'Holby City' fans stunned after Professor Spence returns to our screens

Holby City fans were delighted to see the return of Professor Michael Spence (Hari Dhillon) on Monday night's episode, after he bumped into Dom Copeland (David Ames).

Dom had secretly arranged an interview at a private hospital as he started to contemplate his professional future. He's found himself at a crossroads as, despite making a breakthrough in his research project with Sasha Levy (Bob Barrett), he's unsure what he wants to do.

When he arrives at the hospital for his secret interview, his paths cross with Michael Spence, who hasn't been on our screens for eight years. His surprise appearance had fans everywhere delighted, as many took to Twitter to talk about his return.

In Monday's episode, Professor Spence was the one to conduct Dom's interview and made him a lucrative offer, but as tempting as it was Dom decided to turn it down and headed back to Holby after all.

During his time on the series, Michael had three roles within the hospital; Consultant general surgeon, Director of Surgery, and Consultant plastic surgeon, and quickly became a huge part of the team.

He was involved in a love triangle storyline with Donna Jackson (Jaye Jacobs) and Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing), with Donna also having a cameo at the same hospital Dom's interview was at.

Recently, fans saw an exhausted Donna impulsively quit her job at Holby and she's very happy to be working in the private sector, but it wasn't enough to tempt Dom away from his current role at Holby in the end, which fans are relieved about.

These two surprise appearances come ahead of Holby City's finale after the show was axed following 23 years on our screens. We're rapidly heading towards the final episodes now, with fans hoping for a good send-off!

Holby City continues on BBC1. Episodes are also available on BBC iPlayer. For full listings - see our TV Guide.