Professor Elliot Hope is stunned when he discovers long-time friend Jac Naylor has stabbed him in the back in Tuesday's Holby City on BBC1, as Paul Bradley reveals...
It's been a few weeks since Elliot underwent brain surgery, how's he feeling?
"Well, he bounces back. He's back to work and fighting fit!"
Jac Naylor, this week, is revealed as the new ward director on Darwin - how does Elliot react to the news?
"Elliot's known Jac a long time, so there's a real affection there, but he also knows she's steely and ambitious. He doesn't mind people being like that, it's just that he isn't like that!"
However, Elliot's completely unaware that, recently, Holby boss Guy Self asked Jac to take over the campaign for the Herzig, the artificial heart device Elliot's spent his life working on...
"Guy and Jac see the Herzig as this great thing that's too good to be trusted to Elliot to look after, so they want to take it from him. All Elliot's interested in is whether the Herzig will save lives."
How does Elliot feel when Jac drops the bombshell that she'll be leading the Herzig campaign - and all operations - from now on?
"Elliot understands he isn't an expert in promoting things and may not make the right financial decisions. But he feels totally betrayed that his legacy is being completely taken over."
Do things become pretty tense between Elliot and Jac in upcoming episodes?
"It does put a severe strain on their relationship. As far as Elliot's concerned, it could have been anybody else who did the dirty on him - why did it have to be Jac?"
Do you think Elliot will ever forgive Jac for her betrayal?
"My feeling is that, because they have a lot of respect for each other, they probably will, at some point, find a way back to each other. But, at the moment, who knows..?"
