page_title: Holby City (series 21)
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Holby City (series 21) / Cast / Overview
caption_attribution_description: Crieff Highland Games 2006
context_page_description: The twenty-first series of the British medical drama television series Holby City began Airing on BBC One on 2 January 2019 in the United Kingdom. The series consists of 53 episodes. Kate Hall acts as the series producer for episode one and was replaced by Jane Wallbank from the following episode; Simon Harper is the executive producer. The series is billed as an anniversary year for the drama as it celebrates twenty years since its launch. The series also features a crossover episode with sister show Casualty, an episode written by the show's co-creator Tony McHale and the show's 1000th episode, due to be broadcast in November 2019. Thirteen actors reprise their roles from the previous series and former cast members return for guest stints throughout the series. Three new regular characters were also introduced, while Nic Jackman was promoted to the main cast in his role as foundation doctor Cameron Dunn.
context_section_description: The series began with 13 roles receiving star billing. Guy Henry portrays Henrik Hanssen, the chief executive officer of Holby City Hospital, the show's setting. Catherine Russell plays Serena Campbell, the hospital's medical director, the clinical lead of the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU) and a consultant in general surgery. Hugh Quarshie stars as Ric Griffin, a consultant general surgeon on the unit. Marcus Griffiths acts as Xavier "Zav" Duval, a general surgical registrar on the unit. Jaye Jacobs appears as Donna Jackson, the unit's senior staff nurse. Bob Barrett continues his role as Sacha Levy, a consultant general surgeon and the clinical lead of the general surgery ward, Keller. David Ames portrays Dominic Copeland, Keller ward's general surgical registrar. Kaye Wragg and Lee Mead play Essie Di Lucca and Ben "Lofty" Chiltern, respectively, both staff nurses on the ward. Rosie Marcel features in the series as Jac Naylor, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and the clinical lead of the cardiothoracic surgery ward, Darwin. Olga Fedori appears as Frieda Petrenko, a cardiothoracic registrar on Jac's firm. Belinda Owusu portrays Nicky McKendrick, an F2 doctor on Darwin ward, and Alex Walkinshaw stars as Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher, the director of nursing services, based on Darwin ward. Additionally, the semi-regular cast contains Jules Robertson, Zoe Croft and Briana Shann who star as porter Jason Haynes, his wife, Greta Allinson, and Donna's daughter, Mia Barron, respectively.
  Episode 13 marks the departure of Frieda following Fedori's decision to leave her role, over one year after her return. The exit was not announced beforehand and was a surprise for the audience. In the narrative, Frieda leaves Holby to work for an aid organisation where she can "make a difference" after facing an "ethical dilemma" following a long-running struggle.
  On 19 September 2018, the returns of Camilla Arfwedson and Nic Jackman in their respective roles as cardiothoracic registrar Zosia March and F2 doctor Cameron Dunn were announced. Arfwedson returns for an extended guest stint between episode 8 and episode 16, now credited as Zosia Self. After previously making multiple guest appearances in the show, Jackman joins the regular cast upon his return in episode one. Both actors expressed their delight at reprising their roles. Harper confirmed in December 2018 that he was in discussions with other former cast members about returning during the series. That same month, it was confirmed that Sharon D. Clarke and Denis Lawson would reprise their roles of Lola Griffin, a locum consultant general surgeon, and Tom Campbell-Gore, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, respectively in the series. Lawson features in the opening two episodes of the series, and makes a cameo appearance in the third episode. Clarke appears in episode 3 for a single episode. Dom's mother, Carole Copeland (Julia Deakin), returns for a guest appearance in episode 7, before joining the semi-regular cast in episode 13. She becomes involved in a story arc about Dom discovering he is adopted and becomes a receptionist at the hospital. In March 2019, the returns of Marc Elliott and Debbie Chazen as Isaac Mayfield, a general surgical registrar and abusive partner of Dom, and Fleur Fanshawe, a consultant obstetrician, respectively, were announced. Fleur appears in episodes 16 & 28, and Isaac returns from episode 20. On 15 May 2019, it was announced that former cast members Patsy Kensit and Luke Roberts would reprise their roles during the series for a special episode. Kensit portrayed Faye Morton, a ward sister, for three years, while Roberts played Joseph Byrne, a cardiothoracic registrar, for five years. Both actors were excited about returning to film the episode, which Kensit called "gripping".
  Series 21 features the introduction of multiple new characters. Accredited actress Dawn Steele joined the cast as Ange Godard, a consultant pediatrician/general surgeon and the clinical lead of the young adult unit (YAU), a new unit that Ange opens in the hospital. Steele described Ange as
caption: Denis Lawson reprises his role as Tom Campbell-Gore for the opening three episodes of the series.
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