Holby City: A man that’s hurting inside

(Series 16, ep.49)   I had a bit of a flashback watching last night’s Holby City. As Dr Raf Smug shimmied into a confessional booth and began pouring out his tortured Scottish soul (he wants to kill Dr Harry Posh), I couldn’t help but be reminded of the sainted Linden Cullen and his anguished moments in various hospital chapels. My advice to Raf: avoid the shrubbery. My advice to Harry: avoid Raf.

I don’t think Raf would actually kill Harry, though obviously he has more reasons than just Harry being all posh and blue-eyed and sparkly and that. There’s all that business about Harry’s sperm (possibly) succeeding where Raf’s sperm (possibly) failed. But still – was this any reason to behave the way Raf did, by concealing a life-or-death bit of patient information so that Harry would mess up royally in theatre under the stern gaze of Ric Griffin? The upshot was that Harry is now suspended (it must have made a change for Ric to be the suspender rather than the suspendee), and a patient almost died.

Raf took the Linden Cullen way out, which was to go snivelling to God to ask for help: “I’m a healer, so would you heal me please so I can continue healing others?” he pleaded with his invisible chum. Or with the priest, who was partly visible and owed Raf one because Raf had sorted out his ingrown toenail earlier. I think the phrase God is possibly fishing for at the minute is “Physician heal thyself.”  

“There’s something about a man that’s hurting inside,” Prof Elliot Hope told Adele, who’d spotted that Jonny Maconie has recently become something of a lady-magnet on account of being bereaved and having an adorable child. Elliot could just as easily have been talking about Tortured Dr Raf, but he wasn’t. Adele was naturally drawn to the powerful force of the tragic Jonny and they had a go at kissing, but decided it was just a bit weird and they’re better off as mates. 

They had their hands full anyway – not with each other, but with those two annoying young farmers who turn up on Darwin at regular intervals. “What things do I hate the most?” Jac asked Jonny. He offered up a varied, if incomplete, list: “Managers, drugs reps, puy lentils, British wine, whiners, Americans, the French, any pastry with a French name…” All true, but the thing Jac hates the most is “idiots,” as exemplified by the young farmers. One of them had swallowed an electric dog training device, thus giving him even more of a static charge than Jonny Maconie and his romantic air of tragedy. 

My favourite scene of the episode was Digby and Dominic, in “his and his” kimonos, being surprised in the middle of a little domestic moment by Selfie. David Ames and Rob Ostlere are so brilliant at these funny scenes and their facial expressions were precious. Why was Selfie walking unannounced into their flat? He was picking up some things for Zosia, who was staying with him. And she wouldn’t be coming into work either because she was too fragile. Except that by the time they got to the hospital, Zosia was already there and hard at work on one of those hard to diagnose patients that Keller gets so many of. As usual, she eventually made the right diagnosis, but not before a lot of very worryingly manic behaviour – including getting the patient to start thinking about funeral plans.

She was being shadowed by Dr Amy Teo, looking rather lovely in a plain black dress rather than her usual florals, and far more interesting away from the Smug/Smug/Posh triangle. Amy had pointed out to Selfie that she wasn’t a psychiatrist and hence wasn’t qualified to asses Zosia’s mental health, but he pointed out in return that if his daughter saw a psychiatrist it would go on her record, and these things didn’t happen in his world. Amy wasn’t comfortable with this Self-centred view, but Selfie pointed out that Zosia wasn’t the first person to have an inappropriate and damaging fling with another member of staff. He didn’t wink meaningfully, but Amy knew what he meant so she dutifully did as asked and observed Dr March in action. Her verdict? Zosia’s not well. 

The episode was dedicated to lovely Clare Cathcart, who played the wonderfully snarky AAU patient, Joy. Clare died on 4th September.

Next time: More woes for Serena, as Adrienne’s health deteriorates; Jac antagonises Elliot; and there’s a nurse in a tiger onesie for Dominic.