Holby City: Be more Carole

Happier times…

(Series 23, ep. 16 by Becky Prestwich 20.7.21) Please have a look at my review of the episode for Metro. But before you go…

Dominic and Carole absolutely broke my heart. Under his cocky exterior (“Behind every brilliant surgeon…”) you can see the little boy Dominic used to be, scared and lacking confidence but knowing his mum would always be on his side.

Julia Deakin plays Carole so perfectly.

Line of the week: (Dom) ’Be more Carole.’ Obviously.

I don’t even want to think about the Evie Fletcher storyline. It’s too horrible to contemplate.

Fashion icon of the week: Hanssen in uncharacteristically casual style at the beginning – the top button of his shirt was undone! – and then in a ‘very swaggy suit’ for the party.

Baby daddy of the week: Josh is entirely lovely, isn’t he? I liked how the news that he and Ange are expecting twins just seemed to make them twice as happy. I hope it lasts.

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: Broken boy soldier

(Series 18, ep. 34) Still determined to break our hearts one week at a time, this week Holby gave us the sad sight of lovely Arthur Digby arriving at the hospital by ambulance, with breathing difficulties, and the even sadder sight of him in a hospital bed. Symbolically, Dominic had been fiddling with one of Digby’s military figures and snapped it in half accidentally. Was it curtains for Digby?

All wasn’t lost, however. There was always Jac’s prototype removable stent, which would make a huge difference to Digby’s quality of life and send him on his way – if not with a spring in his step, at least being able to breathe unaided.

The aforementioned stent was destined for another patient. By manipulative means, Zosia (who in her turn was being manipulated by Selfie, who has been at her shoulder like a bad angel quite a lot recently) made sure Arthur got the treatment he needed. I think we have to park quietly to one side that Zosia’s actions were unethical. Just the look of relief on Morven’s face when she heard the surgery had gone well was enough for me. 

Holby City: Breaking hearts, one week at a time

(Series 18, ep. 33) For those of us hoping for Hanssen to pull a miracle cure out of the bag for Digby, like he did for Ric Griffin, he is leaving it a little late. And I rather fear that if he was going to do it, he’d have done it in this episode.

There was a lot of Hanssen this week, as he’d decided to station himself on Keller for the day. The first thing we discovered about him is that his middle name is Love. It’s pronounced ‘Loovay,’ apparently, but his stethoscope is engraved with ‘Henrik Love Hanssen.’ It’s too delicious.

The stethoscope as a symbol of the practice and vocation of medicine, and Love as a symbol of, well, love, featured prominently in this episode, as Digby came to the realisation that the future he’d imagined for himself might be disappearing. 

Holby City: I’ve always got your back

(Series 18, ep. 32) All three stories in this episode dealt with issues of loyalty, friendship and support. Some relationships were strengthened, but one seems to have broken up altogether.

Maybe I should start with the broken one and then proceed via the strengthened-yet-sad one, and end with the strengthened-and-happy one so we’re not too depressed by the end.

Remember last week when Serena’s car was stolen and lots of confidential information from her laptop made its way to the press and the interweb? This week the impact of Serenaleaks (as she wouldn’t thank me for calling it) was most strongly felt on Darwin, when “news” emerged of a doctor with bipolar. Then Zosia’s name was published online, possibly by her patient. 

Holby City: Incurable romantic

(Series 18, ep. 31) Holby City was trending on Twitter last night, as viewers up and down the country blinked away their tears to share their thoughts about what was a brilliant episode.

It wasn’t an episode I’d been looking forward to. I avoid serious spoilers (the detailed ones that almost make watching the programme pointless), but it was obvious from all the hints that things were not going to go well for Digby – even if you factor in that he got married to a gorgeous woman who makes him very happy.

I’ve always loved Digby since he first appeared. One of the most brilliant medical students of his year, he also had to cope with a lack of social skills and general anxiety (as well as a nasty  car crash, a mugging and being pounced on by Zosia). At the same time, he has such a beautiful smile and is obviously such a nice person that you’re always on his side. He’s quirky and funny and he has a backpack with horses on it. He’s adorable. His colleagues think so, too, and his relationships with Chantelle, Zosia, Morven, Sacha and especially Dominic have been precious to behold. 

Holby City: Truly brave

(Series 18, ep. 29) Essie makes a mean shepherd’s pie, apparently. I start with Essie because I’ve been a bit critical of her in the past (when she was being Chrissie 2.0), but in an episode like this, where she’s very much embedded in the general goings-on of Keller and doing her transplant coordinator thing, I really like her. She has a warmth, steadiness and dependability which is exactly what you’d want from a nurse.

It’s also exactly what Digby needs at the moment, though he’s pretending hard that it isn’t. Everyone was worried about him in this episode, as his cancer treatment was taking its toll on him and he looked quite pale and fragile at times. Sacha, Essie and Dominic wanted him to go home and rest, but when Morven’s dad was brought in following a car accident, he insisted on staying. 

Holby City: The one with the Norse gods

(Series 18, ep. 26) If you see the phrase “Norse God” and immediately think “Henrik Hanssen,” you’d have agreed with whoever voted for him to win the Sexiest Doctor prize in the annual Holby Awards. He beat stiff competition from Oliver Valentine and Dr Raf Not-Smug for the accolade, and accepted it with the slightly ironic grace the situation demanded.

For other Norse gods we must turn to Digby, and his new hobby of making copper medallions of all our favourites from the Thor movies and giving them to his friends and colleagues to wear (I was quite pleased that Loki was meant for Dominic). Never mind that it turned their skin green, it kept him occupied and that’s what he needs at the moment.

What he doesn’t really need is people pussy-footing around him, but that’s what darling Dominic spent most of the day doing, because he wants to help. Sadly with the best will in the world you’re not going to be able to stop a doctor with cancer coming across patients with cancer, and Dominic realised (with Sacha’s help) that the best way to help Digby was to be normal around him. Which meant the skin-discolouring Norse god (the medal, not Hanssen) had to go for a start. 

Holby City: Please not Digby!

(Series 18, ep. 25) This was the most beautifully written and acted episode. The scenes between Dominic and Digby were heartbreakingly perfect as Dominic was the one to discover that his friend’s cancer had spread. The moment when he put Digby’s glasses on for him was such a tender expression of his care and Digby’s vulnerability – I had to make a very big effort not to cry loud snotty tears, particularly as I was watching it on a train. Beautiful, Hanssen-level acting from David Ames and Rob Ostlere.

Elsewhere, Adele was very committed to neurosurgery. We knew this because she said so every five minutes. It took the death of her old holiday rep friend, Denise Welch, to make her realise that she wasn’t that committed to neurosurgery after all. After a glittering career progression in which she’s been expert in everything from hearts to brains to radio presenting, she’s finally found her true calling in the world of palliative care. Unbelievably, Holby is not the centre of palliative care excellence (well, they can’t be brilliant at every specialism), so she’s off to The Mythical King/St/Whatever John’s to be trained. Or to train them, because she’s bound to know better.

And lovely Nurse Cara Martinez finally plucked up the courage to ask Dr Raf Not Smug on a date (a proper date, not involving Fletch and the Fletchlings) – but then realised that she wasn’t over her miserable husband, Jed ‘Alias’ Martinez, who has been banged up for five years. This has prompted Cara to seek a new post on Darwin. 

Holby City: The sweetest thing

Morven and Digby are such a sweet couple. They’re so adorable they knock Ollie and Zosia into second place and could only possibly be beaten if Mo and Mr T got together. Morven’s proposal to Digby in that most romantic of settings, the Linden Cullen Memorial Shrubbery, was so touching – and provoked one of Digby’s best “nicest smile in the NHS” smiles.

I found myself wishing, as usual, that the writers would give them a few months of happiness at least (not forgetting that they already have her father’s illness to cope with). I should really stay away from spoilers.

It was a busy day for the Linden Cullen Memorial Shrubbery. I’m far too innocent to speculate what Sacha and Essie might have been up to in its leafy depths, but I don’t think it was anything you’d see on Gardeners’ World.

Meanwhile, what is going on with Ric Griffin? It seems that he and Jess didn’t part on good terms and after missing several calls from her he’s now unable to reach her because her phone number is dead. He’s all angry about something and he’s had Jesse transferred to AAU for no good reason apart from possibly because he has “Jess” in his name.

And poor Mo had her hands full with the new consultant, Sir Dennis Bigoted-Dinosaur, who is not only the holder of some extremely offensive views, but he’s also fairly rubbish at surgery and hasn’t done any for a long time. Jac seems to be blissfully unconcerned about all this, and Ollie and Zosia turned against Mo because Sir Dennis had been giving them tricky procedures to do on their own (so he wouldn’t have to) and now he isn’t anymore. Mo is made of feisty stuff though, and she’s not going to let a temporary twonk get the better of her.