BEDSIDE MANNERS
AMANDA REDMAN AND AMRITA ACHARIA TELL US WHAT’S AHEAD FOR LYDIA AND RUBY…
The Good Karma Hospital opens up its doors for a third series this weekend! It’s a tough time for the doctors and nurses who have been understaffed while Dr Ruby Walker is away running a clinic on her family’s estate. So when she pays a visit to the hospital with her pregnant sister, Dr Lydia Fonseca is delighted to see her back – until Ruby announces that she has no immediate plans to return to work. Amanda Redman (Lydia) and Amrita Acharia (Ruby) tell us more…
Ruby is used to being in the hospital – was it weird to play scenes where she’s there as a visitor?
Amrita Yeah, it was interesting. It’s something I can relate to quite a bit – if you’ve moved around then you go back home or to a family you haven’t seen for a long time, there’s a sense of, ‘I belong, but not really – all this stuff has happened, do I still know you?’ You’re a bit uncomfortable, but you still want to be a part of it.
And how is Ruby’s relationship with Dr Varma at this point?
Amrita So much of our journey together in series one and two has been all about
subtext, and this is the first time you hear them communicating – not very well, I might add, but they do try! It’s interesting to come together, then just as you go, ‘Ahh, maybe this will be a nice thing’ to throw something new into the mix…
Things are going well for Lydia and her partner Greg – and she’s meeting his daughter Tommy, who she seems to get on well with…
Amanda Isn’t that great?
The wicked stepmother is so clichéd, but there was none of that – they really get on. There’s a scene in the first episode where we’re all sitting around the table, the three of us all laughing. That took hours to do, as you can imagine!
Amanda, the acid attack storyline in this series was your idea – how was it seeing that take shape?
Amanda I was really happy with the way it turned out. When I first got the script, I said, “Are we really allowed to do this?” because it’s pretty hard-hitting. But it was given the all-clear. As we’ve been changed to an earlier eight o’clock slot, I think it’s going to have to be toned down, but the way that they did it was perfect.