Exclusive: Holby City producer Simon Harper shares story gossip: 'The bitch is back

Hooked on Holby City? Look no further for some major gossip on what's ahead for the show as it gears up for an exciting few months of storylines.

We recently got on the phone with Holby's series producer Simon Harper for an exclusive two-part chat about the drama's future plots. Read on to find out what he told us about Jac's return, Dominic's new love interest, possible blasts from the past and a whole lot more.

Who's going to be really prominent over the next few months?
"The big one, which I know will really excite the audience, is the proper return of Jac following her brief reappearance last month. Rosie Marcel was on her maternity leave and she insisted on coming back for Elliot's recent exit episode, which was something we really wanted to happen too.

"Jac is back permanently from November and she'll have a very big story involving Carli Norris's character Fran. What's great about Jac's return is that the bitch is definitely back. She's taking no prisoners and she's not impressed about the set-up on Darwin since she's been away. She also has questions to ask about Zosia's commitment to cardio. So Jac is definitely back with a bang."

We can't wait to see her back. Who else will have big stories?
"Dominic has a huge story coming up. He draws close to a patient in a big story that ultimately tests his relationship with Arthur. Cara's story with her undercover cop husband Jed also gets incredibly dramatic and exciting over the next few weeks. That's really going to test Cara's relationship with Raf.

"There's a quite a big motif in several of the upcoming stories of people's pasts coming back to haunt them. So Mo has a really big story coming up when her surrogate son comes back into her life. It makes her consider some big questions about her life and what she really wants, particularly with regard to Mr T.

"There's lots coming up for Serena as well, because I know people feel she's gone a bit quiet recently. There's a bit of romance on the way for her, but her past will be coming back to haunt her too in a way that really changes her life.

"Going into next year, there'll also be a very big story that will be heartbreaking and touching. I don't want to give too much away on that, but it will unite all of the wards and all of the characters."

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Sounds exciting! Are there any new arrivals or cast exits that we should be watching out for?
"We do have Jemma Redgrave joining the cast as Bernie Wolfe, but she's the only new cast member arriving at the moment."

What can we expect from Jemma's arrival as Bernie?
"It's a real coup getting someone of Jemma's reputation and pedigree on board. I think it's testament to the quality of the work and the smartness of the scripts that we have on Holby. Jemma plays Major Bernie Wolfe, an army doctor who was based in Afghanistan. She comes back to England to try to save her marriage, and she really makes a splash as a character.

"Bernie is used to quick, emergency, military battlefield medicine, where you have to be quick making your decisions and there's no messing around. She brings that methodology and manner onto the wards, so she's a fish out of water in a way. Put it this way, she clashes a lot with the other characters. Bernie's eye definitely falls on somebody in the hospital, but I'm not saying who!"

Fans were shocked by Paul Bradley's recent exit as Elliot. Was it definitely his choice to go?
"It was completely his choice. We really wanted Paul to stay, but he was determined. He'd done 10 years on the show and it's entirely normal for such a magnificent actor to want to go and try other things. The door is firmly wedged open for his return should he want to.

"We kept Paul's departure a secret until transmission and I did see some people on Twitter asking: 'Why didn't you warn us?' But we've taken a very conscious decision on holding back some secrets like that. Although it really blindsided people, clearly, it does give an episode a hell of a punch if you give the audience a surprise like that."

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It was great to see Olga Fedori back as Frieda recently. Are there any more old faces coming back?
"There's nothing planned definitely at the moment, but we are having some discussions. With Frieda, it was brilliant timing when we were planning Elliot's exit. Olga, with whom I had always remained in touch, had actually just emailed me saying that she'd love to come back just for a bit, so that fitted beautifully with what we were planning for Elliot's departure, a treat to hopefully assuage the upset.

"I'm pursuing a couple of former characters for similar cameo returns for special episodes in the future, so watch this space for those."

Are there any plans for more crossovers with Casualty?
"With Casualty's 30th anniversary coming up next year, we are talking to the team there about a possible event crossover. That's very much in the early planning stages, so again you'll have to watch this space.

"It is Casualty's moment, but Oliver Kent is the executive producer of both shows and from his point of view, it's the 30th anniversary of the whole Holby universe. The light will be shone on Casualty, with us joining up with them in a big, big Casualty story. And from what I hear from Cardiff it's going to be stunning."

Are there any plans for another big standalone episode in the winter?
"Yes, it literally started filming last week and it will air in early January. It's a lovely episode which will focus on the junior doctors - Arthur, Morven, Ollie and Zosia. Let's just say that a lot of 'will they, won't they?' questions will be answered in that episode."

Part 2

When we caught up with Holby City's producer Simon Harper recently, there was so much exciting gossip to share that we had to bring you the chat in two parts.

Following yesterday's teasers on Jac's return, Dominic's love interest and the next big Casualty crossover, today we reveal what Simon had to say on Ollie and Zosia's future, Ric's comeback and plans for the always-enigmatic Henrik Hanssen...

The NHS is never out of the news. With that in mind, how topical do you like Holby City to be?
"We have to balance drama and fictionalised stories while respecting how much the NHS is loved, valued and revered in Britain. We'll tell stories where characters break the rules in a way that can be heightened and fictional, but it's for the best possible reasons and for the good of the patients.

"We tell highly dramatic stories on the show, but we never want to make it look like we're being disrespectful towards the NHS, especially at the moment when people are particularly protective of it."

Will we see some new opening titles?
"Yes, we are actually currently looking at a new title sequence."

Does Jac ever explain why things didn't work out with Jonny?
"You never say never with these things, but I've now watched a number of episodes following Jac's return and it works rather well that she never explains it more after that ruthless line she had last month: 'Seriously, me and a nurse? That was never going to work.' Typical Jac!

"Their off-screen split was all perfectly amiable and they're still co-parenting Emma. Jonny and Jac gave things a go, but Jonny was such a homebody and so romantic - and obviously Jac isn't. As Jac hinted last month, the love of her life was and always will be Joseph."

Fans were quite excited by that recent mention of Joseph. Is he coming back into the show?
"There's nothing planned for Luke Roberts to return - he's quite busy in the States these days, I understand. I saw him recently at Paul Bradley's leaving party and I did say that the door is always open for his return. He was very gracious and open to the idea, but he's quite busy at the moment.

"If Jac ever left the show - and can I just emphasise that she's not leaving and we don't want her to - you'd probably have to get Joseph back to sweep her off her feet and carry her off in his arms. But there are no plans at the moment."

What's coming up next for Ollie and Zosia?
"There's lots more delicious chemistry coming up between them, and they do continue dancing round each other for a while. Also, one great aspect of Jac's return is that she's particularly annoyed to find that she has to share Darwin with Guy. There's some beautifully-written rivalry between Guy and Jac, so Ollie and Zosia find themselves caught in the crossfire between them."

How long will we be left wondering about whether Ollie and Zosia will get together properly?
"Let's just say that as it gets nearer Christmas, some questions start getting answered between Ollie and Zosia. What's lovely is that we've got some great romances in the hospital at the moment, which the audience really care about and are invested in. We've got 'Zollie', we've got Arthur and Morven, and we've got the perennial Mo and Mr T.

"I know that it's a double-edged sword sometimes. You want to play 'will they / won't they?' stories forever, but on the other hand the audience can get frustrated with it. So with all of those stories, some questions will be answered as we get nearer to Christmas and New Year."

The fans saw Dom, Arthur and Zosia as a real dream team and seem sad that they've been split up. How do you feel about that?
"I know where the fans are coming from with that. That was a really tough decision and I remember [executive producer] Oliver Kent and I talked a lot about it. In some ways it would have been great to keep them on Keller ward forever, but if you're going to tell a real story, you can't. The reality would be that those characters, as they mature and progress, would go on to their separate disciplines and wards. The three of them are also terribly close in real life. I call them The Three Musketeers, so they wanted to stay together forever as well.

"What's great about the changes is that gives them different stories. Dom on Keller with Sacha and Essie, with whom he has a great relationship, is a joy. And of course Keller being Hanssen's ward surgically speaking means we've been able to pit him and Dom against each other in their unique relationship.

"Zosia on Darwin has also given birth to 'Zollie', which from what I've seen on social media is one of the most successful romances we've ever played on the show. I have to 'fess up that it was me who was quite insistent on the point of splitting them up and Ollie Kent was very grumpy with me and sceptical, bless him, as he does love that friendship trio. So I had to win him over with promises of birthday crossovers and suchlike and scenes set in the flat they still share."

Will Ric be back and prominent again?
"He definitely will be. When an actor of Hugh Quarshie's calibre has been in the show for so long and wants to try new things, you look at it like a long-term investment. You want them to stay for even longer, so sometimes you let them have a break to go and do other things. Hugh went off to play Othello in Stratford-upon-Avon and also directed an episode of Holby very successfully.

"Hugh is absent from your screens at the moment, but he's actually been back filming for some time now. Ric will be back on your screens in the New Year episode. He'll be very prominent, because he's back properly from that point on. Ric has got a new role in the hospital and he's on a new ward. Let's just say he is not entirely pleased about it."

What's coming up for Sacha and Essie?
"I love Sacha and Essie. As part of their 'will they / won't they?' dynamic, they're facing big questions about the future of their relationship. Will they be able to have a baby, or have they left it too late? Is it the right thing for them?

"They haven't talked about it much recently, but there's also the question of how they met in the first place. There's the background of Essie's grandfather and the fact that Sacha comes from a Jewish family. As Sacha and Essie raise their relationship up a notch, will Sacha's family ultimately be able to accept Essie?"

Hanssen has seemed a bit quiet since his return. Will we see more from him in his own right?
"That's a really interesting question because the thing about Hanssen and why he works so beautifully is that he is an enigma. You could say that he was always a bit quiet - that's kind of the whole point of him. The great thing about Hanssen is that he always looms beautifully in other people's stories. He's the moral centre, the captain of the hospital, and the conscience of the other characters who keeps them on the right track. In a sense, to keep Hanssen as Hanssen, you never want him to give away too much.

"When Hanssen left in 2013, we finally cracked him wide open with the Sweden episode because we thought he was leaving and not coming back. When he did return, we closed him up again, to use a surgical metaphor. That does beg the questions of why has he frozen over again, what happened in Sweden and what has he left behind? Without giving too much away and ruining the enigma of the character, we'll be cracking him open again just a little and alluding to those questions."


This one might surprise you, but several of our reader questions mentioned a chemistry between Arthur and Dom. Would you ever put them together as a couple?
"Arthur remains straight and Dominic remains gay. I've heard this too, though. Someone messaged me on Twitter to say: 'How lovely to show such a positive gay relationship.' I so appreciated the message but didn't have the heart to say that it's not actually going to be a gay relationship! (Laughs.)

"Arthur did make a beautiful gesture in support of his gay mate to challenge his father's homophobia by planting that smacking kiss on Dominic. But they won't be getting together, sorry."

Nurses seem to be less of a force in the show at the moment. Is that something that could change in the future?
"It hasn't been a conscious decision, but we were talking about it at story conference the other week that we don't have many nurses at the moment. I think it is something that we will address to up the numbers again. It's always a surgical show, but that doesn't mean that the nurses aren't important too. It is something that we're looking at."