Holby City confirms Elliot Hope return and more big comebacks for 20th anniversary
Holby City is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the soap has now confirmed a major comeback to mark its 1,000th episode.
The BBC One soap has announced that Paul Bradley will reprise his role as Elliot Hope to mark Holby City's huge milestone, and he's just one of the classic characters who'll be back on the hospital wards again.
Elliot, who was last seen on the soap in 2015, will return for a five-episode guest stint in the milestone episode, visiting the hospital to see his old friend Jac Naylor – but it won't be long before an ulterior motive for Elliot's visit is revealed, and his colleagues discover the truth about his return.
"I'm really looking forward to returning to a programme on which I spent so many happy years," Bradley said in a statement. "Holby has always been a hive of really exciting and imaginative stories and this won't be any different, it's going to be a cracker!"
Patricia Potter will also be reprising her role as Diane Lloyd later this year, 12 years after she left the programme in 2007. She'll feature in a special episode that will "go beyond the realms of the hospital" and head into very different territory for the soap.
"It's lovely to be returning to Holby. I really enjoyed my time there and made fantastic friends as well as meeting my husband," Patricia said.
"Returning after a decade is very weird but it's as friendly as ever and revisiting Diane feels like putting on an old glove! She had a tragic end and this storyline feels like it puts the character to bed with some peace and resolution. It's great."
Along with Elliot and Diane's returns, Holby City will also revisit the Tan twins storyline, which unfolded in 2008 as the conjoined twin babies underwent separation surgery. The soap will pick up with the twins 11 years on as they return to the ward where their life-changing surgery took place.
Previous cast members Patsy Kensit and Luke Roberts have also already been confirmed for a special episode in the autumn, with the pair reprising their popular roles as Faye Morton and Joseph Byrne.
Speaking about the anniversary storylines and returns, Holby City executive producer Simon Harper revealed he "can't wait" for the audience to see what they have planned.
"How could we possibly celebrate Holby's 20th anniversary without a return stint from one of our most beloved characters?" he said.
"I'm so delighted to welcome the glorious Paul Bradley back to his Holby family, and I also know just how hungry the audience have been for this moment, so it’s wonderful to finally see it happen."
As for Patricia Potter's return as Diane, he promised the soap wouldn't pull a Dallas on us, describing her return as "an anniversary homage".
"It's not often we literally bring a character back from the dead, and no, Diane won’t be walking out of the shower and telling her colleagues it was all a decade long dream," he said.
"Her return is in itself an anniversary homage to a time on the show when we experimented quite regularly with genre and style, so the audience can expect something very different indeed in a unique and quirky episode where Ric faces a terrifying and life-changing choice, and the world of the hospital is literally turned upside down."
Digital Spy