A quick chat with Holby's Amanda Mealing

A quick chat with Holby's Amanda Mealing
A quick chat with Holby's Amanda Mealing (Image credit: BBC)

Connie’s horrified this week when her boss, Jayne, tells her that she thinks her husband John has been having an affair. Holby City star Amanda Mealing reveals all... It looks like the game’s up for Connie this week when Jayne reveals that she thinks her hubby John’s been having an affair... "Yes. Connie thought her affair with John was something manageable and undiscoverable, so when Jayne – who is of course her boss – reveals she thinks John’s been playing away, she’s horrified." The affair ended a while ago, though, didn’t it? "Yes, that’s the thing – Connie gave John up as soon as she discovered that he was Jayne’s husband. She made the ultimate sacrifice in giving up the man she loved because she couldn’t hurt Jayne like that. So what does Connie do when Jayne voices this suspicion? "She heads straight to see John. She feels like she has to warn him. The last thing she wants is Jayne finding out the truth about their history." What happens when Connie finds John? "She tracks him down to a hotel and she tells him that Jayne is on to them, but she suddenly realises that he’s not alone. There’s a blonde woman in the background in his hotel room – he’s sleeping with someone else." How does she react to this bombshell? "Connie truly loved John and she thought he loved her, too. To see that he’s got another lover – it breaks her heart. She realises what they had wasn’t love… It was sex." So is this the end of the saga? "Oh no! You’re going to see Connie pay for the consequences of her actions. It’s going to bite her in the arse. Oh does she pay!" Have you enjoyed the storyline? "Yes, I love playing Connie. She’s intelligent, strong, independent and articulate and she’s not governed by men. How many roles are there like that on TV? Not many. I think women like seeing characters like this – someone who’s her own woman, matching the boys."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.