Holby City Ange’s daughter arrives
AMY LENNOX LIFTS THE LID ON JOINING HOLBY AS NEW REGISTRAR CHLOE…
There’s a fresh face joining
Holby City this week, in the form of Ange Goddard’s medically like-minded daughter, Chloe. Meanwhile, actress Amy Lennox – who is known for her work in the other kind of theatre, having starred in West End shows such as Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots and
9 To 5 – chats to us about swapping the stage for the small screen…
Hello, Amy! So tell us, what brings Chloe to Holby?
Hello! So, Chloe is a cardiothoracic registrar and is a very capable and passionate doctor. She’s working at Cable Cross Hospital, and not employed by Holby at all in this episode – but her mum Ange asks her to come and help with a patient that Chloe has a lot of history with.
Is Chloe capable enough that you’d want her to treat you in hospital?
Ha! Well, she’s very good at what she does, so much so that I think it’s the reason she has qualified as a registrar so young. She’s doing a PHD on the side
of working at Cable Cross, she’s highly intelligent and things come easily to her – but there is more to that than meets the eye. I think certain characters will find her sickeningly good at what she does, and potentially frustrated at how gifted she is.
What sort of relationship does she have with mum Ange?
That has its complications. When Chloe first arrives they’re not on the best of terms, whereas I’m thrilled that Dawn [Steele, who plays Ange] is my screen mum. She is so lovely, and is my next-door neighbour in terms of our dressing rooms as well. I’m really chuffed to be working with her.
Is it surreal working on a hospital set?
What I love is that it doesn’t smell like a real hospital! I hate the smell of them in real life, they just smell so clinical and it makes me feel a bit eerie, so the fact that we don’t have that is nice.
How are you coping with playing a doctor?
I’m really enjoying it, and I love working with the prosthetics. I actually went to watch a real tripleheart bypass at another hospital, and found it fascinating. Some people are quite squeamish, but I kind of love that stuff! I’m obsessed with gore, so I find it really satisfying to watch. To think this real person is lying on a bed, they flatline and their heart stops and this machine is keeping them alive while the surgeon fixes their heart, is incredible. The eight-yearold inside of me is just freaking out over how cool it is to be on this show, as after seeing a real operation, I can vouch that it does look very authentic on Holby!
Could you imagine being good at surgery in real life?
I’d love to say that I would, but I’m pretty bad at maths and I think that is a core skill that you need to have before you train to be a doctor. If I wasn’t an actor I would love to have been a vet, but again, that requires a similar skill set. I’m probably better off doing what I’m doing – at least this way I can’t kill anyone if I make a mistake!
Are we correct in thinking that we’ve seen you in Holby’s sister show, Casualty, before?
Yes! A couple of years ago I was a guestlead on that as a patient – she was an exheroin addict. I had Connie Beauchamp dealing with me, and she had to get through to my character, who was very guarded after being admitted to hospital. A wall fell on her and damaged a lung!
After so much work on stage, how does it feel to land a regular TV role?
It’s a different energy in terms of the anxiety that comes with performing live on stage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a buzz that you can’t get anywhere else – but I am enjoying doing a TV show and not having heart palpitations any more! That said, I know this episode is about to air, and I’m really nervous now. I’ll probably be at home by myself watching it from behind a cushion and freaking out. I hope everybody likes it!
Chloe and mum Ange are not on the best of terms…