Knocked out, respected Holby City consultant Ric Griffin is forced to come clean to granddaughter Darla about his ill health, as Hugh Quarshie reveals…
After secretly going for a MRI scan last week, Holby City legend Ric Griffin is reeling from the shock news he has a brain tumour. But with his beloved granddaughter Darla preparing for her newborn baby girl to go into foster care, Ric's determined to withhold the truth from her about his diagnosis until the time is right.
"As well as being a grandfather, Ric's now a great-grandfather – but just how great a great-grandfather he'll be remains to be seen," says Hugh Quarshie, who plays the surgeon.
Darla (Naomi Katiyo) seems certain about her decision to give up her baby. But there’s a spanner in the works when the child’s father, Peter, visits Darla.
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Ric's furious with Peter for making Darla go through her pregnancy alone – until Peter reveals he's been absent because his dad wanted to keep them apart. So Ric's even more annoyed when Peter’s dad, Michael, shows up, too!
Ric discovers Michael had encouraged teens Darla and Peter to have the child taken into care to safeguard his own reputation in the community. As Michael and Ric argue, Darla speaks up: she’s keeping her baby!
Ric backs Darla’s decision and Peter vows to support her. But the argument soon gets heated between Michael and Ric, who ends up falling and hitting his head. Given he has a tumour, could this knock be fatal? And will the incident force Ric to tell Darla about his condition?
"Holby always works best when the surgeons’ skills are intertwined with the emotional and psychological baggage they carry as human beings; it demonstrates the frailty and failings of the characters,’ says Hugh. ‘This latest development for Ric is interesting. It shows it's not just him being heroic all the time – he's been shown to have his flaws."
Holby City continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1.
