On the day of Elliot’s surgery, Jac struggles with her mental health and finally reaches breaking point, as Rosie Marcel reveals...
As she’s struggled to deal with certain situations both at home and at work, Jac Naylor’s mental state has caused concern among her Holby City colleagues. And, in Tuesday night's massive Holby City episode, it seems the usually formidable surgeon may finally have reached breaking point.
As Jac prepares to perform complicated heart surgery on her friend and mentor Elliot Hope – arguably the biggest operation of her career – she seems far from ready. Her office is a mess and medic Chloe tells director of nursing Fletch that she thinks she witnessed Jac having a panic attack.
Fletch (Alex Walkinshaw) confronts Jac, who insists she’s fine, but she’s obviously very emotional, especially as her ex Jonny is bringing their daughter Emma down from Edinburgh.
"For Jac, it’s always been easier to be tough because then she doesn’t get hurt, so she blocks things off before they have a chance to penetrate," says Rosie Marcel, who plays her.
MORE: Rosie Marcel shares a wonderful snap of herself as a child actor
Jac’s main priority, though, is Elliot and she promises him she’ll save his life. However, as Elliot’s condition deteriorates and he’s rushed into surgery earlier than expected, the normally composed Jac seems anything but in control.
MORE: How Dom, Lofty and Helen are broken by grief...
When the operation goes badly and Elliot nearly dies on the table, Jac flips out and accidentally cuts fellow medic Nicky with a scalpel. At that moment, Fletch is forced to remove Jac, crying and hysterical, from theatre.
Fletch tries to calm Jac down but she’s inconsolable. Now convinced she’s killed Elliot, that everyone’s out to get her and that Jonny wants to take Emma away, Jac suffers a monumental breakdown…
"The outcome of this episode will come as a shock to Jac fans – I’m not sure how happy they’ll be," reveals Rosie. "Life is going to get significantly worse for Jac before it gets better and I’m not sure where it will leave her."
Holby City continues Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1.
