Holby's Natasha: 'My situation's similar to Lilah'

Holby's Natasha: 'My situation's similar to Lilah'
Holby's Natasha: 'My situation's similar to Lilah' (Image credit: BBC)

After a hard day on the wards of Holby City, the young doctor turns to him for comfort, as Natasha Leigh reveals... Lilah recently arrived at Holby from Australia. Tell us a bit about her? "Lilah's from an underprivileged backgroud. Since she arrived at Holby, Lilah's been desperate to prove herself, but she's the sort of girl who runs before she can walk." Lilah manages to rub Malick up the wrong way while trying to prove herself, doesn't she? "Yes. Work-wise they do get on, but there's a little bit of tension. Malick tries to tell Ric that Lilah's not as experienced as she'd like to think she is. I think's there's a little bit of jealousy on Malick's part." Meanwhile, consultant Ric Griffin is very impressed with Lilah's work... "Lilah needs a mentor for her scholarship at Holby and Ric sort of fills that role. She really respects him and he can see the potential in her." When Malick fails Lilah in her test, Ric gives her another chance to complete it and a very grateful Lilah kisses him. Will she regret making a move on her boss? "Lilah's a girl who puts herself in vulnerable situations, which is what she did back in Australia, and this is her last chance to prove herself as a doctor. She doesn't want anything to jeopardise her career – it's the most important thing to her." Are you anything like your character? "Of course, there's got to be an element of yourself in any character. In many ways, my situation is similar to Lilah's in that I've come over from Australia and I am proving myself. So doing emotional scenes is easy in that I'm thinking: 'What if I fail?'" Holby City continues on Tuesday at 8pm on BBC1.

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.