Casualty Alicia gets found out?
AS THE NET CLOSES IN ON ALICIA, CASUALTY’S CHELSEA HALFPENNY TELLS US THAT THIS PLOT HAS BEEN A HIT WITH REAL-LIFE MEDICS...
Tongues have been wagging in Holby City ED over the past few weeks, as everyone tries to work out who’s behind the explosive Rage In Resus blog that’s been publicly blasting the department. Things come to a head this week, as Jac urges Ethan to figure out who the culprit is and make sure they’re punished. So how much longer can Alicia keep her secret? Actress Chelsea Halfpenny reckons her alter ego is feeling the pressure…
“Alicia doubts she would be considered to be the culprit because of how close she is to Ethan,” explains the star. “Although the blog doesn’t personally attack him, it is attacking the ED and the people in power. The whole thing has taken on a life of its own, which Alicia wasn’t expecting at all – so she is getting more and more panicked.”
And she has every reason to be, since the net is closing in! Ethan’s at the end of his tether as he tries to figure out who’s responsible for the damning expose, and calls in Alicia to ask outright if it’s her.
“Her immediate reaction is just to lie about it,” admits Chelsea. “It’s not the right time for her to confess, because she’s doing this blog to make a difference – she’s doing it to help people. I think that’s what will annoy Ethan the most when he finds out, that he looked her straight in the eye and she blatantly lied to him.”
And Alicia could be forced to confess sooner rather than later, after it looks as though Rash is set to take the fall for her actions! So if the truth about Alicia’s behaviour does come out, what will it mean for her relationship with Ethan?
“They had that kiss recently, and it looked as if it could be the beginning of them finally getting together,” Chelsea reminds us. “But something always gets in the way! The viewers have definitely been rooting for them to become a couple, and I think that’s because it’s nice to see a friendship which blossoms into a relationship. But perhaps after this, everyone will think that Alicia’s no good for Ethan!”
While her character could soon be ED public enemy number one, Chelsea tells us that the story has struck a chord with real-life NHS workers, who face the same battle that Alicia does day in and day out.
“I’ve had some really lovely tweets from people, particularly after the episode a few weeks ago that sparked the whole blog in the first place,” she tells us. “They were saying that it reflected the NHS realistically – that’s what is so amazing about Casualty, we show the NHS in a truthful way. I often get nice comments from viewers, but these were very focused on that episode, and people were chuffed that we were showing the struggles they face. It’s just good that we can make the audience aware that this is happening…”
Casualty is amazing because it reflects the NHS truthfully