RIP Dr Burrows! Holby City's Lucinda Dryzek reveals all about young medic Jasmine's tragic demise…
There wasn't a dry eye in the house in Tuesday's Holby City, as Dr Jasmine Burrows was accidentally stabbed with a scalpel in her pocket, and died suddenly! Lucinda Dryzek explains why it was time for her to say farewell to the young medic...
With sheer determination, Jasmine's seemed to form some sort of bond with her ice-cold sister Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel) in recent weeks, wouldn't you say? "Yes, although, it has been a bit up and down. One minute Jasmine thought Jac didn’t care that she was leaving for this new job in London. But when she then decided to stay, Jasmine thought she could really build a relationship with her sister – that's been her plan this whole time since, she first arrived at Holby."
Although nurse Fran Reynolds (Carli Norris) had encouraged them to bond, she seemed none too pleased that Jasmine had decided to stay. Why is that? "Fran wants Jac to be her saviour and her sister but, she’s not, Jasmine is, so there's some jealousy there. As far as Fran's concerned, Jasmine’s family connection to Jac isn't enough – it's her and Jac that have the real bond."
Devious Fran (Carli Norris) doesn't want Jasmine coming between her and Jac
To that end, Fran recently made a complaint against Jasmine, lying that she’d made an error that led to a patient’s death. And, this week, Fran tries to drive a further wedge between Jac and Jasmine… "That’s right. Jasmine shows Fran the press cuttings she's collected, saying she wants her and Jac to get justice for the abuse they suffered at the care home they were in as kids. But Fran doesn't want Jasmine getting in the way of what she has planned with Jac. So she convinces Jasmine it was Jac who made the complaint!"
Fran soon realises Jasmine’s onto her, though. Knowing it’s only a matter of time before she tells Jac all about her twisted game, Fran corners Jasmine in the hospital basement… "At this point, Jasmine’s forgiven Fran for all her creeping around because she genuinely wants to help her. But Fran's very unstable by now. So when Jasmine tells then her she's fractured and that this 'bond' with Jac is all in her head, it pushes Fran over the edge…"
And that's when Fran attacks Jasmine! “You could say that. Fran turns into evil Fran, grabs Jasmine, pulls her hair and throws her against a cage… but as she does, Jasmine's stabbed by a scalpel that's in her pocket. I don't think Fran has the intention to really hurt her - it's Jasmine's fault for putting the scalpel in her pocket. There’s a handy hint there for all junior doctors: never put a scalpel in your pocket!"
As Fran corners Jasmine in the hospital basement, events take a tragic turn...
As she slumps to the floor bleeding out, does Jasmine realise how serious her injury is? "I think she must do because it’s a six-inch scalpel. When we put the prosthetic on I was quite shocked at how much of it was actually in, there’s only a thumbnail size sticking out! It goes into her liver, so that’s pretty bad.
"Jasmine’s phone is too far away to call for help, she’s in an area of the hospital that people don’t go to, so when Fran walks off that's the big scary moment when Jas is like: ‘Oh, crap! This is not going my way.' Then new boy Damon finds Jasmine and is like her hero when he carries her into AAU. Unfortunately, Jasmine's colleagues can’t save her and she dies!"
We were sobbing… it's so sad! "I know! And just before Jasmine dies she leaves Jac a really sweet voicemail message, which she listens to afterwards. But I don't think Jac ever listens to the end of the message where Jasmine says: 'I love you', which is such a shame."
Jasmine calls to say: 'I love you'.... but it's too little too late
When did you learn this was going to be Jasmine's demise? "Well, I chose to leave. I was having such a lovely time at Holby but I want to play lots of different parts in my career. It would be so easy to stay at Holby forever because everyone's so lovely and you learn so much but I knew if I didn't jump after a year then I wouldn't; I'd never be brave enough to do it again.
"As I waited to find out what my exit would be, I said to lots of people: 'They’ll absolutely kill Jasmine. Jac’s history with family is so bad.' I thought: ‘They’re definitely going to put them together then, the day they make friends, they’ll kill her!’ And that's exactly what they did!"
Was it sad, though, knowing that this was really 'The End' for Jasmine? "When I read the last script, I did have a little cry, which I wasn’t expecting. Reading Jasmine say: 'I love you' to Jac in those final moments, I knew what a big deal that was. When boss Simon Harper told me Jasmine was going to die I was like: ‘OK, yep, that’s fine’ But then when I watched those final scenes we’d filmed, I was like: ‘Oh, that’s me dying’. Obviously, it's not 'me', it's Jasmine, but you know. So it was more emotional than I was expecting."
Any regrets that you can’t go back? “None at all. I completely understand the choice the producers made; I can't be upset by it. Plus, I'd rather have a big dramatic exit that no one was expecting. And I think it works for Jasmine as well in that she's been at the centre of so many mishaps and cock-ups along the way. So it would be wrong for her to just cycle off to London to a new job. And this was an almighty way for Jasmine to bow out!"
Jasmine's colleagues battle to save her - but the young medic succumbs to her injuries
How do you think Jasmine’s death will affect Jac in the aftermath? "Not very well, I should think. Knowing Jac, though, she'll probably work out what happened to Jasmine very quickly. I imagine she’ll just go into shut down mode, and go back to square one. Surprisingly, Bob Barrett told me that Sacha, Jac’s best friend, actually takes Jasmine’s death really badly…"
Jasmine and Jac were always at loggerheads on-screen – what was it like working with Rosie? "Oh, she’s great, she's so much fun. She's so 'on it' with everything, she always knows what's going on. She's like the mother of Holby. There was one scene recently where Jac and Jasmine both get the giggles and Jac's laugh is genuine – Rosie was absolutely crying with laughter over something – and they just started filming it."
Lucinda says it was a laugh a minute working with Rosie Marcel, who plays her on-screen sister, Jac
So what are you up to next? Any roles you’ve got your eye on? "I’m just going to a few auditions at the moment. I'd love to play a kick-ass role, like a really strong female character. I'd love to do something with a spy theme because I love stunts. Or a period drama.
"Before I started at Holby, the job I was doing, I was wearing corsets and stuff, then when I joined Holby I realised hospital scrubs were the comfiest thing in the world. But then I noticed how awful my posture was – I’d been standing around all slouchy like a teenage boy! So something back in a corset, would be lovely, so at least I stand up straight!”
Holby City continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1.
