Holby City: And then there was one Valentine

(Series 13, Ep.26) Stunningly Beautiful Dr Penny Valentine is no more! Crushed beneath a crashed train while rescuing a patient, her fabulous skin and gorgeous hair will be seen on Holby no more.

It sounds like one of those Holby/Casualty crossover episodes, all action sequences and falling masonry, doesn’t it? But it was all the more shocking because the action didn’t leave the hospital, so there wasn’t really any hint that such a huge tragedy would occur. In fact the first sign that all wasn’t well was when Michael Spence and Goth Dr Frieda, who’d gone to the scene of the accident with Penny, arrived back alone, while Oliver was leaving a message on his sister’s voicemail, trying to make amends with her and telling her that “life’s too short.” Oh, the dramatic irony of that little phrase.

There was loads going on this episode – power tussles between Dan and Sacha, and Sahira and Jac. But the episode belonged to Young Dr Oliver Valentine (brilliant work from James Anderson), under threat from his sister that if he hadn’t told Hanssen that he wasn’t actually medically qualified by the close of play, she would do it.

Boy Valentine has been a bit rubbish recently, medically speaking. Lots of mistakes, errors of judgement, lack of confidence. Then on what was due to be his last day as a doctor, there’s a massive train crash, Holby is the designated receiving hospital for the casualties, AAU is on the front line, and Oliver is up to his knees and out of his depth treating a woman with a shard of glass sticking out of her abdomen and delusions that her daughter, who died five years ago, is still alive. He almost messed things up, “helpfully” allowing the woman to delay surgery because she didn’t want to use up supplies of blood that her daughter might need (in the confusion, Oliver thought her daughter was being operated on elsewhere by Sacha and Dan). But, when pressures and sats and all those droppable things started dropping, Oliver was the only person who was available to perform life-saving surgery. Coached by the rather magnificent Malick, who yelled instructions at him down the phone while carrying out another bit of surgery in another theatre and then sprinted like a greyhound to AAU, Oliver proved that, when push comes to shove, he’s got the balls and the skills.

A good day for Boy Valentine, then, and his first reaction was to share the news of his triumph with his sister, by ringing her. “I’ve had a bit of a day,” he said, and then remembered she’d spent her shift at the scene of a terrible train crash. “I can only imagine what kind of day you’ve had.” Then he got the news from Michael Spence – Penny was dead.

In the morgue to identify the body, Oliver confessed to Malick about cheating in his exams and swapping his paper for Penny’s. Malick is only a few letters apart from the word “maverick” himself, and mere technicalities don’t bother him. He’d seen Oliver’s best work that day and didn’t want him to waste his talents. “As far as I’m concerned, we never had that conversation,” he said.

I’m glad Oliver will be staying, but I’m sad Penny had to go, and I’m sad that she had to be crushed under a train rather than joining Scott James in Spain for a happy life. But Spain would never have suited her colouring, and the tragic nature of her demise will no doubt inspire Oliver to be a better man, to be worthy of her.

And what a day to be starting a new job as CT consultant. Jac Naylor received a gift – a pair of kick-ass shoes from the glorious Connie Beauchamp, with the message “Fill them.” And filling Connie’s shoes is exactly what Jac proceeded to do, mainly by picking fights with Sahira. Jac doesn’t really do “colleagues,” she does “rivals,” and Sahira, because of her close relationship with Hanssen, is the biggest rival of the lot.

However, by the end of the episode Jac had to concede that Sahira was sometimes right in her more conservative approaches (a lesson also learned by Dan, as he and Sacha disagreed over whether to amputate a teenage girl’s leg). “Maybe you’d better look at your idiosyncratic management style,” Hanssen advised her, before dropping the bomb that Darwin may be about to close. Oh, and Jac also received a punch in the eye from an annoyed relative. Like I said, what a day to be starting a new job.

Next time: Michael. Malick and Sahira all have things to prove.

Posted by PLA             (more Holby here)

PS – from Emma Catherwood on Facebook: “Ah finally it’s aired so I can speak! I’ve been dying to tell you all what happens, and reply to your questions. Let me just say working on Holby was amazing, dedicated cast/crew, not only great at their jobs but lovely people, now friends  for those that asked don’t fear it was my choice to depart (haha!) it’s time to mix it up again!  again thankyou!!! Bye bye Penny Valentine xxxxx”