2005 has been a great year for HOLBY CITY. Quality storylines and characters brought highly dramatic, emotional and laughter-filled episodes. The show could have been accused of becoming stale, had they not decided to start grooming for a fresh new start with the move away from Maternity and the departure of long-serving characters such as Lisa, Mubbs and Owen to the more dynamic world of Cardio-thoracics and exciting newcomers Elliot, Lola, Mark, Jac and many more to arrive in the New Year.
We take a look at some of the best moment of 2005…
BEST 10 STORYLINES OF 2005
1. Will’s death – There were many emotional storylines to hit Holby this year, but surgeon Will Curtis’ death certainly had fans in tears. It was his frosty relationship with boss Connie that gripped people’s attention most. Connie had been accused of bullying him but despite the tension between them, they had a bond. Connie battled to save him and was crushed when she failed. ‘Connie does everything she can and you see how much she really cares about Will,’ says Amanda Mealing. ‘She has been hard on everyone, particularly Will, but all the grief is because he is such a great surgeon and she wanted to make him an even better one.’
2. Holby in Africa – After the success of last year’s Holby in Paris episodes, the show ventured further afield to Ghana as part of BBC1’s African Season. The episode showed Ric head home to face old demons, whilst Diane head out to persuade him to come home. Despite her recent marriage to Owen, she admits she still loves him and they share a tender kiss. ‘It was a pleasure to film in Africa,’ said Hugh Quarshie. ‘So often it’s just an exotic backdrop for US and European stories, but the BBC is letting Africa speak for itself and addressing some issues seriously in this episode, which is great.’
3. Jess baby death – Jess was one of the few characters on both medical dramas to carry a baby full term, however it was not without it’s complications and tragedy struck three months later. Jess was finding motherhood hard and when baby Paris was taken seriously ill to hospital, she was accused of hurting him. ‘Everyone is accusing her,’ said Verona Joseph. ‘She’s sure she’ll find support in her partner Zubin, but because he’s seen her struggling to cope with the baby, he angrily accuses her too.’ Only her father Ric is behind her 100% and tests eventually show her son to have a blood clotting problem. Sadly baby Paris dies and it meant one of Holby’s best couples were never to be the same again.
4. Michael’s downfall – With a wife like Connie, fans expected a tough man to be able to stand up to her. However his deviance was worse than expected when he brought the VRSA bug into the hospital and attempted to cover up his actions. Once Connie found out she felt no alternative but to expose his lies and have him arrested. ‘It breaks Connie’s heart,’ said Amanda Mealing. ‘She’s watching both Michael’s career and their marriage being destroyed.’
5. Chrissie/Owen/ Diane – The on-going saga of Owen’s relationship woes came to a head after actor Mark Moraghan quit in December. Fans always knew Chrissie and Owen were destined to be together, despite his relationship with Diane. And even he couldn’t resist sleeping with Chrissie on his stag night. However he still decided to marry Diane much to Chrissie’s dismay. But Chrissie wasn’t about to give up and months later gave him an ultimatum. Owen told a heartbroken Diane it was over and confessed his affair, as she begged him to give their marriage another try. But the path of love never runs smoothly – after his ex-wife dies, Owen decides to forsake his relationship with Chrissie to be a good father to Katie.
6 Ric/ Jess/ Zubin – The usually cool and calm surgeon, Ric, was kept in the dark about his daughter, Jess’ relationship with his best friend Zubin. ‘All hell breaks lose when he finds out the truth at long last,’ explained Hugh Quarshie. Ric also has to come to terms with Jess being pregnant, and it all becomes too much when he heads out to Ghana. However when he does return, his frosty relationship with Zubin thaws when he gives a good reference for Zubin to the board, when his job is under jeopardy.
7. Tricia’s secret – Nurse Tricia has had to contend with a deep darket secret – Mark was not infact Chrissie real father – it was Mark’s father, Frank, who raped her. Keeping the secret to herself certainly cost a reunion between her and Mark, when he couldn’t understand her callous attitude towards Frank, even after he died. ‘Chrissie and Mark can’t understand why Tricia is being so unsympathetic,’ said Sharon Maughan, whose character changed the DNR records as Frank lay dying in a desperate bid to keep everything secret. ‘All they know is that when Tricia was married to Mark, she and Frank didn’t get on at all.’
8. Diane miscarriage – As Owen and Diane hoped to cement their relationship with a baby, tragedy struck when workaholic Diane suffered a miscarriage. Owen is gutted and accuses her of not taking things easy, ‘It’s absolutely heartbreaking,’ said Patricia Potter. ‘and she asks Owen to leave her alone for a while.’
9. Amy Jones/ abortion – The arrival of teenager Amy Jones caused problems for a number of staff at Holby. She first made her debut at the Family Planning Clinic, desperately asking Mickie and Donna to give her the abortion pill. She claims to be abused by her step-father and it ends with them forging notes so no doctor is involved in the case, so as to help her. However this comes back on Mickie and Donna when Amy returns and Owen discovers what has happened. Amy refuses to admit the abuse infront of anyone else and Donna and Owen soon become embroiled in her troubles further, when Owen hits her GP step-father.
10. Mubbs/ Rosie baby death Mubbs and Rosie’s relationship was never stable with womanising Mubbs’ ways, but he is devastated when their premature baby dies and Rosie leaves him. ‘Mubbs knows he’s mistreated Rosie and initially he didn’t want the baby,’ said Ian Apsinall. ‘Now he’s lost both and he’s devastated.’
BEST 5 PERFORMANCES
1. Amanda Mealing – Will’s death – As one of Holby’s most popular characters, Amanda’s portrayal of Connie when Will died was a great performance. The usual steely character showed she does have emotions, ‘Connie sheds a tear for him, and you start to understand that she only does the things she does because she has to.’
2. Verona Joseph – baby death – Verona’s portrayal of Jess was hugely powerful as her baby died. ‘It’s a traumatic, painful scene, as Jess begs Connie to save her baby,’ said Verona. ‘Filming it left me in pieces.’
3. Patricia Potter – miscarriage – Stressed out and pregnant Diane was not impressed by Owen’s demands that she should take things easy and perhaps consider and less demanding research position. ‘She’s a workaholic,’ said Patricia Potter. ‘It’s very hard for her to take a back seat.’
4. Sharon Maughan – Frank/ secret – Last year, Sharon’s portrayal of Tricia as she suffered breast cancer was well noted and this year she had another meaty storyline as Tricia was left keeping a dark secret from Mark and Chrissie. ‘Frank dies, and Mark and Chrissie are devastated,’ said Sharon. ‘However Tricia feels a mixture of guilt and relief. His death means her secret is safe..’ but for how long?
5. Hugh Quarshie (Africa) – Ric left his troubles of Holby behind to return to his homeland of Ghana, finding out some family truths in the process. His visit to his father’s graveside was particularly poignant. ‘Ric is from Ghana as I am, so it made sense,’ said Hugh of the decision to film the African special. ‘It was boiling – we had temperatures above 40 degrees!’ he added, on the difficult working conditions.
BEST 5 ROMANCES
1. Jess & Zubin – Jess and Zubin were one of the most talked about couples of 2005. Ric noted his displeasure of their relationship and always knew that Zubin couldn’t be relied or trusted upon. Following the death of their baby son, Zubin pushed himself into work instead of supporting Jess. ‘In his defence, running away is just his way of dealing with it all.’ said Art Malik. Jess tells him she doesn’t think their relationship will ever work and they break up.
2. Diane & Ric – Although never officially becoming a couple during HOLBY CITY, fans were delighted to see their brief kiss on Diane’s hen night and their emotional reunion in Ghana. Diane admits she still loves him and tries to kiss him, however Ric tells her to return home to husband Owen. ‘In the past, Ric’s been rejected twice by Diane, despite still being in love with her, he’s wary’ said Hugh Quarshie. ‘They have unfinished business.’
3. Chrissie & Owen – Chrissie and Owen’s relationship have seen more ups and downs than anyone. ‘Chrissie and Owen have a lot of history,’ said Tina Hobley. ‘They’ve been married already and there’s always been a chemistry between them. She’s convinced that Owen’s kidding himself about Diane.’ Despite Owen marrying Diane, their relationship eventually falls apart and just as the way is finally laid clear for him and Chrissie, Owen’s ex-wife dies leaving Owen to give up everything and put all his energies into supporting his grieving daughter.
4. Connie & Michael – Their sparky relationship made for interesting viewing. Although they loved eachother, both didn’t think twice on cheating on eachother, but when Michael was willing to compromise the hospital and Connie’s position, Connie decided to set him up and expose his corruption.
5. Diane & Owen – Their marriage didn’t get off to the best of starts when behind her back he slept with Chrissie on his stag night. ‘Diane loves him and she craves security, but maybe she has backed the wrong horse,’ said Patricia Potter at the time. Could anyone really mean more to Owen than Chrissie? Even Diane admitted that, after he finally ends their marriage.
