Dr Dominic Copeland gets a shock when a face from the past turns up at Holby City (BBC1, Tuesday), as David Ames reveals…
Dom was devastated when lover Lee robbed his flat then disappeared. Then, when Lee's pregnant fiancee Alison worked out the pair had had a fling and dumped Lee, he blamed Dom for ruining his life and tried to stab him! How's Dom been coping in the aftermath of Lee's betrayal and attack?
"Dom's been struggling with the whole 'Lee' incident - it's something that's been churning over in his mind for some time and he's still trying to make his peace with what happened. He's actually managed well over the past few months.
"By distracting himself with other things and realising that he needs to just get on and focus on work, he's been able to get his head together."
So when Lee's ex-fiancee Alison turns up at the hospital on Tuesday, how does Dom feel about seeing her?
"When Alison turns up, it suddenly makes things all very fresh in Dom's mind again. Dom tries to avoid treating Alison at first, but then he realises he needs to just deal with the situation head on, and do his job to the best of his ability. Also, there’s an element of closure there for Dom – he doesn’t want to talk about Lee, but he’s curious to know how he is."
Dominic treats pregnant Alison, who has severe sickness and pains in her legs
Doesn't Dom despise Lee for what he did?
"When you fall for someone, the resounding feeling is passion and you're absolutely head over heels for them. Then, when that relationship breaks down - or in Dom's case, you get cut off! - that same 'passion' turns into a need to hate them. So, although Dom's decided that he does hate Lee, he does still care."
Dom tells Alison she needs surgery immediately,but Alison rejects the op and it seems she doesn't care about herself or her unborn child. Why?
"Alison’s struggling to get over Lee and knows that having his baby means she’ll forever be looking at that baby and seeing Lee. She goes to a dark place where she doesn’t want anything to do with her baby."
Alison takes a turn for the worse, though, and her baby - a boy - has to be delivered early. How does Dom try and persuade her to see her son?
"It's no secret that Dom doesn't get on with his own father, so to see a parent giving up on their child so early because of their own personal issues really resonates with him. Alison's obviously in a very conflicted place, and has a lot of issues she has to deal with, but Dom just tells her: 'You need to get a grip. You have responsibilities now… You need to be with your baby.'"
Dom gets annoyed with Alison when she asks if he'll accompany her to see Lee!
Alison does go and visit her son in the neo-natal ward, then tells Dom that she needs to see Lee - but Dom's furious when she asks if he'll go with her. Why does he get so angry?
"Alison wants to create a family unit and she knows that, because Lee and Dom had a connection, the bridge between her and Lee is Dom! Although Dom wants to know Lee's OK, he doesn't want to see him and Dom’s annoyed that Alison's relying on him to fuse something together that can't be fixed. Dom tells her almost what he's had to tell himself – that you can’t hold on to the past!"
With Dom's friend, Dr Arthur Digby, battling terminal cancer, is it a case of Dom realising 'life's too short'?
"Arthur's illness has really thrown everything into perspective for a lot of people and it's definitely hit Dom very hard. At the moment, he's like a swan - on the top of the water he's gliding along while underneath he's paddling like hell. But he's doing his best because he knows he needs to be there for his friend."
