Holby's Lauren: 'Chantelle speaks up for the baby'
Holby City's mild-mannered nurse Chantelle Lane makes her voice heard to save a patient, as Lauren Drummond reveals... Chantelle's constantly trying to prove herself to her Holby colleagues, isn't she? "Yes, she is. But in this episode it goes above and beyond that. Nurses have an emotional bond with their patients and Chantelle's priority here isn't to prove herself, it's to provide a voice for her patient, Sarah, and her unborn baby." When Sarah takes a turn for the worse, Chantelle has to break the news to her partner James, which doesn't go very well... "No, it doesn't. This is where it's difficult for Chantelle. When James keeps pushing her for answers about Sarah's condition, she has to soften the blow for him and tries to offer some comfort. But in times of tragedy, all you can offer is hope." Later, there's a meeting to decide on the unborn baby's future. How does Chantelle feel about speaking up? "This is really hard for Chantelle because she's got a lot of respect for both Mr Griffin (Hugh Quarshie) and Serena (Catherine Russell), so she doesn't want to tread on anyone's toes. But the patient has to take priority and she feels she has to show there's some way to save this baby." Do you think you would have dealt with the situation the way Chantelle does? "Not at all. Chantelle doesn't think of the risks, she only thinks of the positives; that things will work out. I'd just be thinking: 'What if it doesn't?'" People are quick to judge Chantelle. Are you pleased we're getting to see a more confident side to her? "People are quick to judge Chantelle, but they don't realise how strong she really is - she's a lot stronger than she looks. Yes, she messes up, but she's a 21-year-old nurse, so she's got a lot to learn. In this episode we see that nurses like Chantelle do care - it's a very touching story." Holby City continues Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1
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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.