Lee Mead to return as Casualty character Lofty... on Holby City

Lee Mead is making the switch from Casualty to Holby City, while Jaye Jacobs will also return to the BBC1 medical drama on Tuesday nights

Lee Mead returning to the role of Ben ‘Lofty’ Chiltern, but he'll be working on the Keller ward of Holby City rather than the ED of Casualty.

Theatre and music star Lee said: “I’m really excited to be coming back as Lofty, I’ve missed him! I’m looking forward to being in a new part of the Holby hospital and seeing what it has in store for him next.”

Last year Lofty left Casualty after resigning from his post to retrain as a bereavement counsellor in palliative care and head to Australia for a break. However, despite his return, is he still running away from his problems?

Jaye Jacobs will also be back in Holby as fun-loving nurse Donna Jackson, for the first time since 2011. With her new footballer husband and expensive car, she insists she's simply being a Good Samaritan coming back to work. But is that really the case?

HOLBY CITY, JAYE JACOBS — (Image credit: BBC)

Jaye said: “Donna and I have unfinished business. She's flirty, brash and ballsy. I've missed her!”

Other cast joining Holby include Ayesha Dharker (Star Wars, Waterloo Road) who will play Ms Nina Karnik, a tough but compassionate general surgeon who also calls herself Mrs Matteo Rossini. Ayesha’s arrival will be followed by David Ajao (EastEnders, Sunny D) as new F1 and boyishly enthusiastic Dr Damon Ford.

Simon Harper, Acting Executive Producer for Holby City and Casualty, said: “I'm beyond excited to welcome onto the wards two new faces, a returning face and a much loved Casualty character. It's thrilling to bring Jaye back as the sparky, irreverent Donna, one of the most popular and iconic Holby characters ever and equally so to have Lee make the ‘trip upstairs’ as Lofty. Keller Ward is going through some dark times, so Lofty's trademark warmth and kindness will come at just the right moment.

"We’ve been trying to tempt the talented Ayesha with the right role for a while, and as Nina, she plays an emotionally compelling character with a mysterious past. David is a really exciting new talent who in his brilliant audition brought Damon’s energy and idealism to life.”

Lee, Jaye, Ayesha and David will appear in Holby during spring.

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.