As we head towards the final few episodes of Holby City, fans were given a treat on Tuesday night when Holby stalwart Elliot Hope made a surprise return.
While Jac Naylor has been coming to terms with the fact her brain tumour is inoperable, her pal Adrian ‘Fletch’ Fletcher (Alex Walkshaw) wasn’t giving up that easily and had called in reinforcements.
When Jac discovered Fletch had slept by her bed all night, she assured him she’s ‘not going to die today’ and urged him to go home. But Fletch insisted he’s waiting for someone and Jac soon found out who when a very familiar voice said: ‘Hello Jac’. It’s her former mentor Elliot Hope, with actor Paul Bradley reprising the role.
Although she was pleased to see him, Jac wondered why Elliot was so confident he could cure a tumour that no one else could. But Elliot simply told her that he had something those other surgeons didn’t… that they don’t love her as he does.
It also didn’t help that Jac’s good friends Fletch and Sacha (Bob Barrett) were at loggerheads over their friend’s treatment. Sacha thought Jac should be able to die with dignity – but Fletch refused to just ‘give up’.
Elliot reassured the warring men that he would look closely at Jac’s scans and take everything into account before making any decision.
Meanwhile, the episode also saw the return of some other Holby favourites from the grave in the shape of nurse Essie Di Lucca (Kaye Wragg), who tragically died on her way to marry Sacha, doctor Arthur Digby (Rob Ostlere), who died of cancer, and Jac’s late step-sister Jasmine (Lucinda Dryzek), who died after being stabbed.
Later, Elliot overheard a conversation between Nicky McKendrick (Belinda Owusu) and Fletch, which gave him a bright idea for Jac’s surgery. Could it be the solution to curing her brain tumour?
Find out in the penultimate Holby City, next Tuesday at 7.55pm.