tape.
Will Curtis
Noah HuntleyNoah Huntley
Noah Cornelius Marmaduke Huntley is an English actor, known for his role as Will Curtis in Holby City.-Background:...
plays Will Curtis, a cardiothoracic surgical registrar who appears between series five, episode 32 and series seven, episode 13.
Owen Davis
Mark MoraghanMark Moraghan
Mark Moraghan is a British actor and singer. He has appeared in many British drama series including Peak Practice and Heartbeat...
plays Owen Davis, a consultant obstetrician
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
who appears between series four, episode three and series eight, episode ten.
Greg Douglas
Edward MacLiamEdward MacLiam
Edward MacLiam is an Irish actor. He graduated from RADA in 2001 and is currently playing Greg Douglas in medical drama series Holby City. In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Medical drama series Holby City as Greg/Cal Douglas....
plays Greg Douglas, a registrar in cardiothoracic surgery who first appears in series twelve, working for Connie Beauchamp in London. He follows her back to Holby and begins working on Darwin ward, mentoring F2 doctor Oliver Valentine.
Abra Durant
Adrian Edmonson plays Abra Durant, a consultant surgeon who first appears in the series seven episode "Tuesday's Child", filmed entirely on location in GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
as part of the BBC's "Africa Lives" season. While the role was created for Edmondson as a one-off guest-appearance, he has since reprised the role of Abra six times, stating that he has loved the show since its 1999 conception. Abra's initial role in the show is that of Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
rights champion and humorous surgical maverick, whose major storylines center around serious rule breaking, and his relationship with colleague Kyla Tyson
Kyla Tyson
Kyla Tyson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rakie Ayola. She appeared from 7 February 2006 to 9 December 2008, from the series eight episode "I'll Be Back" to the series eleven episode "Sweet Bitter Love"...
. Upon returning to the show in series eleven, the character takes a darker turn, resorting to self harm as a symptom of post-traumatic stress, following a harrowing experience in the war torn Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Abra returns to Africa after seeking psychiatric help, and makes his final appearance soon thereafter, returning briefly to Holby in an attempt to convince Kyla to move to Ghana with him.
Liam Evans
Adrian Lewis MorganAdrian Lewis Morgan
Adrian Lewis Morgan , Is a Welsh actor, best known for playing Dr. Jimmi Clay in the BBC soap Doctors.The son of a social worker, he was born in Beddau, and has one sister...
plays nurse Liam Evans, who appears from series three, episode 15
Holby City (series 3)
The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
until series four, episode 35. Liam originally works on Keller ward as an agency nurse. He plans to leave the hospital to get married and move to Australia, but when he is jilted on his wedding day, he applies for a permanent position. When Liam overhears his neighbours arguing, he intervenes in an instance of domestic violence and is pushed off a balcony. He is left paralysed from the waist down, and becomes depressed, feeling unable to cope. When his ex-fiancée returns to Holby, she and Liam reconcile and move to Australia.
Lisa Fox
Luisa Bradshaw-WhiteLuisa Bradshaw-White
Luisa Bradshaw-White is an English actress, best known for her roles on Holby City and This Life.-Career:...
plays Lisa Fox, who first appears in Holby City in series four, episode 13, "Shadow of a Doubt (Part 1)", as a midwife on the hospital's maternity ward. She later goes on to become sister of the Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
, then clinical matron of Keller, the hospital's general surgical
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
ward. Following her departure from the show, the official series website described Lisa as: "ambitious, highly capable at her job and didn't suffer fools gladly. However, she sometimes took herself too seriously and was afraid to let her hair down. She had a determined nature and while she could cause friction, she was genuine and honest." Her major storylines revolve around her advancing career, an on-off relationship with colleague Mubbs Hussein, and her father's death by assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
. Lisa also appears in the Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
interactive episode "Something We Can Do". Upon announcing her forthcoming departure from the show on 8 June 2005, BBC Publicity commented: "The character of Lisa has been wonderful in the show and she has always had a huge sense of fun and adventure. So in the months to come we will see her unable to resist the challenge of working in a setting very different to Holby City Hospital." In her final appearance, series 7, episode 48 "Great Expectations", Lisa decides to leave Holby with surgeon Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
and relocate to work with him in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. Although the character had only recently embarked on a new relationship with Mubbs, Bradshaw-White explained: "When he does finally declare his undying love for her and asks to move in with him, Lisa realises it isn't what she wants at all." She expanded that "Lisa's waited so long to hear those words, but she's annoyed to discover he assumed she'd jump at the chance [to move in with him]." She stated that she was "pleased it's a positive ending for [Lisa] as she's been so miserable", and explained that her motivation for leaving Holby City was "Purely because I've been in it four years. I've loved every second here and I probably stayed a year longer than I wanted to, just because I loved it so much."
Kath Fox
Jan PearsonJan Pearson
Jan Pearson is an English actress currently known for playing Karen Hollins in the BBC's daytime soap Doctors which she joined in February 2009. In 2010, Jan won the award of Best On-Screen Partnership for her role as Karen Hollins alongside with Chris Walker.-Early life:Born and brought up in...
plays ward sister Kath Fox between series two episode five and series six episode 26. Kath is the mother of nurse Danny Shaughnessy, and during her early years on the show escapes a violent marriage marred by domestic abuse to Danny's father. Her Christian faith is a strong element of her character, and she struggles emotionally when the hospital's Father Michal develops romantic feelings towards her. She rejects his advances, and he responds by attempting suicide. Later, she falls in love with and marries Terry Fox, father of midwife Lisa Fox. Terry is suffering from cancer, and later takes his own life. Kath is accused of aiding him in euthanasia by Lisa, and is arrested and tried in court, eventually deemed to be innocent. She and Lisa do not reconcile until Kath departs from Holby, leaving the country with her most recent love interest.
Jess Griffin
Verona JosephVerona Joseph
Verona Joseph is a British actress. She played the role of Jess Griffin in the BBC drama series, Holby City between 2002 and 2006 but made reappearances during 2006, 2007 and 2010. In 2004, she appeared in the first series of the BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing with her professional...
plays Jess Griffin, the daughter of consultant general surgeon Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
. Jess first appears in series 4, episode 15, becoming the personal assistant
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
of Owen Davis. She goes on to become a nurse, and departs from the show in series 9, episode 29. She reappeared in series 13, episode 3 on 2 November 2010, married to a man named David and 18 weeks pregnant, and again in series 13, episode 21 on 8 March 2011.
Lola Griffin
Sharon D. Clarke plays Lola Griffin, introduced in Holby Citys seventh series as the two-time ex-wife of Ric GriffinRic Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
, and a cardiothoracic registrar. She is quickly promoted to critical care consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
and head of the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
. However, the fast pace of the AAU combined with her "feisty, controlling" nature culminates in her being fired from the hospital and suffering a heart attack on the same day. Lola recovers following surgery, and is re-employed by the hospital, switching roles once again to become a post=operative care consultant. It has been announced that the character will depart from the show later in 2008, to allow Clarke to return to musical theatre. When Holby General's CEO Jayne Grayson is forced to make a consultant redundant, Lola is top of the list. She leaves the hospital to work as medical officer at a private psychiatric clinic. With the help of Ric, she manages to fool Jayne into doubling her redundancy package even though she has a better job to go to. On her first day, she is reunited with former colleague Abra Durant who is being treated for post traumatic stress syndrome following his time in Africa. When Abra discharges himself and decides to return to Ghana, Lola realises that the new job isn't right for her, so hands in her resignation and leaves with Abra.
Ric Griffin
Hugh QuarshieHugh Quarshie
- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
plays Ric Griffin, the hospital's Head of general surgery
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
. He is portrayed as "stubborn, impulsive and self-destructive," but at the same time "noble and righteous", unafraid to fight for his principles and medical ethics. His major storylines concentrate on his gambling addiction, and his inability to find the right woman. Ric has been married six times (twice to fellow Holby doctor Lola Griffin), and has eight children and two grandchildren, both of whom died. He is the second longest serving character on the show, having arrived at the start of Holby City fourth series. The character was briefly written out in 2006 to allow Quarshie time off to film two episodes of BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, but returned again to the serial in 2007.
Dan Hamilton
Adam Astill plays Dan Hamilton, a Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, who first appears in the episode titled "Blue Valentine" of the thirteenth seriesHolby City (series 13)
The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 October 2010, and ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 11 October 2011.-Episodes:...
. Astill had wanted a role in the series for some time prior to his casting. Billed as charming and sometimes lacking courage, Dan begins a relationship with ward sister Chrissie Williams. However his rivalry with registrar Antoine Malick develops into something more.
Henrik Hanssen
Guy Henry plays Henrik Hanssen, a consultantConsultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
general surgeon
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
and joint Director of Surgery at Holby General, who first appears in the premiere episode of the thirteenth series
Holby City (series 13)
The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 October 2010, and ran for 52 episodes, concluding on 11 October 2011.-Episodes:...
, "Shifts". Hanssen was sent to the hospital by the Department of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
to make budget cuts. He is presented as "punctilious, pedantic and passionate about his work", but with a dry sense of humour.
Sandy Harper
From December 2000 to September 2003, staff nurse Sandy Harper was played by Laura SadlerLaura Sadler
Laura Ruth Sadler was an English actress best known for her role as nurse Sandy Harper in the BBC One hospital drama series Holby City.-TV career:...
. The actress became the centre of extensive media attention when on 15 June 2003, she fell 40 ft (12.2 m) from the balcony of her boyfriend's second floor flat, suffering serious head injuries. Sadler was taken off life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
and died one day later, in Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
. Eight further Holby City episodes featuring Sadler as Sandy had already been filmed, and were aired as scheduled posthumously. BBC scriptwriters consulted Sadler's mother, Sonja Sadler, when devising the character's exit storyline. Mal Young said: "I went there thinking we were all going to be in tears and it turned into an unofficial storyline conference. I said we would find a way of explaining Laura's absence and her mum came up with an idea we all liked." Sandy's farewell episode, "A Friend in Need", revealed that the character had won £150,000 on the lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
, and left for Australia to follow former love interest Danny Shaugnessy. After discovering various amounts of money she had left behind for her friends at Holby City Hospital, the characters gathered together in the hospital bar at the end of the episode, and raised a toast "To the one and only Sandy!"
Mickie Hendrie
Kelly AdamsKelly Adams
Kelly Adams is an English actress.A pupil of North Kesteven School in North Hykeham, Adams trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Wood Green, London....
plays Mickie Hendrie, a midwife who first appears in series six, episode 24. Mickie goes on to become a staff nurse, before departing in series eight, episode 47 to attend medical school to become a doctor.
Elliot Hope
Paul BradleyPaul Bradley (actor)
Paul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
plays Elliot Hope, who first appears in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot is introduced as a consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
surgeon and Clinical Lead on Holby General's cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
ward. His storylines see his wife Gina, a Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
-sufferer, commit assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
, and his relationship with his children subsequently deteriorate. Elliot considers suicide himself, before reconciling with his family. He ends a brief romance with colleague Lady Anne-Marie Byrne
Lady Anne-Marie Byrne
Anne-Marie, Lady Byrne is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Jane Asher. The character first appeared on 10 May 2007 in episode "After the Fall" - series 9, episode 30 of the programme...
as he is still mourning Gina, and later shares a kiss with his old friend Tara Sodi. Bradley was cast in the role after originally auditioning for a more minor part, and impressing executive producer Richard Stokes. He observed real heart surgery being performed in preparation for the role, and bases his portrayal of Elliot on his own father, who was a doctor. Elliot is portrayed as "a disorganised genius", and "a medical Columbo". He was the focus of Holby City 2007 Christimas episode, based on the 1964 film It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
. The assisted suicide storyline proved controversial, though the Elliot-centric Christmas episode was generally well-received by critics. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
David Chater called it "highly effective in what it sets out to do", though Robert Hanks of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
deemed it "incompetent to the point of sacrilege".
Jasmine Hopkins
Angela GriffinAngela Griffin
Angela Griffin is a British actress and television presenter.-Acting career:She appeared in the popular long-running British soap operas Emmerdale and most famously in Coronation Street as Fiona Middleton from 1993 to 1998...
plays nurse Jasmine Hopkins, a nurse who appears from Holby City first episode until the end of series three
Holby City (series 3)
The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
. Jasmine begins the serial as a staff nurse on the cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
ward, Darwin. She is promoted to ward sister, causing tension with her best friend Julie Fitzjohn, who also applied for the position. Jasmine is engaged to Carl, an IT user support technician at the hospital. They argue when he decides to set a date for their wedding without consulting Jasmine about it. When Carl hits Jasmine, she breaks off their engagement. Jasmine walks in on a group of youths stealing from the ward drug store, and is stabbed. Nick Jordan repairs damage to her heart, and as she is stabilised, it is discovered that Jasmine is pregnant. Upon recovering, she plans to have an abortion. Carl threatens to get an injunction to stop her, but Jasmine miscarries. Following the opening of the general surgery ward, Keller, Jasmine becomes a nurse practitioner. During series three, with the introduction of the children's ward, Otter, Jasmine often works with Otter nurse Steve Waring. They fall in love, and sleep together while Steve is still married to his wife, Emma. Steve's son Robbie discovers the affair and threatens to reveal it. Jasmine breaks up with Steve and departs from the hospital.
Mubbs Hussein
Ian AspinallIan Aspinall
Ian Aspinall is a British actor who is well known for his role on Holby City where he played Mubbs Hussein from 2001 to 2005. He has been in City Central, The Bill, Silent Witness, Peak Practice, and Casualty. He also had a role in East is East playing eldest son Nazir Khan...
plays Mubbs Hussein, an obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
registrar who appears from series four, episode eight until series seven, episode 52.
Donna Jackson
Jaye JacobsJaye Jacobs
Jaye Jacobs is a British actress.-Career:She is most famous for her role as fun loving nurse, turned Ward Sister, Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series Holby City from 2004 to 2011...
plays Ward Sister Donna Jackson. Since her first appearance in Holby City in the series six episode "Baptism of Fire", Donna has become more serious about her work, despite her "chaotic" personal life. Jacobs was cast in the role of Donna alongside fellow series six newcomer Kelly Adams
Kelly Adams
Kelly Adams is an English actress.A pupil of North Kesteven School in North Hykeham, Adams trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Wood Green, London....
, as midwife Mickie Hendrie. The pair's arrival in the show was heavily publicized, and subject of a documentary entitled "Making It at Holby", chronicling their casting process. The two characters embarked on a brief lesbian liaison, however caused the BBC to ban its actresses from appearing in raunchy photo-shoots, after being photographed cuddling and kissing while dressed in nurse's uniforms for various 'lads mags'.
Nick Jordan
Michael French plays Nick Jordan, who appears from the first episode of Holby City as a registrar on the show's cardiothoracic ward. He later returns as a general surgical consultant, before transferring to sister show Casualty to run the Emergency DepartmentEmergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
. Following Nick's 2006 departure from Holby City, the series' official website described him as: "decisive, confident, charismatic and passionate. He was constantly striving for the top and wanted to emulate Meyer
Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
." During his time on Holby City, Nick has several romantic interests, including ex-wife and ward sister Karen Newburn, theatre sister Ellie Sharpe, SHO
Senior house officer
A senior house officer is a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality in the British National Health Service or in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised by consultants and registrars, who oversee their training and are their designated clinical supervisors...
Kirstie Collins, and registrars
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Diane Lloyd and Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
. The series homepage assesses that: "He had tremendous pulling power with women, but commitment was not his strong point." Michael French, discussing his character shortly after the show's 1999 conception, asserted that: "Like most blokes, he sometimes treats women as playthings – if they're willing. A little bit of hanky panky is part of the human condition, after all!" Of his decision to transfer to Casualty, French explained: "The BBC came up with the idea [...] At first, I wasn't sure about him moving away from heart surgery, but we soon thrashed some ideas around and I realised it would work. It's certainly great to play Nick again and I'm having a fantastic time on the show." French was nominated for the "'Most Popular Actor" award in the 2006 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
for his portrayal of Nick. Both The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
have likened the character to George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
's ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
character Doug Ross
Doug Ross
Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross is a fictional character from the television series ER, portrayed by George Clooney. George Clooney's removal from the main cast opening credits was in the 16th episode of season 5.-Plot details:...
- "the one everyone fancies", but while Andrew Billen for the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
agrees that Nick is "good-looking", he suggests French's playing another "love rat" character after his EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
role as David Wicks
David Wicks
David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael French. He originally appeared between 1993 to 1996...
to be typecasting
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
.
Ed Keating
Rocky MarshallRocky Marshall
Rocky Marshall is a British television and film actor, living near Battersea park.-Biography:He has starred in mainstream movies such as Mr Right, Hart's War, Re-Kill and Mean Machine...
plays Ed Keating, a cardiothoracic registrar who appears from series four, episode 45 until series six, episode 33, working under Tom Campbell-Gore.
Maria Kendall
Phoebe ThomasPhoebe Thomas
Phoebe Thomas is a British actress.Thomas made a name for herself playing Holly Curran on Night and Day from 2001 to 2003. In 2005 she went on to star in the Five soap, Family Affairs, as homeless Jane Hughes...
plays Maria Kendall, who arrives in Holby City ninth series as a student nurse, later qualifying as a staff nurse. Although the character did not make her Holby City debut until 28 November 2006, Thomas appeared as Maria on the 17 November 2006 Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
charity telethon appeal - which included a segment featuring the Holby City cast performing a version of Hung Up
Hung Up
"Hung Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was written and produced in collaboration with Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was...
by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
.
Sam Kennedy
Collette Brown plays Sam Kennedy, an SHO who appears from series three, episode 19 until series four, episode 44. Sam meets registrar Alex Adams in the hospital bar. They sleep together, and the next morning discover they are colleagues. They begin a relationship, but Sam leaves Alex for consultant Ric Griffin, who she later leaves at the altar. Sam tells the parents of a young boy that the operation he is due to have is unsafe. The parents remove their child from the hospital and his condition worsens. He is re-admitted and taken to theatre, but dies. When Anton MeyerAnton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
discovers Sam advised the parents to withdraw their son, she is forced to leave the hospital, but exacts her revenge by telling the press about Meyer's "unsafe" operations.
Zubin Khan
Art MalikArt Malik
Art Malik is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant-Ivory television serials and films...
plays Zubin Khan, a consultant anaesthetist and the head of the hospital's intensive care unit
Intensive care medicine
Intensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...
, who appears from series five, episode 37 until series seven, episode 51.
Sacha Levy
Bob BarrettBob Barrett (actor)
Bob Barrett is an English stage and television actor who is best known for his role as Dr. Sacha Levy in the BBC1 medical drama Holby City.-Career:Bob Barrett trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He is best known for his role as Dr...
plays Sacha Levy, a general surgical registrar who arrives in series twelve. Sacha is the father of Chrissie's son, Daniel, and has un-reciprocated feelings for Chrissie.
Diane Lloyd
Patricia PotterPatricia Potter
Patricia Caroline Potter is an English actress. Best known for her role as Diane Lloyd in the popular BBC medical drama Holby City, Potter has acted on stage, television, and in film. She married her partner, doctor Jim Down, in May 2007.- Personal life :Potter grew up on a farm in Kent with her...
plays Diane Lloyd, a general surgical registrar who appears between series four, episode 39 and series nine, episode 38. Diane has a disastrous love life, dating a number of hospital staff and marrying consultant obstetrician Owen Davies, who has an affair with his former lover, sister Chrissie Williams. Diane's storylines include a fling with nurse Danny Shaugnessy, aborting the child of Steve Waring and miscarrying Owen's child, the death of her sister, and facing an old medical schools teacher of hers who raped her. She also has an on/off relationship with Ric Griffin, who proposed marriage to her before her arrival in the serial, only to be turned down. Diane is promoted to locum general surgical consultant following the departure of Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
. When the stress of the job becomes too much for her and Diane feels betrayed by Ric, she hands in her resignation. Consultant Elliot Hope suggests she take a sabbatical and lends her his car and a cottage to house-sit for a few months. Diane accepts the offer, but that evening parks the car on train tracks and commits suicide.
Antoine Malick
Jimmy AkingbolaJimmy Akingbola
Jimmy Akingbola is a British television, theatre and film actor. Born in 1978 in Plaistow, London to Nigerian parents, he was the youngest of four children...
plays surgical registrar Antoine Malick. Akingbola had previously appeared in Holby City as a guest star, and impressed the producers to the extent that he was cast in a permanent role. Executive producer Belinda Campbell described Malick as "a complex character who completely divides opinion amongst his Holby colleagues", explaining: "He absolutely refuses to play the political game and his bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired. However, there is no doubt he excels at his job and what would overwhelm other medics is like nectar to Malick." Akingbola deemed his character "an alpha male who doesn't suffer fools gladly". He explained that Malick aims to become a consultant, but has been held back from promotion due to his inability to engage in hospital politics. Akingbola stated that Malick has "a lot of dark layers", but will become calmer as the series goes on.
Stuart McElroy
Conor Mullen plays locum cardiothoracic consultant Stuart McElroy, who first appears in "The Apprentice" - series 10, episode 4 of the programme. Mullen was contracted for a period of 3–4 months. Upon assuming the role, Mullen said of his character: "As a locum, Stuart knows he's not going to be at Holby for ever, so he doesn't care about hospital politics. Stuart also gets the nurses' back up a bit by making changes. The man's a bit of a renegade!" The BBC described Stuart following his departure as "a people person full of Irish charm. But he was also a deeply jealous alcoholic and needed to control the person he saw as 'his'." Stuart's time on the show sees him embark on a romantic relationship with sister Chrissie WilliamsChrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
. His jealous nature causes problems between them, and during a drunken row, he slashes her face with a scalpel. Hobley, who plays Chrissie, described the scene as "shocking" and "hard to film", revealing that she was three months pregnant at the time, but had not told anyone on set apart from Mullen "so he knew not to be too rough". Stuart is subsequently arrested, and makes his final appearance in series ten, episode 18, "The Extra Mile".
Keri McGrath
Anna Mountford plays pediatric outreach nurse Keri McGrath, who appears from series three, episode two until series four, episode 41. Keri likes to party hard and often turns up to work with a hangover. Some of the children pick up on Keri's youthful attitude and run rings around her thinking she is a soft touch. At the start of series four, she gets drunk at a party and sleeps with Liam Evans. The next morning, Keri leaves the flat in tears and reports Liam for rape. The claim is eventually dropped and Liam's name is cleared. Keri leaves the show when Otter ward is written out of the serial.Muriel McKendrick
Phyllis LoganPhyllis Logan
-Education:Logan was educated at Johnstone High School in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. After school, she graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with the James Bridie Gold Medal in 1977.-Career:...
plays original character Muriel McKendrick, who appears in Holby City first nine episodes. Muriel is frequently at odds with Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer
Anton Meyer is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor George Irving. He appeared in the series from its first episode, broadcast on 12 January 1999, until series four, episode 46, broadcast on 20 August 2002. His role in the show is that of consultant...
over beds on the wards. Muriel goes to the board and obtains four of Meyer's beds behind his back, and when he finds out he is furious. Muriel has a good working relationship with most of the staff, but is noted for her strict ways and no-nonsense personality.
Victoria Merrick
Lisa FaulknerLisa Faulkner
Lisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
plays PRHO
Pre-registration house officer
Pre-registration house officer , often known as a houseman or house officer, was until 2005 the only job open to medical graduates in the United Kingdom who had just passed their final examinations at medical school and had received their medical degrees.Newly-qualified doctors are only allowed...
Victoria Merrick, who appears from Holby City first episode until series three, episode 26. Victoria is a surgeon who had a good grasp of the human anatomy but struggles to cope under the intense pressure of operations. Her father, Sir Charles Merrick, is an eminent surgeon and she struggles with his high expectations. Her boss, Anton Meyer, considers her an intelligent young women with a lot of potential, but did not consider her to be suitable material for a surgeon and transfers her to the paedatric wing to work as a doctor. Victoria tries to convince him to reinstate her as a surgeon, but he insists the experience will be good for her. Victoria begins an operation on a young girl, which she decides to terminate. The girl's father cannot accept the decision, and stabs Victoria to death. He confesses to Meyer whilst they are trapped in a lift, before taking an overdose. Meyer is outraged and attempted to revive the man so that he can be brought to trial and punished for Victoria's murder, but is hampered by the lack of equipment available to him in the lift.
Anton Meyer
George IrvingGeorge Irving (English actor)
George Irving is a British actor who is probably most famous for playing Anton Meyer in Holby City from 1999 to 2002...
plays cardiothoracic consultant Anton Meyer from Holby City first episode until series four, episode 46. Irving had considerable input in creating the character, who was initially envisioned by the series producers as an Iranian surgeon named Hussein. At Irving's suggestion, Meyer became Hungarian, an emigrant to Britain following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Little of the backstory created for Meyer was ever revealed on-screen, as part of a deliberate bid to present the character as enigmatic, allowing viewers to project their own imagination onto him. Meyer is a sarcastic, arrogant surgeon, with high expectations of his colleagues. His major storylines see him operate on his own sister, fear that he may have Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
, lose his spleen after being shot in a road rage incident, and ultimately depart from Holby
Holby
Holby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border...
for Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
when the hospital Board make impositions on his autonomy. Irving made the decision to leave the series as he struggled to set the character aside outside of work, which had a negative impact on his personal life. He has ruled out the possibility of returning to Holby City in future, preferring his memory of Meyer to remain untarnished.
Meyer proved popular with viewers and critics. Following the series launch, he was described by Jaci Steph of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
as the series' "only distinctive character". Peter Paterson, also of the Daily Mail, has deemed Meyer an asset to the show, which he finds "feeble" in Meyer's absence. Jim Shelley
Jim Shelley (TV critic)
Jim Shelley is a British television critic who writes a column for the Daily Mirror each Monday titled Shelleyvision. Prior to writing for the Daily Mirror he wrote for The Guardian and his collection of reviews "Interference: Tapehead vs. Television" was published by Atlantic Books...
of The Mirror has described Meyer as "one of the best chatacters on television in recent years". Meyer was particularly well-received by female fans, attaining sex-symbol status, described by journalist Lynda Lee-Potter
Lynda Lee-Potter
Lynda Lee-Potter OBE was a columnist for the British newspaper the Daily Mail.-Early years:...
as "the kind of domineering, unsmiling hero who made Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...
heroines swoon."
Faye Morton
Patsy KensitPatsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
plays ward sister Faye Morton. The character's introductory storyline, shot on location in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, sees Faye leave her third husband for dead after a violent row. The fate of her previous husbands, and her intentions towards on-screen lover Joseph Byrne, later unravel in another special episode, this set on location in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Kensit was short-listed for the "Best Actress" award at the 2007 TV Quick
TV Quick
TV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
and TV Choice Awards for her portrayal of Faye, within three months of arriving on the show. However, the dramaticism of the character's storylines and the manner in which they reflect upon real NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
nurses has come under criticism.
Jac Naylor
Rosie MarcelRosie Marcel
Rosie Marcel is an English actress best known for her role as Jac Naylor, consultant in Holby City.She is the daughter of television director Terry Marcel and sister of writer and actress Kelly Marcel.-Career:...
plays registrar Jac Naylor. Her storylines focus on her attempts to gain promotion, going as far as to sleep with her boyfriend's influential father, and switch specialties from general
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
to cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
. She appears in a crossover episode with HolbyBlue
HolbyBlue
HolbyBlue was a British police drama series that aired on BBC One from 2007 to 2008. Produced by the BBC, Red Planet Pictures and Kudos for BBC One, it is a spin-off of the successful BBC One medical drama Holby City, itself a spin-off of the long-running series Casualty.The first series was...
, when she is arrested for the attempted murder of a patient. After being cleared of the attack, Jac briefly becomes softer in her outlook, attempting to make amends with colleagues and dabbling with Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Karen Newburn
Sarah PrestonSarah Preston
Sarah Preston , is an English actress, who is best known for playing Karen Newburn in Holby City, Celia Cobb in Doctors, and Amanda Parry in EastEnders....
plays ward sister Karen Newburn, who appears from series one, episode three until series two, episode 16. Karen has a good rapport with most of the staff, but puts them in their place if they do something she disagrees with. Karen is the ex-wife of registrar Nick Jordan. She agrees to give their relationship a second chance, but when their attempt at reconciliation fails, Nick leaves Holby, and Karen does likewise.
Matt Parker
Adam BestAdam Best
Adam Best is an Northern Irish actor who trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for 3 years. He attended Donaghadee Primary School and Bangor Grammar School and gained experience with the Ulster Youth Theatre and Drama School.He is probably most famous for his role as Matt Parker on...
plays medical student Matt Parker. He appears from series seven, episode 29, until series nine, episode 24.
Frieda Petrenko
Olga FedoriOlga Fedori
Olga Fedori is a Ukrainian-born actress, who works in English language films and programmes. She is best known for playing Frieda Petrenko in the BBC medical drama Holby City.-Early life:...
portrays ward sister Frieda Petrenko. Introduced as the cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
ward's night shift sister, Frieda transfers to day shifts on the Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
to cover the maternity leave of sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
(Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley
Tina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
). Frieda has an initially antagonistic relationship with F2 doctor Penny Valentine
Penny Valentine (Holby City)
Persephone "Penny" Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actress Emma Catherwood. She appeared from 2009-11, in the programme's eleventh to thirteenth series. Penny was introduced alongside her younger brother, Oliver , as a...
(Emma Catherwood
Emma Catherwood
Emma Catherwood is a Welsh actress and former model best known for her role as Jo in My Kingdom and for her role in Holby City. Catherwood studied the Meisner technique in London, and has degrees in English literature and Art History.Catherwood began her career with Models 1, where she modelled...
). When Penny learns that Frieda was a qualified doctor in her home country, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, she encourages her to retrain in the UK. Frieda resists the suggestion, but after being made redundant and having her diagnostic ability challenged by registrar Antoine Malick
Antoine Malick
Antoine Malick is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City. He is portrayed by Jimmy Akingbola, and has appeared since the series thirteen episode "Running the Gauntlet", first broadcast on 4 January 2011. A maverick registrar with a volatile temper, Malick was created to...
(Jimmy Akingbola
Jimmy Akingbola
Jimmy Akingbola is a British television, theatre and film actor. Born in 1978 in Plaistow, London to Nigerian parents, he was the youngest of four children...
), decides to apply for an F1 position, which she achieves early in 2011.
The official Holby City website describes Frieda as "sincere, compassionate, supportive [and] honest", but "self conscious, emotionally closed [and] sarcastic." In 2011, Fedori was short-listed for the "Best Newcomer" award at the National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
for her performance as Frieda. The award was ultimately won by EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
Ricky Norwood
Ricky Norwood
Richard Colin "Ricky" Norwood is a British actor who plays Fatboy in the soap opera EastEnders and its online spin-off EastEnders: E20. He was born in Tower Hamlets, London, and lives in Forest Gate. From the age of 12 he attended the Theatre Royal Stratford East's Youth Theatre, and he also...
. Ian Cullen of Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is a web-only entertainment/celebrity news and review publication with movie, DVD, video game, and music reviews, along with political commentary as well as coverage of world news, technology, sports, and science.- Background :...
lamented Fedori's loss, opining that her performance in Holby City is hilarious. Frieda has received critical acclaim, with the Daily Mirror Jim Shelley
Jim Shelley (TV critic)
Jim Shelley is a British television critic who writes a column for the Daily Mirror each Monday titled Shelleyvision. Prior to writing for the Daily Mirror he wrote for The Guardian and his collection of reviews "Interference: Tapehead vs. Television" was published by Atlantic Books...
naming her the "best character on television". Shelley has included several of her one-liners in his regular "Soundbites of the Week" column, including her excuse: "I saw it in one of your Carry On films. I thought he might like it", delivered after inserting a sunflower into the rectum of a racist patient. Fellow Mirror critic Jane Simon has also praised Frieda, deeming her one of the series' most interesting characters. Simon describes her as a "fearless, straight talking [...] super-nurse", enjoying her ability to "liven up the place with her unlikely combination of ghoulish demeanour and slapstick sense of humour." When a 2011 storyline featured Frieda facing redundancy, Simon commented, "we would be gutted if she left. Her friendly scowl is one of the best things about the show."
Paul Ripley
Luke MablyLuke Mably
Luke Mably is an English actor, best known for playing Scott Lucas in Sky One's Dream Team, Prince Edvard in The Prince and Me and White in the 2009 thriller Exam. He attended the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.-Movie career:Mably portrayed White in the thriller Exam under the direction...
plays ward clerk Paul Ripley, who appears in the first three episodes of Holby City. Paul is ordered to leave the hospital after he is seen kissing an unconscious girl in the high dependency unit.
Rosie Sattar
Kim VithanaKim Vithana
Kim Vithana is a British actress who played Rosie Sattar in Holby City from 2003 to 2005, Doctor Bannerjee in Coronation Street, Yvonne in Always and Everyone, and she has also been in Casualty, Cracker, Love Hurts, Dangerfield, Specials and North Square...
plays midwife Rosie Sattar, who appears from series five, episode 32 until series seven, episode 13.
Sahira Shah
Laila RouassLaila Rouass
Laila Abdesselam Rouass is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Amber Gates in the British television drama Footballers' Wives and as Sarah Page in the third season of Primeval .-Career:...
will appear as surgeon Sahira Shah from February 2011. Announcing her casting, Daniel Kilkelly of media entertainment website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
described Sahira as a rival for Jac and love interest for Greg, who shares a "dark history" with Hanssen. Rouass was able to relate to the role as, like herself, Sahira is a mother attempting to balance her personal and professional lives. Executive producer Belinda Campbell stated that Rouass brought a "fresh new energy" to the series and that Sahira had been a "joy to create", commenting on the character: "While on the surface she appears to be cool and calm, underneath it all, she is kicking madly just to keep afloat. It will be fascinating to explore what is really going on underneath the façade of perfection Sahira has created for herself. I'm sure her character will be someone a lot of viewers will recognise in themselves."
Ben Saunders
David PaisleyDavid Paisley
David Paisley is a Scottish actor, especially well known for roles as midwife Ben Saunders in Holby City, Ryan Taylor in Tinsel Town and most recently Rory Murdoch in River City.-Career:...
plays midwife Ben Saunders, appearing between series four, episode 17 and series five, episode 29. Ben is the first regular male homosexual character in the show. He has a crossover romance, with Tony Vincent from Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
. The pair's frequent clashes and Ben's cheating with another man lead to a violent dock-side fight, as a result of which Tony suffers serious kidney damage. The two break up, and are unable to reconcile. Ben struggles with coming out as gay to his parents, and at one stage enlists the help of fellow midwife and good friend Lisa Fox. When Ben's car is stolen by the teenage son of colleague Steve Waring, a car chase ensues, resulting in a crash which traps both Ben and Steve inside Steve's car. Ben dies within minutes of being cut out of the vehicle.
Ellie Sharpe
Julie Saunders appears in the first nine episodes of Holby City as theatre sister Ellie Sharpe. Ellie has an affair with Nick Jordan. When her boyfriend finds out, he turns up at the hospital and he attacks Nick in the lift, leaving him with a split lip and damaged pride.Danny Shaughnessy
Jeremy EdwardsJeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards is an English actor and television presenter, who has appeared in the TV shows Hollyoaks and Holby City...
plays healthcare assistant Danny Shaugnessy, who appears from series two, episode one until series five, episode 31. Danny works alongside his mother, ward sister Kath. he has relationships with Victoria Merrick and Diane Lloyd, and later trains as a student nurse on Otter ward. He eventually leaves to start a new life in Australia.
Michael Spence
Hari DhillonHari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City.-Background:...
plays consultant general surgeon Michael Spence, who first appears in the episode "Unfinished Symphony" - series ten, episode six of the programme. Dhillon describes his character as: "kind of the counterpoint to Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
. So he's just a little bit lippy; if he's thinking it, it's out of his mouth, and a total straight shooter, very direct." Michael is married to anaesthetist Annalese Carson. His storylines see him cheat on his wife with nurse Donna Jackson, with Dhillon explaining: "(H)e's kind of a serial womaniser. [...] The trouble is, Michael had an affair at another hospital. He left because he wanted a clean slate. Essentially he wants to flirt - it's in his nature. With the introduction of the character, a new private ward was annexed to the hospital, known as HolbyCare.
Sam Strachan
Tom ChambersTom Chambers (actor)
Tom Chambers is a British actor, known for his role as Sam Strachan in the BBC medical drama Holby City. He also won the sixth season of Strictly Come Dancing with his partner Camilla Dallerup.-Personal life:...
plays cardiothoracic registrar Sam Strachan. Chambers was cast as Sam after auditioning for the smaller role of an American doctor, and impressing casting director Julie Harkin so much that he was invited back to audition for the bigger role. The character takes a more serious turn after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
, a storyline for which Tom Chambers actually shaved his own hair for realism. Sam has proved highly popular amongst fans of the show, voted in the 2007 fan awards "Favourite All-Time Male" character. However, he also attracted controversy when a scene in which he was depicted binge drinking caused drinks regulatory body the Portman Group
Portman Group
The Portman Group is a trade group composed of alcoholic beverage producers and brewers in the UK.-History:It was set up in 1989 as part of a campaign to raise awareness of alcohol-related issues, and its members account for the majority of alcohol products sold in the UK...
to lodge an official complaint with OFCOM
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
, for what they deemed a "highly irresponsible portrayal of excessive and rapid drinking".
Ray Sykes
Ian CurtisIan Curtis (actor)
Ian Curtis is a British actor, writer and director who is better known for his lead roles in Holby City where he played Ray Sykes and Soldier Soldier in which he played Corporal Mark Hobbs...
plays staff nurse Ray Sykes, who appears from the first episode of Holby City until series two, episode 16. Ray is Darwin ward's comedian. He often engages in jokes with patients and enjoys match-making and gossiping. Ray is unsure of his sexuality and starts dating a former patient, Damien. When he tells Damien he wants to break up, Damien takes it badly and has another heart attack. Ray calls an ambulance and Kirstie Collins arrives, but is unable to save Damien, leaving Ray devastated.
Elizabeth Tait
La Charné Jolly plays Elizabeth Tait, a staff nurse who first appears in series twelve. Elizabeth is a recent university graduate, who worries she will be made unemployed when redundancies are made within the hospital.Alistair Taylor
Dominic JephcottDominic Jephcott
Dominic Jephcott is a RADA-trained British actor.He has played in several roles, including Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mount in Good and Bad at Games, Reggie in The Jewel in the Crown, Det. Sgt. Hobson BA in The Beiderbecke Affair Dominic Jephcott (born 28 July 1957) is a...
plays Alistair Taylor, a cardiothoracic consultant who appears from series four, episode 45 until series six, episode 33. Alistair has an unstable marriage with his wife and colleague Janice, with whom he has a daughter, Flora. The relationship collapses after he pursues an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
. Alistair is killed off in the 2004 Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
crossover after escaping a fire by jumping out of a window.
Janice Taylor
Siobhan RedmondSiobhan Redmond
Siobhan Redmond is a Scottish actress.Originally from Tollcross, Glasgow, Redmond's first television appearances were in the early 1980s. Her first TV appearance was in 1982 in a sketch show called "Nothing to worry about!" which then lead to the sketch show Alfresco...
plays consultant paediatrician Janice Taylor, who appears from series three, episode two until series four, episode 44. Janice is married to Alistair, who works at Holby on a locum basis on Darwin ward. She is initially oblivious to the fact that her husband has been having an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
, until she finds out she is pregnant. Janice decides to keep the baby but move away from Alistair. Her last episode sees her have an emergency caesarean. Her baby, Flora, needs a heart operation which Alistair carries out. Flora survives, Janice thanks him, then departs from the series.
Sean Thompson
Chinna Wodu plays Sean Thompson, a Senior house officerSenior house officer
A senior house officer is a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality in the British National Health Service or in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised by consultants and registrars, who oversee their training and are their designated clinical supervisors...
who appears in series seven from episode six until episode 43. Sean is a love interest of nurse Jess Griffin. He initially believes he is the father of her baby, but even after she revealed the child is anaesthetist Zubin Khan's, he continues to support her. After Jess leaves him for Zubin, he transfers quietly to neighbouring hospital St. James'.
Kyla Tyson
Rakie AyolaRakie Ayola
Rakie Ayola is a Welsh actress, best known for her role as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first rose to prominence in the lead role of the 1993 Jeanette Winterson screenplay Great Moments in Aviation...
plays nurse Kyla Tyson, who first appears in the series eight episode "I'll Be Back". Ayola had made a former minor appearance in the show several years prior to being cast as Kyla, and was asked to return in a more permanent role three years later. The character is the focus of a number of hard hitting plot strands, including being subjected to domestic abuse, having her son taken into foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
, and battling resultant alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. In August 2006, Ayola was shortlisted for the "Female Performance in TV" award at the fourth Screen Nation Awards
Screen Nation
The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards was founded in 2003 by , as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international film and television talent....
for her portrayal of the character, and was granted "Honourable Mention" in the same category the following year. Ayola chose not to renew her Holby City contract, in order to have a second child. She makes her final appearance in series eleven, when she decides between moving to Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
with her son, or to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
with lover Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
.
Oliver Valentine
James AndersonJames Anderson (actor)
James Anderson is a British actor.After graduating with first class honours from Warwick University, Anderson trained at the Actors' Studio in New York City. He has since had roles for TV, the stage and independent film...
plays Oliver Valentine, who first appears in series eleven, along with his sister, Penny, as a Foundation House Officer
Foundation House Officer
A Foundation Doctor is a grade of medical practitioner in the United Kingdom undertaking the Foundation Programme - a two-year, general postgraduate medical training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general practice training...
. Registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
originally dislikes Oliver, but later realises that not only is he a good doctor, but he also tries to understand the patients, and has him transferred to the Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
. On AAU, Oliver becomes friends with Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
. They sleep together, and Chrissie becomes pregnant, but goes on to miscarry. Oliver is transferred to the general surgery
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
ward, Keller, after annoying AAU lead Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen
Linden Cullen is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Duncan Pow. Linden appeared from series ten to twelve - January 2008 to October 2010, as the head of Holby City Hospital's surgical admissions ward.-Creation:...
. Oliver works alongside Jac on Keller ward, and the two share a kiss, which Penny photographs and posts throughout the hospital. Oliver attempts to hide the photos from ward sister Daisha Anderson, who he is casually dating. When Daisha discovers the photos, she slaps him and ends their relationship. Oliver caused friction on Darwin when he treated a patient that nearly killed him and lied to Connie that Greg left him unsupervised to save his own skin. Greg however found out and got his own back at him by setting him up with a prostitute. On 1st March 2011, Oliver landed himself in hot water when the patient he made a mistake when closing him up a while ago was brought back on AAU. Under stress that the mistake would make him repeat his F2 year, tried to persuade Penny to take the blame. With an enquiry looming, Oliver snuck into Michael Spence's files and deleted his name from the list, trying to put Penny's name instead thus jeopardising her own career which had gone from strength to strength. However, he was eventually caught out by registrar Antoine Malick and was reported. When Penny found out what he tried to do, she said what he did was unforgivable and said he was "Toxic". It was then revealed that Oliver is actually practicing illegally, as he stole his sister's papers and passed them off as his own. Penny told him to admit it all to Michael Spence or she will, and gave him a deadline. Although the results showed that Oliver was innocent, he somewhat started to spiral out of control and breaks down in front of Penny when he confesses that he cheated on their final exams before starting work at Holby, passing her exam off as his, therefore not legally qualified to work as a Doctor. Penny was furious for what he did and told him that he has to confess his bombshell by the time she returns from annual leave, or she will. On the episode broadcast on 12th April 2011, Penny was killed saving a patient at the wreckage of train crash, leaving Oliver to identify the body. He plans tells the truth to Mallick, who convinces him not to tell anyone, saying that this conversation NEVER HAPPENED. Oliver is last seen in this episode sitting on a bench with Penny's belongings.
Penny Valentine
Emma CatherwoodEmma Catherwood
Emma Catherwood is a Welsh actress and former model best known for her role as Jo in My Kingdom and for her role in Holby City. Catherwood studied the Meisner technique in London, and has degrees in English literature and Art History.Catherwood began her career with Models 1, where she modelled...
played Penny Valentine, who first appears in series eleven, along with her brother, Oliver, as a Foundation House Officer. Catherwood sat in on several bypass operations
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
as preparation for the role. She also dyed her hair red, commenting: "I think it suits Penny. She's quite feisty and ambitious and enjoys a friendly rivalry with her brother Oliver". On her first day at the hospital, Penny proves herself confident but averse to becoming close to patients. Registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
takes an instant dislike to her, and ignores her request to be transferred to AAU, instead placing her on Keller ward. After improving herself as a doctor on Keller, Penny is transferred to Darwin with Elliot Hope as her mentor. While working on Darwin, Penny secretly starts a relationship with patient Scott James, who requires a heart transplant. Elliot realises what has transpired between doctor and patient, and is disappointed with Penny. Disillusioned with her career, Penny decides to move to Spain with Scott, however Scott ends their relationship on Oliver's advice. Penny occasionally smokes, much to the disdain of her brother. Penny's full name is revealed to be Persephone, not, as might be supposed, Penelope. She died in the episode broadcast on 12 April 2011 after an accident at a train crash, her body was identified by her brother, Oliver.
Steve Waring
Peter de JerseyPeter de Jersey
Peter de Jersey is a television and theatre actor. Perhaps best known for his longtime recurring role as Jerome Taylor in The Bill, he has acted in numerous British programmes. From 2000-2003 he played Steve Waring in Holby City until the character was involved in a car crash and later died in...
plays charge nurse Steve Waring, who appears from series three, episode two until series five, episode 31. Steve falls in love with nurse practitioner Jasmine Hopkins, and has an affair ith her. His son, Robbie, finds out about the affair, but decides not to tell his mother. The relationship between Steve and Jasmine falls apart. Steve later has a relationship with registrar Diane Lloyd, and takes a new job working on AAU. When Robbie joyrides in a colleague's car, Steve chases him and is involved in a car accident, later dying from his injuries.
Dean West
Paul HenshallPaul Henshall
Paul Henshall is a British actor. He uses a wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy.Henshall is best known for playing the roles of medical student Dean West in Holby City, and Paul in I'm With Stupid. He has also had roles in A Thing Called Love and Casualty...
plays Dean West, a fourth year medical student who appears in Holby City from series seven, episode 29 until series nine, episode 24. The character has cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
and was introduced to the show as part of the BBC's commitment to diversity on television, with series producer Emma Turner explaining: "The BBC aims to make Holby City truly representative of its audience and Paul is an essential ingredient of that." Henshall, who became the first disabled actor to feature permanently in a TV series, was cast after applying for the BBC's Talent Scheme, which also won him a role in the eighteenth series of sister show Casualty. The role of Dean was created specifically for Henshall, who describes the character as: "cheeky but kind hearted. He's probably not really as confident as he appears." Dean's storylines concentrate on his attempts to progress in his career despite his disability, and his friendship with fellow medical student Matt Parker. After falling out with Matt, Dean leaves to pursue a career opportunity in psychiatry. While Henshall stated: "I never attempt to play Dean as a 'disabled character'. I just try to make him as real as I can as a person", upon his departure from the series, he commented: "I would have liked to see Dean doing more on the show and not always making mistakes and being a scapegoat. I wasn't happy that I'd seen myself described as being 'brought in to honour the BBC's commitment to disabled actors'; if Dean had done more on the show, they would have been able to talk about my storylines." With regards to public reception of the character, Henshall stated: "I get a lot of positive responses about Dean. Some are from disabled people who see Dean as an inspiration and some from people who just think he's a great character."
Chrissie Williams
Tina HobleyTina Hobley
Tina Hobley is an English actress.-Early life:Very shy as a child, Hobley was sent to speech and drama classes in an attempt to counter her introversion...
plays ward sister Chrissie Williams, the longest serving main character to date, having appeared in the programme since its third series
Holby City (series 3)
The third series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 October 2000, and concluded on 6 June 2001.-Production:...
. Chrissie is presented as a classic "maneater", with major storylines focusing around her affairs with colleagues Alistair Taylor, Owen Davis, Ed Keating, Mubbs Hussein, Michael Beauchamp and Sam Strachan
Sam Strachan
Samuel Noel "Sam" Strachan is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Tom Chambers. The character first appeared on-screen on 3 January 2006, in episode "Mother Love" - series 8, episode 12 of the programme...
. The character was written out of the series for a month in 2006, when Hobley was suspended for breaking her contractual agreement with the BBC not to appear on any other shows whilst starring in Holby City. She returned in 2007, though was again temporarily written out whilst Hobley took maternity leave following the birth of her second daughter. Chrissie returned briefly in October 2008, before returning again in the February 2009 episode "Take Her Breath Away".
Mark Williams
Robert PowellRobert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
plays consultant nurse Mark Williams, who arrives in Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
in the series seven episode "Stick or Twist", as an addition to the series' existing Williams family, consisting of his daughter, Chrissie
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
and wife Tricia. Powell commented that he took the role of Mark as: "I've never done a drama series of this kind before. It's great fun being allowed to develop a character over years rather than weeks." Mark's major storylines center around his relationship with his family, having to deal with Tricia's breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, the revelation that Chrissie is not his biological daughter, and Tricia's death in a road traffic accident. In the aftermath of Tricia's death, Mark is seen to battle a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addiction - a storyline criticised by the media for its surrealism. Mark is now the CEO of the hospital after being involved in a new relationship with Judith Marchant.
Tricia Williams
Sharon MaughanSharon Maughan
Sharon Maughan is a British actress.-Life and career:Maughan was born in Kirkby, Liverpool, one of five siblings in an Irish Catholic family...
plays Tricia Williams, a staff nurse and the mother of ward sister Chrissie Williams, who appears from series five, episode 27 until series nine, episode six.
Nic Yorke
Liam Garrigan plays healthcare assistant Nic Yorke, who appears from series five, episode 36 until series six, episode 13. Nic is the brother of "Keller Killer" Kelly Yorke. Unaware that his sister is responsible for numerous patient deaths, he has a brief romance with staff nurse Sandy Harper, and is disappointed when she left Holby for Australia, to be with her old flame Danny Shaugnessy. Nic is accidentally killed when his sister causes a gas explosion.Kelly Yorke
Rachel LeskovacRachel Leskovac
Rachel Leskovac is an Olivier award-nominated British actress best known for playing hairdresser Natasha Blakeman in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...
plays staff nurse Kelly Yorke, who appears from series five, episode 39, until series six, episode 17. Kelly is revealed to be a serial killer, responsible for multiple deaths on Keller ward. She kills herself after causing her brother Nic's death in an explosion.
Maddy Young
Nadine LewingtonNadine Lewington
Nadine Lewington is a British actress, most notable for her role as Dr Young on Holby City. Raised in Witham, Essex, Nadine is the eldest daughter of Tony and Sonia Lewington. She attended the Anglo European School, Ingatestone. She has one sister, Vania....
plays SHO Maddy Young, introduced in the series nine episode "Face Value", as a sidekick to, and old friend of established character Dan Clifford. The character's storylines see her embark on a short-lived romance with Dan, and address hidden family secrets, including treating her escaped convict father, and attempting to help her heroin addict twin sister cover up the death of her daughter from a methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
overdose. The character proved popular with fans, and was long-listed for the "Most Popular Newcomer" award at the 2007 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
, as well as voted Holby City fans' "Favourite Newcomer" of series nine. However, in October 2007, the character came under criticism from drinks industry body the Portman Group
Portman Group
The Portman Group is a trade group composed of alcoholic beverage producers and brewers in the UK.-History:It was set up in 1989 as part of a campaign to raise awareness of alcohol-related issues, and its members account for the majority of alcohol products sold in the UK...
, resulting from an incident of on-screen binge drinking, which the group lambasted as "highly irresponsible." Maddy departs from the serial in series eleven after being stabbed to death by one of her sister's prison enemies.
Thandie Abebe-Griffin
Ginny HolderGinny Holder
Ginny Holder is an actress best known for playing Thandie Abebe-Griffin on the BBC medical drama series Holby City.-References:...
plays general surgical
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
Thandie-Abebe Griffin. She first appears in the series 9 episode "Stargazer" as the new fiancé of consultant Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
(Hugh Quarshie
Hugh Quarshie
- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
), having become engaged to him during his sabbatical in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Thandie struggles as a doctor, and has Ric write her a reference when her real one proves uncomplimentary. She accuses cardiothoracic consultant Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
(Paul Bradley
Paul Bradley (actor)
Paul Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Nigel Bates in the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1992 to 1998 and Elliot Hope in the BBC medical drama series Holby City since 2005....
) of racial discrimination when he comments on her poor performance. On her wedding day, it is revealed that Thandie never actually qualified as a doctor, and Ric breaks up with her, escorting her back to Uganda.
Thandie returns in series 12, hired as a locum cardiothoracic registrar. She makes amends with Elliot, though clashes with Ric, who files for divorce. Ric attempts to stop Thandie from being hired at the hospital on a permanent basis, however when she is investigated by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, he realises he still has feelings for her. Quarshie explained that upon Thandie's return, Ric initially believes her to be a "terrible person", however ultimately realises that he has been allowing his emotions to interfere with his work, and when Thandie correctly diagnoses a patient, he is impressed to realise that he has underestimated her medical ability. He and Thandie renew their relationship, until Thandie's terminally ill brother arrives and requests that Thandie euthanise him. Holder has commented that Thandie is "horrified" by his request, but ultimately complies out of mercy. Thandie's decision ends her relationship with Ric, as her husband is: "a man of principle" who "doesn't agree with what she's done, but he does understand." Thandie then hands in her resignation and returns to Uganda with her brother's body. Holder has stated that there is a possibility Thandie may return in the future, revealing that she did not expect to return for the show's twelfth series, so could be invited back again.
Michael Beauchamp
Anthony CalfAnthony Calf
Anthony Calf is a British actor, born in Hammersmith, London, England. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . He has recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as Strickland...
plays Michael Beauchamp, chairman of the hospital board and husband of cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp. He has a marked ruthless streak, on one occasion having his own wife removed from duty to cover up his negligence. He has an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams
Chrissie Williams
Christine "Chrissie" Williams a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Tina Hobley. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 June 2001 in episode "The Road Less Traveled" - series three, episode 30 of the programme. Chrissie briefly left the show in April...
, promoting her to matron because of their relationship. His corruption ultimately leads to his downfall. He covers up an outbreak of VRSA
Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus refers to strains of Staphylococcus aureus that have become resistant to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. With the increase of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin, vancomycin is often a treatment of choice in infections with...
, which causes the death of several patients. Connie forces him to unwittingly confess, and Michael is arrested for manslaughter. He spends ten months in prison then is released on appeal.
Lord Byrne
Ronald PickupRonald Pickup
-Life and career:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode...
plays Lord Charles Byrne, a cardiothoracic consultant and the father of registrar Joseph Byrne. He works at Holby General's neighbouring hospital St. Luke's, and holds positions of power within the local medical sphere, including a role on the board of Holby's Trust. He has close ties to the Durant family, and is an old friend of the father of Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
, for whom he finds research work after a brief spell at Holby General. He manipulates Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
to secure Joseph's position at the hospital, and constantly pushes his son to advance his career. His younger son, Harry, attempted suicide whilst a student at medical school, and is in a comatose state for several series before dying. Charles initially encourages the developing relationship between Joseph and general surgical registrar Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
, however after a hospital night out, he sleeps with Jac himself and begins an affair. When his wife, Anne-Marie, learns of his infidelity, she ends their marriage. Charles suffers a heart attack during series nine, and dies following surgery.
Lady Byrne
Jane AsherJane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
plays Lady Anne-Marie Byrne, the wife of consultant Lord Charles Byrne, and the mother of registrar Joseph Byrne. Anne-Marie first appears in the series nine episode "After the Fall". After making several guest appearances throughout series nine and ten, Asher signed a three month contract to become a series regular from May 2008 onwards, for a period of 10 episodes. Her initial storyline saw her son's girlfriend, Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
, embark on an affair with Anne-Marie's own husband - eventually culminating in his death, and leaving the character a widow. Upon her return to Holby City, she takes over Charles' position as Executive Chairman of the Byrne Foundation - a charity committed to research into Cardiac Valve Disease
Valvular heart disease
Valvular heart disease is any disease process involving one or more of the valves of the heart . Valve problems may be congenital or acquired...
. She also begins a relationship with Joseph's mentor, Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
, which ends as he is still mourning his deceased wife Gina.
Annalese Carson
Anna-Louise PlowmanAnna-Louise Plowman
Anna-Louise Plowman is an actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Consultant Anaesthetist Annalese Carson in Holby City and Dr. Sarah Gardner in Stargate SG-1 who was possessed by the Goa'uld Osiris...
plays Annalese Carson, a locum consultant anaesthetist and the wife of general surgeon Michael Spence. Annalese arrives in series 11, discovering that her husband has had an affair with nurse Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
. Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon
Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City.-Background:...
has revealed of his character's relationship with his wife: "I think Michael and Annalese are complements to each other. They are certainly very different to each other, but they understand one another, and have a deep, loving relationship. I'm starting to realize that Annalese is the one person in the world - along with his children - that Michael truly loves. [...] It would be unimaginable to Michael to envision a world without his wife. He certainly would never try to hurt Annalese deliberately, but he just loves attention from women."
After confronting Michael about his affair, Annalese loses concentration during an operation, leading to the death of a patient. Michael attempts to cover up for her mistake, but in a random breathalyser test, Annalese tests positive for alcohol consumption. When cardiothoracic surgeon Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
discovers the result of the test, she has CEO Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Stella Gonet. The character first appeared on-screen on 10 July 2007 in episode "Under the Radar" - series 9, episode 39 of the programme...
admit Annalese's negligence to the patient's relatives, and Annalese is charged with manslaughter. Although she is acquitted of the charge, she is suspended from work and leaves the hospital, after telling Michael she is pregnant with their fourth child, but is leaving him over his infidelity. Annalese returns briefly in series eleven, when her daughter is admitted to hospital after falling down the stairs. After Michael and colleague Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
save her life, Annalese and Michael renew their relationship. She later gives birth to a son, Charlie. When Michael announces that Annalese has given birth, he jokingly tells his colleagues that the baby's name is Brock.
A year later, Michael and Annalese are seeing a marriage counsellor, who, during their last session, collapses, having suffered a cardiac arrest. They get him to the hospital, though Annalese does not turn up to meet Michael after he comes out of surgery. She then throws him out of their home. A few weeks later, having left Michael several messages on his answering machine, Annalese arrives at the hospital and tells him that she wants a divorce. She later begins a relationship with Ric. Annalese later finds out Ric has Cancer.
Carlos Fashola
David BedellaDavid Bedella
David Bedella is an American TV and musical stage actor, perhaps best known for his Olivier award winning role in the controversial Jerry Springer - The Opera...
plays Carlos Fashola, a plastic surgeon
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
who appears between series six, episode 42 and series seven, episode 34.
Justin Fuller
Ben RichardsBen Richards
Ben Richards is an English actor. He is best known for playing Bruno Milligan in series 4 and 5 of the British TV drama Footballers' Wives and in series 1 and 2 of its spin-off Footballers' Wives: Extra Time...
plays physiotherapist Justin Fuller in series eight, from episode 23 to 37.
Jayne Grayson
Stella GonetStella Gonet
Stella Gonet is a Scottish theatre, film and TV actress.- Career :Gonet trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and is known for playing Beatrice Eliott, one of the two lead roles, in three series of the television drama, The House Of Eliott and Chief Executive Officer Jayne...
plays CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Jayne Grayson, who first appears in the series nine episode "Under the Radar". Gonet's casting as Jayne was announced on 15 June 2007, when Gonet said of joining the cast of Holby City: "I am absolutely delighted to be hiring and firing at Holby." The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
describe Jayne as "a witty and ambitious go-getter who strives relentlessly to achieve her aims", but who "thinks of herself as Solomon." Jayne's first official act as Holby City Hospital's new CEO is to investigate a fabricated racial discrimination allegation made against consultant
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
cardiothoracic surgeon
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
by staff surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
Thandie Abebe - making her immediately unpopular amongst the staff. In episode "The Q Word", it is revealed that prior to arriving at Holby, Jayne worked as a management consultant, and that when asked for help by her own father with his struggling business, she dismissed him from his position and took control of the company herself in a hostile takeover. In episode "Temporary Insanity", Jayne furthers her growing unpopularity amongst the staff by again turning down Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
and Ric Griffin's
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
proposals for charity operations at night. In July 2008, Jayne convinces the hospital's Board of Directors to create a Director of Surgery post. She has Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
and Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
apply for the job, secretly pitting them against each other by professing to support each of them. However, Jayne is successful in keeping the immigrant Tan family at Holby to have their baby rather than being deported back to a nation where they would be killed.
Keith Greene
Alex MacqueenAlex MacQueen
Alexander Tulloch MacQueen is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as Holby City, Hut 33, The Thick of It, and Keeping Mum....
plays Keith Greene, a consultant anaesthetist who is constantly maligned within the show for his poor sense of humour and irritable temper. He has featured in Holby City since its seventh series, becoming the show's Head of Anaesthetics following the departure of Zubin Khan. In episode "The Key Is Fear", Keith is verbally abused by a drunken Stuart McElroy, who surmises him to be an "obsequious, supercilious, insipid four-eyed toss-pot." In the episode "Breathe Deeply", Greene collapses during surgery after becoming contaminated by a toxin from a patient. It causes him to stop breathing; resulting in him being intubated
Intubation
Tracheal intubation, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the placement of a flexible plastic or rubber tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway or to serve as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs...
, though he goes on the make a full recovery. He tells Joseph Byrne that he was formerly married but Mrs. Greene divorced him. Greene applies for the Director of Surgery job, clashing with Connie Beauchamp, however neither of them get the position - which instead goes to general surgical consultant Michael Spence.
Macqueen is set to depart the show in the near future to concentrate on other acting projects.
Gina Hope
Gillian BevanGillian Bevan
Gillian Bevan is an English actress, best known for her roles in British television shows and West End theatre....
plays Gina Hope, the wife of cardiothoracic consultant Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
, and mother of James and Martha Hope. Gina has Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
, and as her condition deteriorates, she becomes increasingly bleak in her outlook - at one point having a DNR
Do not resuscitate
In medicine, a "do not resuscitate" or "DNR" is a legal order written either in the hospital or on a legal form to respect the wishes of a patient to not undergo CPR or advanced cardiac life support if their heart were to stop or they were to stop breathing...
put on her records, which Elliot directly defies. When she collapses at home, he enlists Martha and registrar Joseph Byrne to aid him in fitting Gina with a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
against her express wishes. Although Gina thanks him for saving her, she soon returns to losing the will to continue. She refuses experimental treatment in Singapore, and after befriending Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
, goes away to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide. She changes her mind about not telling Elliot at the last minute, and he flies to Switzerland to join her as she ends her life. Gina's death occurs in series eight, episode 52, though the character reappears in series ten in a fantasy sequence in the episode Elliot's Wonderful Life.
Martha Hope
Holly LucasHolly Lucas
Holly Lucas is an English actress. Her main role was as Megan Boothe in Where the Heart Is taking over the role from Holly Grainger. She has also starred in Doctors, and Peak Practice. Recently she has played the recurring character of Martha Hope in Holby City.-External links:...
plays Martha Hope, the daughter and youngest child of Gina and Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
, and sister of James Hope. She first appears in Holby City in the episode "Quality Time", when she discovers her mother has Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
. When Gina goes into respiratory arrest, she assists her father and Joseph Byrne
Joseph Byrne
Joseph Charles Mortimer Byrne is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by Luke Roberts. Joseph first appeared in the 3 January 2006 episode "Mother Love", series eight, episode twelve of the programme...
in resuscitating her and surgically fitting a tracheotomy, against Gina's express wishes. After her mother's suicide, Martha relies heavily on Joseph, developing a crush on him much to the irritation of his girlfriend, Jac Naylor
Jac Naylor
Jacqueline "Jac" Naylor MBBS MS FRCS FRCSTh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rosie Marcel. She first appeared in the series eight episode "Bird on a Wire", originally broadcast on 22 November 2005....
. She begins working in the hospital as a Healthcare Assistant, supporting her father through his grief. However, Elliot succeeds in convincing his daughter to return to university in the episode "Can't Buy Me Love". In series ten, episode nine, Martha is shot in the arm by STI nurse Tim, and is trapped in a lift with Chrissie when they try to escape. She survives, however, and returns in the eleventh series, having married in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in secret.
Bradley Hume
Scott AdkinsScott Adkins
Scott Adkins is an English actor and martial artist who is perhaps best known for playing Yuri Boyka in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing and Undisputed III: Redemption and Bradley Hume in Holby City and Ed Russell in Mile High...
plays Bradley Hume, the Assistant General Manager of the Holby City Hospital PCT
NHS Primary Care Trust
An NHS primary care trust is a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs commission primary, community and secondary care from providers. Until 31 may2011 they also provided community services directly. Collectively PCT are responsible for spending around 80% of the...
, who appears in series eight from episode 32 to 52.
Ed Loftwood
Graeme GardenGraeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
plays recurring character Ed Loftwood, a cardiothoracic consultant and Clinical Lead at the hospital. He encourages Alex Adams to return to the hospital following his departure, and also has lab technician Reg Lund on his firm for a time. He opposes Connie Beauchamp's planned expansion of Darwin ward, however still recommends that she apply for his Clinical Lead position upon his retirement. Loftwood steps down from the position, but remains at the hospital in a surgical capacity.
Reg Lund
Martin HancockMartin Hancock
Martin Hancock is an English actor well known for his role as Emily Bishop's nephew Geoffrey "Spider" Nugent in the British soap Coronation Street and Reg Lund in Holby City....
plays Reg Lund, a medical researcher and registrar who appears from series seven, episode 37 until series eight, episode 32. He works in the hospital lab alongside Diane Lloyd, and explains to her that while he had been technically competent as a registrar, he found it hard to summon the people skills to work with patients, resulting in a number of fatalities. However, on several occasions he is able to aid both Diane and Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
in emergency operations, and eventually moves to work on the Acute Assessment Unit
Acute Assessment Unit
An acute assessment unit, or acute admissions unit, is a short-stay department in some hospitals that is sometimes part of the emergency department, although a separate department. The AAU acts as a gateway between a patient's general practitioner, the emergency department, and the wards of the...
. While there, he develops a crush on nurse Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. She appeared in the programme from its sixth series in 2004, to its thirteenth in 2011. Donna entered the series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life...
which goes unreciprocated. He confesses his love to her and attempts to convince her that her boyfriend, manager Bradley Hume does not really care for her. Although Donna eventually breaks up with Bradley, she explains to Reg that she values him as a friend and nothing more.
Vanessa Lytton
Leslie AshLeslie Ash
Leslie Ash is an English actress, best known for her role in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007....
plays CEO Vanessa Lytton. Vanessa arrives in the episode "The Spirit Dancing" - series eleven, episode 52 of the programme, replacing former CEO Jayne Grayson. Ash was cast in the role after a five-year break from acting, due to complications arising from MSSA
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...
. As Ash is disabled, Vanessa walks with the aid of a walking stick
Walking stick
A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch...
. Ash has praised Holby City producers for their willingness to cast a disabled actress, though faced some media criticism for accepting the role, as she had previously received £5 million compensation for loss of earnings from the hospital at which she contracted MSSA. Vanessa is a "scheming", "conniving and calculated" executive, whose storylines see her clash with several members of the hospital's senior staff.
Judith Marchant
Shelagh McLeodShelagh McLeod
Shelagh McLeod is a British-based Canadian film and television actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
plays clinical matron Judith Marchant. She initially clashes with consultant nurse Mark Williams, though they become closer when Mark supports her during a hard day. Mark's daughter Chrissie starts dislikes Judith when she discovers she suggested Mark be made redundant and they later clash when Chrissie accuses her of embarrassing her in front of her nurses. When Judith's son Connor is admitted to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, her ex-husband Paul arrives and blames Judith for not informing him sooner. Mark is hostile towards him and annoys Judith by interfering, so Mark then talks to Paul and they reach a truce, and Judith and Mark are friends again and decide to meet up on boxing day. Judith and Mark begin a romantic relationship. She loses her job when CEO Vanessa Lytton
Vanessa Lytton
Vanessa Lytton is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Leslie Ash. The character first appeared on-screen on 13 October 2009 in the episode "The Spirit Dancing" - series eleven, episode fifty-two of the programme...
requires a scapegoat for a hospital scandal, and Judith decides to move to Manchester, where Paul is moving with Connor. She later returned in March to get a reference from Vanessa for another job. The reference is useless and Mark has been preoccupied with Daisha and hasn't taken the time to talk to Vanessa as he promised Judith he was. After a small confrontation they agree to meet in the cafe. When Mark doesn't turn up because he is with Daisha, Judith leaves a voicemail telling him it's over between them; she can't be second best again, and leaves for Manchester that night.
Tom O'Dowd
Jalaal HartleyJalaal Hartley
Jalaal Hartley is a British television actor, most notable for his role as Tom O'Dowd on Holby City. He played Mark, the ex-boyfriend of Saint the gay sex shop manager, in British teen drama Sugar Rush....
appears in Holby City series ten and eleven as Tom O'Dowd, a friend of Leo Griffin, Ric's son. He is a heroin addict who dropped out of medical school, but re-enrols after Leo dies from an overdose. He works at Holby General as a student doctor, but begins using drugs again. Ric tells his father about his drug abuse, and Tom is disinherited in his will. When his father dies, Tom departs from the hospital.
Paul Rose
Andrew Lewis plays recurring anaesthetist Paul Rose, the longest serving recurring character in Holby City to date. He first appears in series three, episode three. For his early appearances, Paul uses a wheelchair, however later returns able-bodied. The character's recovery mirrored the Lewis's real-life paralysis, which saw him able to regain the use of his legs after four years of physiotherapy, following a motorbike accident. Although Paul's disability and subsequent recovery are never directly addressed on screen, Lewis has revealed that the writers originally intended to cover it in depth, and idea which was later discarded so as not to "trivialise the subject for those viewers who spend their whole lives in wheelchairs".Tara Sodi
Meera SyalMeera Syal
Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
plays Tara Sodia, a cardiothoracic consultant who first appears in the series eleven episode "Attachments". She is an old university friend of Elliot Hope's, with whom she co-created a pioneering medical technique which resulted in the death of a child. Tara is described as "a prickly character" who rubs other doctors up the wrong way. She was created to add a comedic presence to the series following the departure of Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
as Abra Durant
Abra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
. In preparation for the role, Syal observed real surgeons performing several operations. Tara arrives in Holby as a surprise for Elliot, who is celebrating his 50th birthday. She convinces him to attempt to repeat their pioneering medical technique on another child. Elliot initially refuses, but later changes his mind. The operation is successful, and, impressed with Tara's experience and commitment to work, Jayne Grayson offers her a full-time contract. When Tara refuses to respect a patient's DNR
Do not resuscitate
In medicine, a "do not resuscitate" or "DNR" is a legal order written either in the hospital or on a legal form to respect the wishes of a patient to not undergo CPR or advanced cardiac life support if their heart were to stop or they were to stop breathing...
order, she re-considers her future at the hospital, but is convinced to stay by Elliot, with whom she shares a kiss.
Christopher Sutherland
Patrick Toomey plays recurring character Christopher Sutherland, who holds a managerial position at the hospital. He offers a consultancy position to Abra DurantAbra Durant
Percival "Abra" Durant is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson. The character first appeared on-screen on 5 July 2005 in the episode "Tuesday's Child", episode 38 of the show's seventh series...
, which he almost immediately revokes when Abra proved uncompliant with the will of the board - opposing Sutherland's plans to reserve one operating theatre for emergency cases only. He is instrumental in Abra's departure - hiring Dan Clifford to uncover the corruption he suspects within the general surgery department. He also convinces Connie Beauchamp
Connie Beauchamp
Constance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
not to leave Holby for Sweden by securing extra funding for the cardiothoracic department. He is seen to pit rival surgeons Dan Clifford and Ric Griffin
Ric Griffin
Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD PhD FRCS FRCS is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme...
against one another upon Ric's return from a sabbatical in Uganda. Towards the end of his tenure, he fires Lola Griffin after she proves resistant to hectic AAU workloads and attempts to cause drama in the local press about departmental overcrowding. When Sutherland refuses to pay for agency nurses, leading to a work to rule day amongst the nursing staff, Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope
Elliot Hope OBE is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama television series Holby City, portrayed by actor Paul Bradley. The character first appeared on 8 November 2005 in the episode "More Equal Than Others" - series eight, episode four of the programme. Elliot was introduced as a...
calls a vote of no confidence against him, and he is subsequently dismissed and replaced by Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson
Jayne Grayson is a fictional character in the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Stella Gonet. The character first appeared on-screen on 10 July 2007 in episode "Under the Radar" - series 9, episode 39 of the programme...
.
External links
- Characters of Holby City at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- Characters of Holby City at What's on TVWhat's On TVWhat's on TV is a weekly television listings magazine published by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.-Overview:What's on TV is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and competitions...