Casualty and Holby want your votes!
THE STARS OF THE DRAMAS TELL YOU WHY THEY SHOULD GET YOUR VOTE IN THIS YEAR’S CONTEST...
It’s been an extra-special year for
Holby City, with the medical drama pulling out all the stops in honour of its 20th anniversary. We’ve enjoyed surprise returns from a few old faces – with more on the way – and a fabulous crossover with sister show
Casualty after the hospital suffered a cyber attack! These are just some of the many reasons why scooping an award in our Dramas category would be the icing on the cake, argues Rosie Marcel (Jac)…
Hi, Rosie! Rumour has it you couldn’t make the Inside Soap Awards last year for a very good reason…
Oh my God, yes! I was going to come, but my daughter came home with nits. It was a case of going, “Right, we just need to all treat ourselves and boil the bed sheets”. Hopefully I can come this year, if I make the shortlist!
You’re nominated for our Best Drama Star award. What would it mean to be named winner?
Well, there is some great competition, as Holby City has some fantastic actors in that category. I’ve actually voted for Bob Barrett, who plays Sacha, as I would really love to see him be given an award for the amazing mental health story that he did last year.
Are you as close in real life as Jac and Sacha are on screen?
Honestly, Bob is literally my best friend. We should have our own BBC Two series where I’m Mrs Negative about everything, and he is Mr Brightside. We recently did Celebrity Antiques Road Trip together, which is going to be on at some point. The conversations we had in the car while filming that were just hilarious. Other than my husband, who is obviously the rock that I married, Bob is my rock at work. Jac and Sacha are a huge support to each other on the show, and that is totally mirrored in real life. He supports me endlessly. I love him and he will be my dear friend forever.
How does it feel to be up against your pals from Casualty? Is there any rivalry?
Not at all. I’m just delighted for my friends, as they are my mates in both programmes. As far as shows go, Casualty and Holby do something that nobody else does.
“Have you seen the boys on Holby? Let’s do a calendar!”
We portray the NHS and want people to appreciate it, which is a really important message. Our shows struggle a little bit if we’re up against Eastenders, Corrie or
Emmerdale – but you guys really support us and give us our own special category. Danny Dyer can’t win it all! [Laughs]
Were you secretly delighted when Jac won the battle for theatre space against Connie in the crossover show?
It was the only battle Jac could have won. She would have fought to the death for Sacha. Myself and Amanda Mealing [who plays Connie] loved filming that so much. We’ve been friends for years and years, and still text each other weekly!
Finally, can you tell us why people should vote for Holby City?
Generally, we give you some amazing and hugely important storylines, but also – and this goes for Holby and Casualty – have you seen the boys we have in both of these shows at the moment? [Laughs] We have Ramin [Karimloo, who plays Kian] and you should see this guy with his shirt off – it’s ridiculous! And also Charles Venn [who plays Jacob in Casualty]. Inside Soap needs to get down here and do a photo shoot with the boys. We’re already thinking about doing a calendar for charity!