Holby City: All the feels

(Series 18, ep. 35 ‘I’ll Walk You Home’ by Andy Bayliss) If you had dry eyes at the end of that episode, you’re a stronger person than I am. Was that a brilliant hour of television, or what?

Arthur Digby’s last episode was always going to be emotional, no matter which way it went (miracle cure, or slow decline with last few months spent travelling and off-screen demise, or… not). He’s a very well-loved character, not just loved by fans but by so many other characters in the hospital. He’s worked on several wards and come into contact with so many people who love and respect him for his sweet, gentle nature and earnest commitment to his job. So young, just at the start of what promised to be a glittering career. And just married to his soulmate. Whatever happened to him was going to impact on everybody. 

Holby City: Jac and Sacha friend-zoned

(Series 16, ep.4)  Jonny and Bonnie. It just can’t happen. It rhymes, for a start, and it’s impossible to make into one of those portmanteau names – though I have come across “BJ” on Twitter, which is almost certainly meant to be rude. Because the main reason Jonny and Bonnie can’t happen is that it’s making The Glorious Jac unhappy, and anything that makes Jac unhappy makes me unhappy.

Bonnie (she’s nice, darn her, and pretty too) is no longer an agency nurse. She’s a full-time, fully paid-up staff member, although obviously that means less within the fluid staffing configurations of Holby City than it would almost anywhere else. She is also “stepping out” with Jonny Mac, a fact which got our Jac so rattled she made a too-deep incision during surgery. Obviously she’s Jac, so she saved the patient anyway and treated her to a most beautiful piece of post-operative Naylor sarcasm. When the (annoying new-agey) patient complained that Jac had done an open procedure instead of a laparoscopic one as promised, Jac replied, “This morning you were suffering pericardial effusion as a result of your own actions and now, as a result of mine, you can go back to shopping and having lunch.”

Jac is aware of how she appears to other people, though. “I’ve just been called grouchy,” she said to Mo. “On a good day, maybe,” Mo replied.  

Holby City: The plumbing and the back to work bird

(Series 16, ep.3)  Henrik Hanssen’s parting words to Chantelle were, “Don’t ever stop being Nurse Lane.” But can she get over the car crash to continue being the sunny, joy-spreading nurse she once was?

She was back to work for her first shift. Serena told her she was on admin only, but that was never going to last for longer than it takes to shout “We need some help here!” Digby gave her a cuddly “Back to work bird” to bring her luck, which was adorable of him. It was all going reasonably well until Chantelle caught sight of Malick’s arm while the dressing was being changed and the hideous sight made her throw up. After that she was in a bit of a flap.

She tried to compensate by spreading extra joy to her patients, including a woman whose pregnancy test had come back positive. Chantelle wasted no time in giving the happy news to the patient’s boyfriend. Sadly it wasn’t a pregnancy but a tumour, and the patient died in a very messy way in the operating theatre. I couldn’t help thinking the scene in the Keller theatre was a bit frantic, with Mr T and Digby panicking a bit more than you usually see on Holby, where a spurting artery usually elicits nothing than a raised eyebrow and a call for some suction and 4-0 Vicryl.  

Holby City: Arthur, you’re not clinical waste – you’re brilliant

(Series 16, ep.2)  Arthur Digby is my kind of guy. The kind of guy who’ll bring you breakfast in bed and then demonstrate the workings of your brain via the medium of a croissant. And he has the most beautiful smile.

Still feeling guilty and worried about Chantelle, he installed her in Keller so he could keep an eye on her and so she could be among her friends and other ill people. She also came in handy by deploying her legendary people skills on a lady who was not being the most cooperative patient, because she wanted to put off her surgery till the man of her dreams arrived for a night in a posh hotel. The woman’s niece and Digby thought this man was literally something from the old lady’s dreams, but Chantelle had faith that he’d turn up because she’s a romantic.

Later, when Digby suggested she move in with him, she accepted partly because she’s scared to be by herself at the moment, but there was more to it than that. When the old lady was talking about her dream man, Chantelle was overcome by emotion for a minute and had to have a little cry. She wants  true love and romance and security. Whether Digby is the person to provide it remains to be seen, but for now she’s about to fill his no doubt unhomely home with cushions and fluffy items. He couldn’t be happier, bless him.  

Holby City: When Henrik stopped being Mr Hanssen

(Series 15, ep.52)  Henrik Hanssen has been one of the greatest ever Holby characters. A mystery wrapped in an enigma encased by a formal suit, he was always intriguing and fascinating. The character was beautifully written, especially in the early days when odd little clues about his background were leaked out bit by bit, but it was Guy Henry’s stunning acting skills that really brought him to life. Having to work with the constraint that Hanssen was a character who didn’t really show emotion, his inner feelings had to be revealed by the most subtle acting, and by clever, telling details like the way he ate his sushi and arranged his pencils.

The exit episode for such a special character needed to be very good indeed, and last night’s episode was wonderful (beautiful writing by Nick Fisher). There had to be quite a lot of suspension of disbelief – that Digby was allowed to operate on the woman he loves even though he’d been a puking, shivering mess not long before; that no neurosurgeon was available at all (I’m sure in an emergency one could have been summoned from The Mythical St James’ or the Hadlington or somewhere if there really wasn’t one at Holby); that Ric Griffin took no part in the surgery to re-attach Malick’s hand even though he’s always been the go-to guy when veins needed sorting out; and so on. But, really, I wouldn’t have wanted to sacrifice any of the drama just to make things more realistic. Having Digby and Hanssen outside the operating theatre biting their nails while a Guest Artiste Surgeon did all the vital stuff wouldn’t have been the same as having them perform heroic deeds themselves.  

Holby City: Look out! Look out! Look out!

(Series 15, ep.51)  Talk about emotional rollercoaster! I don’t mean Serena’s birthday, though I dare say it’ll be one that she won’t forget – and she doesn’t even know (or care) about beloved Tim dying in AAU or Mo and Sacha kissing in the Linden Cullen Memorial Shrubbery. She doesn’t even know yet about the car crash right at the end, but obviously she’s going to, as half her colleagues were involved and there’ll quite probably be some life-saving surgery to get stuck into next week.

Phew. Let’s rewind a bit. It was the day of the Young Doctor of the Year award ceremony, and Digby was practising his speech – or his “rambling love letter to the Swede,” as Zosia put it. And this would be a good place to mention that I really, really like Zosia. I think there’s going to turn out to be a lot to her, and given time she could be one of the great Holby characters.

I also really love Digby and find him laugh-aloud funny. My favourite line was when his patient had just informed him that she was planning to call her unborn baby Destiny. Digby was explaining why she was in pain. “The appendix is being pushed up by the… by Destiny,” he said.  

Holby City: Sometimes it’s better not to know

(Series 15, ep.43) You have to feel sorry for Prof Elliot Hope. He’s known more human suffering than most men – the loss of his beloved Gina, living in his car for a while because he had to sell his house, being romantically pursued by Lady Byrne, almost being shipped off to The Mythical St James’ during the Darwin-Goes-Plastic debacle.

Things have been looking up for him recently though, with the arrival in his life of Psych Sharon. This week we discover they’re already at the arriving at work together, cheek pecking in public, dog walking phase. So sweet! Elliot even trusts Sharon with his beloved Samson!

And then she went and ran him over. Samson, not Elliot. It was only a little nudge, but enough to break his leg. I loved how Elliot’s first reaction was to send for Jac Naylor – Elliot and Jac have operated on Samson before, so she knows her way around a dog. But they called a vet, and Elliot was given the bad news that Samson had bone cancer and the kindest thing was to put him to sleep. Sniff! As if poor Elliot hasn’t had enough euthanasia in his life. And he doesn’t know that it was Sharon who caused the accident.

Dr Sharon was very much in demand, with two whole patients and a dog to worry about. Just as well Oliver Valentine has left – she’d never have been able to fit him in as well. On Keller she was consulted about the memory loss patient from last week. Digby felt he was just stringing them along in order to lure the lovely Chantelle away. When they found out the true identity of Memory Man, Sharon’s advice was Don’t Tell Him Yet. So Digby told him. Well, it was clinically urgent to stop him flirting with Chantelle. It ended up with Memory Man running through the ward in his pants and getting in what’s technically known as a “right state” and Hanssen having very stern words with his new mentee. I do love it when Hanssen has stern words.

Digby was entirely in the wrong and screwed up massively, but even worse for him was Chantelle telling him that their kiss didn’t mean anything and she doesn’t have a romantic thought in her head for him (and she does have thoughts in her head, you know – she gets really cross when people think it’s just air).

On AAU, the new anaesthetist kept being referred to as “Edward…” because apparently nobody could remember his surname. Odd, that, when as a memory aid they could have remembered that it was awfully similar, indeed exactly the same, as that of Queen of the Hospital Serena Campbell. This was on account of them being previously married and that. Serena was on fine form, getting all shouty and irate at her ex (it’s fair to say he rattles her – she ain’t over him yet, I reckon) and sarcastic with her staff, while being kind and lovely to a frightened patient in theatre.

Pregnancy watch – Jac is apparently taking spinning classes in an effort to keep the weight gain under control, though I’m sure I heard Jonny Mac use the word “chubby” within her hearing (and she didn’t destroy him with a Death Stare – how she’s mellowed). In the bar for the wake for Elliot’s dog (Sharon’s idea) Jac was having to resist the peanuts.

Next time Mo faces up to the repercussions of her recent transplant case; Chrissie gets the results of her latest scan; and who will Serena take to the ball?

Posted by PLA (on holiday with rubbish Internet so no photos)

Holby City: Sons and daughters

(Series 15, ep.42)  Mo has placed herself firmly in the category of “maverick” this week (and what doctor worth his or her salt in Holby hasn’t been in that category at one time or another?). Determined that her heart transplant patient Hattie wouldn’t die, she told a teeny weeny fib when the heart donor’s mother tried to withdraw consent, and said the procedure was too far gone and couldn’t be stopped.

It was one of those cases where you could see everyone’s point. Mo felt justified because if she hadn’t done what she did, there’d have been two dead girls at the end of the episode instead of one. She also had it in her mind that Hattie’s mother (beautifully played by Eva Pope) had already lost one child. On the other side was the grief of Nicole, the donor’s mother (Lizzie Hopley, also heartbreaking – the scenes between her and Eva Pope were really touching), and poor Jonny Mac, caught in the middle and trying to do what was right and follow procedures.  

Holby City: Making yourself feel better

(Series 15, ep.41)  That Chantelle is made of sterner stuff than you’d think. She seems so pink and pretty that every time she laughs a new baby fairy is born, but she must be hard as nails really. How else do you explain going straight back to work after you’ve been mugged, with your false eyelashes glued firmly into place on your bruised and swollen eyelid? That’s got to smart, but she bore it with her shoulders back, her head held high and a professional smile on her face.

The same could not be said for Digby. He was suffering from the aftermath of the attack. Not so much any physical injuries, although his glasses had to have first aid, but the realisation that he’d failed the woman he loves when she needed him most. He spent the rest of the episode trying to make himself feel better, as Chantelle pointed out to him, by being a bit too stroppy and ready to call the police on the potential mugger, who was the kid who was giving Chantelle trouble last week, Cameron.

In turn, Cameron accused Chantelle of trying to make herself feel better with her caring, sharing style. At the end of the episode, Chantelle and Digby sat on the curved bench of contemplation in an outdoor area I don’t remember having seen before (they must have had Lottery funding to expand the Linden Cullen Memorial Shrubbery, as there seems to be more of it every week). She said she felt daft for being such a soft touch, and he said (I’m paraphrasing) that her soft touch was exactly what was lovely about her, and not to go changing because he loves her just the way she is. He was bold enough to put his arm around her shoulders as he said this, and was rewarded for his efforts with a kiss. It’s been a long time coming (since New Year’s Eve, when Chantelle first set eyes on her Consolation Nerd), and I hope now they can be happy for a while and neither of them will be diagnosed with a brain tumour or end up doing something they might regret with Mary-Claire after a drunk night at the bar.  

Holby City: The dangers that lurk in the car park

(Series 15, ep.40) Lauren Drummond (Chantelle) was on daytime TV yesterday talking about tonight’s episode. I didn’t watch it, because I’m spoiler-averse, but I assumed she’d be talking about  Digby’s crush on Chantelle and whether Channers is ever going to see him as more than a friend.

As it turns out, the question we were left with at the shock end of the episode was – is she ever going to see him again, or is she going to expire quietly in the Carpark of Doom? Maybe I should have watched daytime TV to get a clue.

It all started quite well for Digby, as he received his results and discovered he’s gone from being the third best F1 in the hospital (after Tara and Honey) to being the number one F2 (Honey is second, and Tara is out of contention. Hashtag RIP Tara). This has earned him new respect among some of his seniors. Serena even invited him out for a drink with the senior management team (her and Hanssen – what fun!). He deserved it, bless him – he’d put in a lot of effort. “I even read Pancreatic Duct Obstructions: A New Perspective from cover to cover,” he told Serena. “Somebody had to,” she replied, looking amused (I do like Serena when she’s being amused).