Holby City' star Jing Lusi teases Tara Lo secret - interview

Holby City kicks off a big storyline for Tara Lo next week as it becomes clear that she is harbouring a secret about her past.

The plot begins as Tara strikes up a bond with a 17-year-old heart transplant patient named Jenny, before going all-out to help the teen when she does a disappearing act from the hospital.

Ollie (James Anderson) reluctantly joins forces with Tara as she attempts to track down her patient, but as he does, he becomes intrigued as he realises that his colleague is hiding something...

We've seen Tara on our screens for nearly three months now. How are you finding your time at Holby City so far?
"It's been great and I've had a brilliant time working on the show. I've been filming there for six months now, and I can't believe it's been that long as it's flown by!

"The Holby City fans are also really lovely, which is a bonus. I have been recognised, but the people who come up to me are really big fans of the show, so it's always nice to hear from them. It's great being on Twitter as well, because it's a direct link to the viewers and it's nice to know what they think. I haven't had anything mean, which I'm surprised about! You always expect someone to be not so nice, but it's actually been lovely."

Do you still feel like the new girl on set, or have you settled in now?
"I actually feel really settled. It's quite easy to settle into something like Holby, because everyone is so welcoming and they never make you feel like you're new or at the bottom of the pecking order - you just become one of the team as soon as you walk in.

"I've even been moving kitchenware into my dressing room, so I'm pretty settled there! Obviously we've got a few other new cast members like Chizzy [Akudolu], Michael [Thomson] and Catherine [Russell], so it feels like we're a really well-bonded team now. It's one of those environments where you just click in straight away."

There's a story coming up next week involving Tara and a patient called Jenny. What can you tell us about it?
"Jenny is a 17-year-old girl and she's having a heart transplant. She's one of Tara's patients, but of course, nothing ever goes smoothly, so Jenny freaks out and absconds. Tara, in her own way, just decides not to tell anyone and go after her instead.

"Ollie also gets sucked into it, so they go on a bit of a road trip together to find this girl. The weather is really bad as there's a thunderstorm, and there's a lot going on. It's quite a special episode, I think."

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Ollie soon realises that Tara is hiding a secret, doesn't he?
"Yes, she is hiding a bit of a secret! We don't find out what it is, but you do see that nothing is what it appears to be with her. Tara has come into Holby with a very eager attitude, to the point where she's quite annoying!

"But I think viewers will realise that her being so keen might be linked to what she's hiding. It's something to do with her drive in life - there's a reason why she is the way she is. It's not just because she's annoying!"

Do you know the full details of the secret yourself yet?
"I do know what it is, but I can't tell you as I'll be fired! (Laughs) I can say that it definitely gives me a great story to play as an actor and it's going to be a journey. I think when you find out, you might think, 'Okay, maybe we judged her a bit!' So it's fun and it will be revealed - we've already shot it, so it's coming soon…"

Will Ollie poke his nose in and try to find out more?
"Yeah, of course he will - it's Holby and everyone sticks their nose in! He really wants to know what's going on, but Tara doesn't really want to tell him or anyone else. But going on the road trip together has brought them closer. So their relationship does change and develop, and he does try to find out."

We've seen Tara have some ups and downs, but do you think she's going to be a good doctor?
"I think she will! I've shot so many things where she's going through so many learning curves. Tara often tries to do things her own way because she's so determined to prove herself. That rubs people up the wrong way, so it's almost like a puppy that's going to social training!

"At the moment, I'm doing a lot of stuff with Rosie Marcel, who plays Jac Naylor, and that's absolutely fantastic. Jac is like the queen bee and Tara's trying to be her, but she's not quite getting it right and Jac just keeps on slapping her down! That's all been so much fun to film.

"I think Tara's definitely on course to becoming a good doctor - she's just rough around the edges. She's good clinically but she's not good socially, so I think people are teaching her about that."

Who are your best friends in the cast?
"It's so cliché, but all of them! We all went out for drinks together a while ago - it was actually Paul Bradley who organised it. As the three wards - Darwin, Keller and AEU - never see each other, he kindly organised a night where we had drinks.

"I think that since Chizzy and Michael have joined the cast, there's just been a different kind of energy on set. Because they play quite funny characters, they've brought that energy in with them.

"Rosie is brilliant - we talk about food a lot and we exchange recipes. Jimmy [Akingbola] is fantastic too, because he organises a lot of stuff outside of work which he invites us to. As a cast, we always see each other in the canteen too, so I'm friends with all of them."

You've done a lot of film work in the past. How does Holby City compare?
"Well, it's a lot quicker! I'm used to filming a 90-minute film over three months, whereas here we do a 60-minute drama in a couple of weeks. The pace is quick, but that's actually quite nice because sometimes in films you have a lot of downtime in between certain shooting dates, which means you can sometimes lose your momentum or get side-tracked with other things.

"It's also quite nice filming in Elstree, because you get into this pattern and it's a routine. It's nice to have stability, which is what actors usually don't have. The familiarity on set is nice and you don't get that in film. It's different but it's lovely."

Will you be sticking around in the show for a while?
"I'd love to - it's a great place and I've got no reason to want to leave. But obviously we'll see how it goes - I'm at the mercy of the story writers! Being at Holby doesn't feel like work, and I think that's when you're on to a winner. It's a fantastic place to work and I'd love to stay there for a while.

"On top of that, Tara is a lovely character to play. She's quirky and weird, and I get to find out more about her in every episode, because we only get the scripts a few days in advance. There's a journey for her and it's good fun to explore!"

Holby City star Jing Lusi has reflected on her departure from the show after fans saw her final sceneslast night (April 16).

The latest episode of the BBC One medical drama saw the actress's character Tara Lo lose her fight against her brain tumour following complications in surgery.

The emotional scenes brought Lusi's time on Holby City to an end after a year with the programme.

Lusi told Digital Spy today: "I am extremely sad to have left Holby. It was my first TV show, but more than that, Holby is a unique work environment that is nothing short of a family unit, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

"My actual final scene to film was Tara in intensive care after her operation, so luckily I did not have to talk and had my eyes closed! But the last time Tara speaks - 'it's love, it says love' - was also my last speaking scene to film.

"Watching it back, I can see myself choking on the emotion and mustering up all my energy to get the line out. It was saying farewell to Tara that was the hardest, someone I had grown to know very well and love over the last year - that really hurt.

"I still keep in touch with a lot of people at Holby, so it was 'goodbye' on set, but only 'see you later' in real life - and we have, mostly down the pub."

Lusi also praised the show's team for giving Tara's story such a powerful ending.

She explained: "It was heartbreaking to see Tara die and, of course, the journey playing a determined young woman losing her fight for life was very painful. However, I think that this is the right and only way such a powerful journey could have ended.

"I am proud to have been part of a storyline that draws attention to the unfortunate reality of terminal illnesses. I know there has been some speculation as to whether Holby would take the easy way out and give Tara a 'miracle cure', so I am glad we followed through with the arc of the storyline and saw it through.

"We - the producers, writers and I - intended this from the start and anything different would have diluted from who she is and became.

"I would have loved to see her achieving her dream and winning an amazing placement in the best hospital in the world, but the truth of the situation is that life is not always so rosy nor fair."

The 27-year-old summed up her time on Holby City as "an overwhelming bundle of happy memories".

She added: "I'm honoured to have been involved in such a significant storyline. Thank you Holby City for the good times

Holby City star Jing Lusi has said that she always knew her character Tara Lo was going to die.

The latest episode of the BBC One medical drama saw the actress's character Tara Lo lose her fight against her brain tumour following complications in surgery. It brought Lusi's time on Holby City to an end after a year.

The actress told Female First: "I knew from the beginning the character was going to die, when I got involved they straight away said they were going to kill me off.

"I didn't have any nasty surprises of like a month towards the end going 'Oh!' There was no Joey Tribbiani moment when I find out I'm falling down a lift shaft.

"So we all knew about it and just used humour for the first nine months to deal with it. Then when I finally got the scripts with those final numbers on, I just couldn't read them for such a long time. I just had so many questions like 'What's my last word?' and 'What's it going to look like?'"

She continued: "One day I was on set filming the episodes before the last two weeks and I just went, 'Sod it, seize the moment', and read them right there and then.

"I cried so much that all the makeup artists were running over asking if I'd just read it. I was just sobbing going, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' So it was really a ripping the plaster off kind of moment."

Since leaving Holby City, Lusi has directed a play as well as landing herself a part in the stage production 4000 Miles.

Speaking of her new role, she said: "It's a really, really intimate and sweet look into people's lives. I'm with Sara Kestelman, who I'm learning so much from just watching her and it's only a cast of four. It's about a grandmother and her grandson who learn from each other and bond.

"It's so different being on stage too. With film and TV you get to a point when you feel so relaxed. It's just this family around you and if you get something wrong, as I inevitably do all the time, you can just say cut and it's all fine.

"There is no cut in live theatre and that's a bit scary."