It's been a tough few weeks for Holby City's Dr Harry Tressler and nurse Mary-Claire Carter – and their storyline reaches its climax in next Tuesday’s episode of the hospital drama.
Tragedy struck for Harry, played by Jules Knight, when, after finally confessing his love for his colleague Mary-Claire (Niamh McGrady), he fell from a window cleaner's cradle onto the ground below and everyone feared the worst. Over the past few weeks, viewers have seen Harry receive pioneering treatment – but the handsome doc has struggled to come to terms with his damaged face.
"His first reaction is anger, frustration and shock and this feeling that it’s incredibly unfair," said Jules. "I think that's probably true to life when you have some horrific injury like that which debilitates you and stops you from living life normally or changes the way you look dramatically. Suddenly, Harry gets incredibly angry and he starts to blame everyone and he pushes away those who are close to him."
And one of those people has been Mary-Claire. When she got the call offering her a job working with Michael Spence in Chicago, she almost turned down the exciting opportunity because she didn’t want to leave Harry. "But then Harry starts to think: ‘I don’t want you to be with me just because I look like this’,” said Jules. “There's that pride thing and the sense of not wanting to have people pity him. He’s just adamant that she shouldn’t feel that she has to be with him."
Mary-Claire, however, has taken this as rejection and in, Tuesday night's episode, it looks like things are well and truly over for the Holby couple, as Mary-Claire gets ready to set off for America. But is Harry really ready to say goodbye to Mary-Claire?
To find out, don't miss Holby City on Tuesday April 14 at 8pm on BBC1.
Watch our interview with Jules Knight above…
