Heartbreak in HOLBY

MELANIE HILL on the emotional fallout when Siobhan's husband tells her their marriage is over...

- ELAINE REILLY

CASUALTY SATURDAY, 8.10PM, BBC2 DRAMA

Since her appointment as clinical nurse manager to Holby’s floundering emergency department in February, Casualty’s Siobhan McKenzie has proven a uniting force, thanks to her strong leadership skills and compassion for both patients and staff.

So when Melanie Hill, who plays Siobhan, joins TV Times for an exclusive interview about two major plot developments in this week’s episode, we can’t help but compliment her on her performance in the long-running medical series.

‘Thank you very much for saying that. I love Siobhan, she is such a professional. The job is her life basically!’ smiles the star, whose character was recently promoted to Holby ED’s clinical lead. ‘I thrive on emotional storylines, so I’m enjoying every moment of her journey. I never want to leave!’

As the show gets under way this Saturday on BBC2 [due to Olympics coverage], Siobhan faces her biggest crisis yet when her firefighter husband Rich Walker (Michael Keogh) abruptly announces that their 25-year marriage is over. And he couldn’t have chosen a more consequential time to break his wife’s heart, as Siobhan has just pledged to help vulnerable nurse Cam Mickelthwaite (Barney Walsh) try to come to terms with being abused by hospital trustee Jamie Cleveland (Ryan Hawley) in his youth.

Here, Melanie, 62, shares her prognosis for these two impactful and intersecting storylines…

Firstly, Melanie, can you tell us why Siobhan feels compelled to take Cam under her wing?

Well, she’s got kids herself and one of them, in particular, Ben, is very similar in age to Cam, so that mother side comes out in her. She feels a responsibility to protect him because, as part of the hospital board, she had a hand in Jamie getting the position at Holby and even initially defended him.