DOUBLE Date with destin y ?

George Rainsford on how Ethan Hardy copes with going on his first date since fiancée Fenisha’s death...

Q AHe’s been dealing with it by getting back to work and focusing on their son Bodhi. On screen, we don’t see him dwell on it, but I’m sure off-screen there are plenty of wobbles. Some of him has recovered but there’s still a sadness at his core.

There are moving flashbacks with Fenisha (Olivia D’lima) this week, right?

Yes, it’s set in the happy period between Ethan and Fenisha getting engaged and their wedding day, when they were in total bliss. It was nice to see Olivia again and we slipped straight into an easy, natural chemistry.

AHow is Ethan coping with his grief for Fenisha?

Q AWhat prompts Ethan to go on a date with police officer Amy?

Ethan initially meets Amy when she tries to interview one of his patients, who’s a suspect in a robbery. They rub each other up the wrong way. She thinks he’s getting in the way of her police work and he feels she’s getting in the way of him being a doctor. They get closer after an intense day saving the patient’s life and she suggests they go for a drink.

Memories… Fenisha appears in flashbacks

How does it go?

Ethan’s dating technique

Aisn’t great! I think he’d rate the date quite highly, but I think Amy… well, no one wants to be cried on on a first date, do they? What’s funny is that Ethan is a Doctor Who fan in Casualty and Catrin Stewart [who stars as Amy] played a recurring character in Doctor Who. It’s strange that he doesn’t recognise her from one of his favourite TV shows!

Q AIs this the start of a new chapter for Ethan?

Certainly he attempts to move on a little, but it makes him think about Fenisha more. He’s still got a lot to deal with. I’d like to think we’d see Amy again. She’s a policewoman and works under Ffion Morgan [Stirling Gallacher]. Amy’s got her own stuff going on. You learn that she’s experienced domestic violence and has a series of slightly crazy exes. There’s stuff to explore…