Chrissie Williams

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Holby City star Tina Hobley has praised her upcoming exit storyline, promising that her character Chrissie Williams will leave on a positive note.

The actress recently announced her decision to bow out from the BBC One medical drama after 12 years playing Chrissie.

Speaking to Digital Spy about Chrissie's upcoming departure story, Hobley explained: "I'm happy with what they've come up with. They've been amazing and I'm very pleased. It feels like it's coming to a natural end, but a very positive one, which is what I wanted for Chrissie.

"She's loved by lots of people and I wanted her to have a really positive ending, and that's what they've given her. It's been excellent.

"I've got an amazing couple of guest artists who I've been working with on Chrissie's exit story, and I've really enjoyed it. I'll be really sad to go, but equally it feels right and I'm ready to do something else."

Asked whether she wanted the door to be left open, Hobley replied: "Yeah, and it's lovely that they've done that. It's every actor's dream for the producers not to kill off the character they've played for so long! They've kept the door open and also given Chrissie a great, positive exit."

Hobley still hasn't filmed her final scenes, which will air later this year.

She explained: "I've still got a bit more filming to do, but I've been clearing out my dressing room after 12 years, which has been emotional! It's been a huge chunk of my life and I'll miss it dearly. I will take away and keep a lot of my friends who I've made on the show.

"The fans have also been amazing. I've had very positive feedback. Hopefully they'll look forward to what I'm doing next and they'll keep watching."

Hobley was speaking in support of non-alcoholic wine-style drink Sorelle.

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Holby City star Tina Hobley has revealed that her character Chrissie Williams will be diagnosed with cancer as part of her exit storyline.

It was announced last month that Hobley would bow out of the long-running medical drama later this year to explore new roles.

However, despite Chrissie's devastating diagnosis this fortnight, Hobley insists the door will be left open for her character to return.

The actress told The Sun: "I know that everyone loves a death in these shows, so when I found out Chrissie would be diagnosed with cancer I did fear the worst.

"While she is not me, she is a massive part of me. Chrissie has been a huge part of my life for 12 years.

"But thankfully it all works out for her in the end and it is very positive."

In moving scenes over the next two weeks, Chrissie will be left terrified after discovering she has a lump on her breast. Despite having been given the all-clear after a scare earlier this year, she will be devastated when it is confirmed to be breast cancer.

Hobley said: "Luckily, I've not had any scares myself, but it was so important to me to play the part in the right way.

"We have all seen people who have been affected - sadly it is very common.

"I kept thinking of people sitting at home watching it - realising it had to be real and not dramatised.

"The writers have made it very positive and left it beautifuly open - the character can always come back, which I was really pleased about. This is not an end, it's a departure."

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Holby City's executive producer Oliver Kent has revealed that Chrissie Williams's exit storyline will be "enormous".

It was announced in June that Tina Hobley would be bowing out of the show, after 12 years in the role.


Speaking in an interview on Holby City's official website, Kent said: "Tina Hobley's exit is enormous. It is the biggest departure that we have played in a long time. I just watched the final cut of her last episode this morning and it made me cry like a baby.

"I think the impact of her departure will be felt for a while but quite quickly after her departure we start to see the new characters coming in. She is offered a job in her final episode which is then filled a few episodes later by Colette.

"I think although audiences will expect to miss Chrissie, the gap won't be there for very long.

Kent also revealed that there are exciting times ahead for the show, saying: "We are hoping to bring more spice to Holby City. We have some really juicy storylines coming up and we have a lot of new characters.

"We have lost a few of our well loved characters and we have recently gone through a big change with lots of casting and returns. We have a lot of very, very big and exciting storylines coming up. The new characters will bring different types of stories."