Formidable Holby City surgeon Jac Naylor hasn't been herself recently and it looks like things are about to get worse, as Rosie Marcel reveals...
Jac Naylor is often the one person at Holby City hospital who always seems in control. But she’s been displaying some rather unusual behaviour of late and doing things that are totally out of character for the Jac Naylor we all know and love... well, sort of.
Now, having decided her young daughter Emma would be better off living with dad Jonny in Edinburgh, Jac’s fragile state is starting to cause major concern.
“Jac’s life is in chaos at the moment and she’s doing a lot of things that people might think are quite unusual,” says Rosie Marcel, who plays the usually formidable surgeon.
Jac’s clearly hurting from her latest decision but she refuses to let her personal issues get in the way of her work, as she treats Stage 4 cancer patient Sandra Jackson (ex-Coronation Street actress Vicky Entwistle).
Sandra’s due to undergo further surgery to remove a tumour but she’s exhausted from the chemotherapy she’s already had and doesn’t want any more. So Jac overrides clinical lead Kian (Ramin Karimloo) and mentor Elliot (Paul Bradley), who returned in the 1000th episode, by offering Sandra a complex, alternative op that won’t involve chemo.
Elliot’s concerned and suggests Jac’s taking on too much, at a time when she’s visibly struggling. But Jac’s determined to prove she’s the best!
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Sandra’s so grateful to Jac, who promises to rid her of the disease and keep her alive for many years. So when Sandra dies on the table, Jac’s distraught. Already feeling a failure as a mother, Jac now fears she’s failing in her job and grows paranoid that everyone’s out to get her…
“I like playing the Jac everybody knows but I think the audience appreciates seeing her softer side occasionally,” says Rosie. “She’s the queen of the comeback and very strong but we all have our breaking point. Something dramatic is coming up for Jac. It’s all very exciting but also a bit sad.”
Holby City continues Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1.
