Holby City's new regular Lauren Drummond makes her debut on the BBC medical drama tonight, taking on the role of agency nurse Chantelle Lane, who is brought into the hospital by Sacha Levy after staff shortages cause the AAU ward to descend into complete chaos. Warm and friendly, Chantelle looks likely to brighten up the wards of Holby in the months ahead, but how will the rest of the team react to her arrival? Here, Lauren discusses her new part in a quick Q&A.
How would you describe Chantelle?
"Chantelle is a girlie girl! She is genuine, warm, naïve and full of fun. Her heart is firmly in the right place, but that does often get her into trouble."
Who do you think will be her friends or enemies on the ward?
"She will most definitely aim to be friends with everyone and, although some will love to dislike her, they'll be hard pushed not to crack a smile at her at some point! Sacha will be a fan and I think Elizabeth will warm up to her too."
What attracted you to accepting the role?
"The most attractive thing to me about Chantelle, and about Holby City as a whole, is the writing. The characters are so excellently written - as an actress you couldn't ask for more. Chantelle has been created with so much depth to her seemingly airy character - there is so much for me to discover and explore. I think it's easy to be attracted to deep gritty characters and they are a dream to play, but actually there are characters out there in the real world that provide so much comedy and have their own depth, so I like to represent those members of society too. I look forward to reading what she'll come out with next!"
Were you a fan of Holby City before you joined?
"I think I was guilty of watching the show when I was younger and not really appreciating it and I hadn't watched it since, but now I realise I had been somewhat ignorant as the show has changed so much from 10 years ago. It has a much fresher feel, it's exciting and, as I mentioned earlier, so well-written and made with such attention to detail. My mum has been a fan for years and kept telling me to watch it. She would always say, 'I could see you playing a nurse in Holby' so Chantelle is for her as much as me!"
How have you found filming so far?
"I just feel very lucky to be a part of such a wonderful team. The cast and crew are excellent, the directors that come in along with the producers are inspiring and having producers that are very hands-on gives a reassuring continuity and very collaborative feel to the show. As a whole, I have found my experience on Holby City so encouraging and supportive. I feel incredibly safe in the hands of people with such talent and ambition and that provides an inspiring workspace for me to learn from and improve."
Finally, do you mind dealing with the blood and gore?
"Not at all! The prosthetic team never cease to amaze me. What they create is incredible. And I've always thought I liked the idea of getting stuck in and removing an organ or two! If only it was that easy!"
Holby City airs tonight at 8pm on BBC One.