I've hoped for this for months - well at least for Casualty, so I'm happy. It's made up for the fact that I can't go to Chesterfield after all due to an increased gas bill (brutes!) and a sneaky direct debit that wasn't listed in my regular transaction (villains!) so instead of feeling as flat as a pancake I'm quite cheerful!
Exciting! I suspected that Lee was going back into TV when he scheduled the Pheasantry gigs on Sundays. I thought it might be a return to Casualty, but wasn't expecting a move to Holby. It's going to be interesting to see what's in store for Lofty.
I wonder if Lofty's return will be mentioned in Casualty? I can't see Robyn letting that pass without comment!
Like you Linda I am pleased to see Lee back on the TV but did hope it would be in something different a Hugh Grant type of person in a period drama was what I was hoping for. Still he has a more serious job on Holby so who knows what the ***ure will bring for him.
Could have done with his services yesterday it being the 2nd anniversary of loosing my husband how time flies
Chin up Maggie I know the feeling and yes time does fly and one of those feelings you never get over keep your friends around you and of course your family.
cheers acer x
I lost my husband to Cancer 11 years ago, and it is hard I know but you
have your memories and your family around you to keep your spirits up
when you are feeling down. x
So it's not Casualty but Holby. He always surprises us doesn't he? Like other people I was hoping he would be in another musical but I'll settle for seeing him on screen every week!
Thinking of you Maggie
Remember Louisa Clein, who pla*** Sybil to Lee's Lord Arthur? She has been playing a recurring patient over the last few weeks. She is in and out of the hospital like there's no tomorrow, and has all sorts of 'issues'. Raf took a fancy to her and on her last appearance a couple of weeks ago she was pregnant .... She also has a son, who in turn took a fancy to one of the nurses .... (he also has 'issues') ... you get the picture!
Anyway, it remains to be seen whether her character (I've forgotten her name!) will encounter Lofty, as I'm sure she will be back time and time again! It depends on whether her storyline can be strung out long enough to coincide with Lofty's arrival (and whether she will need counselling!).
Oh interesting thoughts A Liz
I know the recurring patient you mean but I didn't realize that she was in LASC with Lee.
I do have the feeling that Lofty will get lumbered with some weighty problems
Holby seems to be undergoing a few changes.
I hope that fun-loving nurse Donna Jackson will bring Lofty out of his shell
It's going to be interesting to see how Lofty fits in, what his entrance storyline is going to be and how long it takes him to get on the wrong side of Hanssen!
Isaac is evil. I loved that Hanssen cottoned on to his behaviour pretty quickly, but he's now taken the mani****tion of Dom up a notch!
Gratuitous toplessness! Funnily enough, I did briefly wonder if we'd see a repeat of the toplessness we saw in Lofty's first Casualty scenes, but then I thought "Of course not! Don't be silly, Jo!"
Thanks A/Liz . I haven't watched Holby for several years, but have started watching again now we know Lee's going to be in it . I remember a few of the characters, but think I need a brief 'who's who' on the more recent ones and, just as important ......who's sleeping with whom' . Shallow me....no
Henrik Hanssen is the CEO. Swedish (and very tall!), has had family problems.
Ric Griffin - surgeon, and is, I think, second in command. If not now, he has been! Has been married about five times, but no one on the scene at the moment.
Serena Campbell - surgeon, in a relationship with Bernie. Serena's daughter died recently, which (a) is why she is being so awful to Jasmine, who she blames for her daughter's death, and (b) is why she would be a prime candidate for bereavement counselling - but the actress playing her in real life has left for the moment to appear in a play, so this won't happen. Serena also has an autistic nephew, Jason, who works at the hospital and crops up from time to time.
Bernie Wolfe - trauma surgeon. Used to be in the Army.
Jasmine Burrows - junior doctor being bullied/mentored by Serena. Also happens to be Jac Naylor's half sister. No boyfriend at the moment.
Morwen Digby - junior doctor. Was married to the lovely Arthur ("Diggers"), who tragically died of cancer last year.
Raf di Lucca - doctor, who has been married before. Has had a fling with Essie, and also with Kim (the patient pla*** by Louisa Clein, whose name I had forgotten earlier!).
Fletch - nurse (used to be in Casualty before going 'upstairs'). Widower with four kids. Shares house with Raf, who took Fletch and the kids in when they had major financial problems. Fletch was then left a lot of money by a grateful patient which enabled him to pay off his debts.
Essie Harrison - nurse, who as well as the fling with Raf, was engaged to doctor Sasha, but they split up because she wanted a child and he didn't. She is now fostering Kim's son while Kim is in prison.
Sasha Levy - surgeon, the one in the colourful shirts! Was engaged to Essie, and has been married twice before.
Dominic Copeland - junior doctor, in a relationship with fellow doctor (registrar?) Isaac Mayfield, who is very controlling and not a very nice person.
Jac Naylor - heart surgeon, in a relationship with Matteo Rossini, the smooth foreign doctor on Darwin. She has a young daughter from an affair with Johnnie, a Scottish nurse who has since left Holby.
Oliver Valentine - doctor, whose wife died in an accident. Now in a relationship with Zosia March - another doctor, who is bi-polar.
Mo Effanga - doctor. Has just had a baby with gynaecologist 'Mr T', Derwood Thompson. Took ages before they finally became an item.
Phew! I think that's covered everyone and hope it fills in some of the gossipy bits. As you can see, there are only three single ladies at the moment (Morwen, Jasmine and Essie) eligible for romantic involvement with Lofty, but of course there are more new cast members joining shortly. I haven't attempted to write down who works on what ward, as I always get the mixed up, and haven't necessarily given them the right job titles, but Wiki has a fairly comprehensive page if anyone is interested in looking them up further!
Hansen is rapidly becoming my favourite Holby character - the 'Mmbop' line in tonight's ep was hilarious! I was also cheering when he put that psycho lawyer woman in her place! I can't wait to see what he makes of Lofty!
Oh, and Isaac needs a good slap! What a git! The actor who plays him is doing an excellent job.
I have to admit I do like Hanson. He encountered Lofty when he worked in casualty. ( I love the way some characters appear on both shows)
After all it is supposed to be the same building even if they are filmed miles apart from each other.
I've just been rewatching Lee's first Casualty ep as Lofty. Blimey, he hit the floor with a thud when he fell from the loft opening! Lucky it wasn't like the one in my house, which (for reasons best known to the 1970s architects who designed the thing) is right at the top of the stairs, so someone trying a 'Lofty' would end up plummeting down the stairs (and probably right through the glass panel in the front door!).
Lofty initially claiming that his name is Nigel makes me chuckle. Perhaps the Holby bods should cast Nigel Havers as Lofty's dad! Actually, one thing I hadn't noticed on first viewing was that, according to Lofty, his parents threw him out and 'completely cut him off'. So it wasn't just a case of throwing him out of the house. He also mentions that he worked in a hospital ED before losing his job...then his parents threw him out, etc. I wonder why he lost his job?
At the end, I love the way he introduces himself to a baffled Max - "I can't pay any rent, but I make a fantastic flan!"
Tonight's ep was excellent! Finally, creepy Isaac was outed as a domestic abuser and given his marching orders by Dom. Some intense scenes, and the scene where poor Dom was giving a statement to the police, listing his injuries was heart breaking!
Loved this tweet from Lee:-
Lee Mead @leemeadofficial 14m
14 minutes ago
A brilliant performance by @semadivad tonight. Moving. So proud to be part of a show with acting of this calibre. Blessed. @BBCHolbyCity .
Thanks for that, jo. I'm not able to view Holby yet so I'm trying to catch bits and pieces online and from comments like yours.
I find it encouraging that the acting is better . . . not that Casualty acting is bad but my complaint is that the characters there are too one-dimensional. It's difficult to get a grasp of who they really are.
Admittedly, that may be because I only watched when Lofty was on so don't really get the history. But it caused me to have no desire to keep up after Lofty left.
Please tell me that there is more depth of character on Holby. That will give me hope of some good story-lines for Lofty this go-around.
From what I've seen of Holby these last few weeks, the writing does seem much better than Casualty. I think it helps that Holby eps are 10 minutes longer, and there isn't the 'guess the accident/illness' bit at the beginning of each patient story, so there's more time to devote to the staff stories and character development. The acting also seems better, but that's probably down, in part, to the fact that they seem to be given more by the writers to work with. I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for Lofty!
Me neither! I would love to know more about Lofty's background, and maybe now we might have our chance. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Holby so much.
Apparently, Lee mentioned last night at the Pheasantry that we'll be seeing press stuff for Holby soon. Also that we'll find out more about Lofty's backstory! Excellent! I want to know why his parents cut him off completely, because that seems a bit of an extreme reaction on their part!
I'm just catching up with the TV mag articles on the Timeline. According to Lee, we're going to see a whole different side of Lofty that people never knew existed! Blimey! Oh, and Lofty will be attending Cal's funeral!
Apparently, Lee was banned from singing in Casualty because it counts as self-promotion! So he could get his bum out for all the world to see, but he wasn't allowed to sing!
I love this description of Lofty by Lee - "Lofty likes to do things his way, rather than the correct way!"