SERIES 8

Summary
Characters
Episodes


Summary

The department had been refurbished after the fire at the end of the last series. Although Rob Khalefa did not appear in the new series Norma mentioned that he was recovering well from the injuries he sustained in the fire.
In the first episode of the series a train crash caused chaos and overloaded Holby A&E with casualties. Amongst the staff there were several new faces but many of them didn't stay for the whole series. One of the few that did was staff nurse Adele Beckford, whose caring attitude concealed a tough side underneath. Ken Hodges, the young gay nurse, was promoted to the newly created position of Clinical Nursing Assistant much to the annoyance of Ash, who had hoped to get the job himself. Charlie and Ken became good friends and Duffy thought that there was more than friendship between them. Charlie soon put her right, telling her he had no homosexual tendencies. Then Ken's post was scrapped and he was given the sack.
Norma also left as her behaviour became even more wayward. A possible menopause was apparently to blame for her erratic moods. She finally flipped at new A&E Manager Mark Calder, telling him that the department had become overrun with 'faceless men in suits'. She then ignored Calder as he tried to reason with her, answering the phone by saying 'why don't you go and see your own GP, you'll get more sense than you will here'. But that was not the last we saw of Norma. She was admitted to Casualty after a fall shortly afterwards.
After getting under the skins of Charlie and Mike in particular, Calder himself left under a cloud towards the end of the series. After leaking confidential information to the press he left to be head of a tobacco company.
New SHO Karen Goodliffe got on the nerves of the staff at first, even angering the usually placid Josh by the way she treated the paramedics as mere ambulance drivers. Mike Barratt even had to warn her about her attitude. The turning point in Karen's attitude seemed to occur when Locum Consultant Tom Harley arrived to fill in while Mike was on leave in Africa. Tom and Karen got on really well and Tom's relaxed style seemed to rub off on Karen. She was less tetchy with staff and by the time she left to sit her exams in the latter part of the series Karen had become 'one of the boys.' Her replacement Dave Masters was in contrast, a little shy and keen to get on with everyone.
Student Nurse Helen Chatsworth knew the textbook but cracked under pressure and by the time she left mid way through the series it was not certain whether she would succeed in nursing.
As many of the staff moved on ambulance paramedic Jane Scott moved up, taking over as A&E line manager. She found it tough going in her new job as many of the staff turned against her, treating her like a turncoat. She was lumbered with managing the department on her own after Mark Calder's departure and she found it tough to cope.
But the highest profile departure was one of the shows two original characters, Duffy. After marrying Andrew Bower before the start of the series, Duffy soon fell pregnant with her second child. She had learned from her experiences with Peter and decided not to juggle work and looking after a baby again. Charlie was the last to know of her decision to quit and it was symptomatic of the increasing remoteness of their friendship. Staff nurse Rachel Longworth replaced her.
Charlie became increasingly fed up with the Holby management and in the final episode decided he'd had enough, even writing a resignation letter. But he changed his mind, returned to his office and ripped up the letter. He would return for the next series.
Written by Christopher Watson


Characters

Charlie Fairhead (Clinical nursing manager)
Lisa Duffin (Sister)
Martin Ashford (Staff nurse/Charge nurse)
Adele Beckford (Staff nurse)
Kenneth Hodges (Clinical nurse specialist)
Mary Skillett (Staff nurse)
Rachel Longworth (Staff nurse)
Helen Chatsworth (Student nurse)

Mike Barratt (Consultant)
Tom Harley (Locum consultant)
Karen Goodliffe (SHO)
Dave Masters (SHO)

Josh Griffiths (Paramedic)
Jane Scott (Paramedic/A&E Manager)
Brian Crawford (Ambulance technician)
Lucy Cooper (Paramedic)

Norma Sullivan (Receptionist)
Mie Nishi-Kawa (Receptionist)
Frankie Drummer (Porter)
Mark Calder (Manager)


Episodes

1. Cat in Hell
2. Riders on the Storm
3. The Final Word
4. No Place to Hide
5. Sunday, Bloody Sunday
6. Good Friends
7. Kill or Cure
8. Born Losers
9. High Roller
10. Deceptions
11. Give Us This Day
12. Wild Card
13. The Good Life
14. Out to Lunch
15. Comfort and Joy
16. Family Ties
17. United We Fall
18. Tippers
19. Value for Money
20. Care in the Community
21. Signed, Sealed, Delivered
22. Relations
23. Grand Rational
24. Hidden Agendas


Summary
Characters
Episodes

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