BACK ON THE WARDS

Laila Rouass, 49, returns to Holby City next week, reprising her role as Sahira Shah after a nine-year break. Here, she reveals how she’s managing her work/life balance

- LEBBY EYRES

Laila Rouass left Holby City nine years ago, bowing out due to the pressures of being a single mum and looking after her daughter, Inez. But the door was always left open for her to return, and recently she finally took up the invitation to revisit her character, cardiothoracic registrar Sahira Shah.

These days, almost the entire cast is different. “Aside from Bob Barrett [Dr Levy] and Guy Henry [Henrik Hanssen], everybody has changed,” she says.

Personally, Laila’s life has moved on too. She met snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan months after leaving the show, in summer 2012, and they’ve been together ever since.

Here, she tells us about getting back on the wards and talks about home life with Ronnie and Inez, 13…

Hi Laila. How did your return to the show come about?