Arthur Digby is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor Rob Ostlere. He first appeared in the series fifteen episode "Blood Ties", broadcast on 2 January 2013. Arthur arrives at Holby City hospital to start his first year of the Foundation Programme. To prepare for the role Ostlere visited a hospital and shadowed a registrar and foundation doctors on their rounds. He has been described by Holby City's publicity department as "naïve and socially awkward" plus holding an "encyclopaedic knowledge" on unusual subjects. Ostlere's first days on-set influenced various aspects of Arthur's characterisation such as his "preppy attire", fidgeting with his glasses and his clumsy nature. Arthur is a talented doctor and his skills are awarded the medical prize titled, Junior Doctor of the Year. Arthur's storylines have focused on his career on the hospital's Keller and AAU wards, alongside the various characters that staff them. In his first year on-screen he works closely with mentor Antoine Malick (Jimmy Akingbola) and staff nurse Chantelle Lane (Lauren Drummond). The latter he develops romantic feelings for which are not reciprocated. Their friendship dominates his initial story and together they become victims of a vicious mugging and a car crash which is caused by Arthur.
His second year saw him working alongside F1 doctors Dominic Copeland (David Ames) and Zosia March (Camilla Arfwedson) while remaining on Keller. This trio dynamic proved popular with viewers and producers made the difficult decision to split them up. The move was labelled as an attempt to reflect reality as Junior Doctors generally progress to different wards and specialities. Arthur began his CT1 training on AAU where he is entrusted with mentoring Morven Shreve (Eleanor Fanyinka). Writers then introduced an issue lead storyline for the character as Arthur begins to behave anxiously, self medicating and finally being diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
After three years in the role Ostlere decided to leave Holby City. The decision was made to kill the character off and producers planned a terminal cancer storyline. It also highlighted the importance of skin checks to detect melanoma and helped raise awareness for a British charity. The character died during the episode titled "I'll Walk You Home", broadcast on 7 June 2016. Ostlere reprised the role for guest appearances in 2017 and 2022. Critics of the show have often commented on Arthur's professional skills. Katy Moon of Inside Soap said that Arthur's bedside manner is non-existent. Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror branded him "very bright" but lacking surgical excellence when under pressure.
Casting Rob Ostlere passed the early stages of auditioning and was invited to complete an on-set audition at the BBC Elstree Studios. The actor felt nervous because it was the first time he had managed to secure an audition in the actual setting of a show. His casting was publicised a week before he appeared on-screen. Arthur is introduced into the series during the same episode as Gemma Wilde (Ty Glaser). Ostlere and Glaser prepared for their new roles by observing a surgical team in a real hospital. They also worked alongside a registrar and foundation doctors, the latter Glaser believed they "learnt a lot from". Ostlere also had a friend in medical training and sought advice from them.
Development
Characterisation and introduction
Arthur is characterised as having his own sense of logic that differs to the rest of the hospital staff. Ostlere told a BBC Online reporter that "he can react in his own unique way" and he enjoys trying to decipher his character's reactions. He is not a mean or spiteful character but genuinely believes he is right. Arthur also plays a comedic role in the show because of his clumsy nature and initially was shown to fall over things on the wards. Osltere also claims to be clumsy and when he made mistakes while filming directors would choose to keep it in. Arthur is played as being insensitive in social situations and remains oblivious to other people's feelings. He is also very career ambitious and pressurises himself to succeed. He is good with the medical side of the occupation but fails to behave confidently when conversing with patients and staff. Arthur acknowledges that he lacks social skills but this makes him doubt his abilities. He is also enthusiastic about Napoleonic history but Ostlere did not need to research it because he was already knowledgeable in the field of history. Ostlere worried that he was similar to his character. This was made worse following his first day on-set when Producers mistook Ostlere's bag for an acting prop belonging to Arthur because it fitted their vision of the character. Arthur is stylised with a "preppy look" and the costume department bought in some "out there" costumes for him to wear. Arthur's glasses form part of his image. When Ostlere was on-set filming his initial episodes the glasses were loosely fitted and he had to keep adjusting them. This suited the character and became a permanent trait during the actor's portrayal. Arthur also has panic attacks and Ostlere found the scenes challenging and scary to film.
Arthur begins his career at Holby City hospital as junior doctor on beginning the foundation programme. He is placed on the Keller Ward under the supervision of Consultant Antoine Malick (Jimmy Akingbola), but fails to impress him. Glaser told Melanie Hancill of The People her character Gemma and Arthur share a competitive relationship because they are trying to earn the same role and the F1 prize in the hospital. He later becomes very stressed despite securing the aforementioned prestigious medical prize. Arthur struggles to live up to his new-found reputation, especially when he fails to reach a diagnosis for a patient and hastily dismisses a staff nurse's accurate findings. Arthur carries on his rotation of Keller Ward and learns that he has progressed well becoming the top performing F1. Consultant general surgeon Michael Spence (Hari Dhillon) decides to reward Arthur by placing him in charge of the ward. But this proves to be a mistake as he loses control of the ward.
Chantelle Lane Arthur forms a friendship with staff nurse Chantelle Lane (Lauren Drummond) and he develops romantic feelings for her. Producers discussed Chantelle at length with Ostlere during the audition process. This made him believe that the two character would form a romance quickly, but this was not to be the case. The show play out a typical soap opera "will-they-won't-they?" story between them. The actors also had to re-shoot scenes together because Producers felt that their relationship appeared to be progressing faster than they had liked. An ex-boyfriend of Chantelle's, Rhys Hopkins (Gareth David-Lloyd), was introduced and Drummond believed that her character was still in love with Rhys. She told Katy Moon from Inside Soap that Chantelle loves Arthur as a friend only. Despite this Drummond perceived them to be a "cute" on-screen pairing, adding "it will take time for things to develop between them". She concluded that her character should give Arthur a chance, but noted he does not have the skills to impress her and should try to "man-up". When Arthur is in charge of Keller Ward he mistreats Chantelle and she accuses him of singling her out because she rebuffed his romantic intentions. He then has to attempt to repair their friendship.
Arthur and Chantelle are mugged by a mystery assailant and in the wake of their ordeal he feels guilty for being unable to protect her. When a patient named Cameron Pollins (Sam Jackson) begins acting strange Arthur realises he is their attacker. He threatens Chantelle and grabs her by the neck, but Arthur defends her and they share a kiss. Ostlere said that viewers see a change in Arthur and branded it the first time he managed to "man-up". Writers created a car crash storyline for the character, Arthur accidentally crashes his car into the back of a lorry with Chantelle and a colleague as his passengers. Ostlere told Moon (Inside Soap) that the crash episode is "shocking" with a "very tense" aftermath. Chantelle is critically injured in the accident and he rescues her from the wreckage, the actor added that "it's emotional for him seeing the girl he loves in danger." Arthur tries to compensate and fight his guilt by helping during Chantelle's operation. The scenes were filmed on a disused rail track near Luton which was made-up to look like a country road. Filming car crash sequences often requires the vehicle to be placed on a conveyor belt track. But Ostlere was allowed to drive the car with two high-tech cameras attached and he recalled having to be careful as not to break them.
Drummond decided to leave the series and producers devised an exit storyline centric to Arthur. Chantelle organises a birthday party for Arthur, but on that day Cameron is admitted to the hospital. Arthur mistreats Cameron because of the mugging attack. He forgets to order a scan and Cameron has a heart-attack and dies. Chantelle offers her support to Arthur, Drummond explained that her and Ostlere's characters are brought to the realisation that their close bond is not helping them overcome their ordeals. She decides to distance herself from Arthur by going travelling. But Drummond believed that "there's a hint that things aren't over between the two." Ostlere branded it a "relationship that has never quite happened" which made it more interesting. He also admitted that Arthur's feelings for Chantelle compromised his ability as a doctor.
Dominic Copeland and Zosia March Following the departures of Drummond and Akingbola, Ostlere began working closely with David Ames and Camilla Arfwedson who play F1 doctors Dominic Copeland and Zosia March respectively. Ames was a former guest cast member and his reintroduced character Dom is an enemy of Arthur because he tried to ruin Malick's career. Working together on Keller Ward proves problematic because Arthur and Malick were close colleagues so his return inevitably causes friction. Ames told a BBC Online reporter that "Dom has a long way to go before Arthur even begins to consider them equals, let alone friends. Arthur is a faithful old Labrador." While Ostlere and Ames were interviewed by Lorraine Kelly, Ames explained that Arthur "is very suspicious about Dominic but he cannot convince Sasha" of his rival's true self. Sacha refuses to believe Arthur because he views them to be working well together, mostly due to Dom manipulating Sacha. Dom becomes bored of Arthur being difficult and decides to create tension for entertainment value. In an interview published by What's on TV, Ames stated "there's clearly a lot of friction between them and Dom likes to push Arthur's buttons, not least just to entertain himself." Their rivalry is clearly played out during scenes in which they treat the same patient. Arthur takes control of Keller on Sacha's orders, but an opportunistic Dom makes him appear unable to manage the situation. Ames explained his character's scheming against Arthur is motivated by Dom's career driven nature. He is willing to say and do anything and "will put his own job above anyone else's job".
Meanwhile, Arthur's flatmate Zosia becomes best friends with Dom despite Arthur's warnings. A dismissive Zosia then invites Dom to move into their flat. Holby City is usually confined to the hospital set but does often show Arthur, Dom and Zosia in their shared flat. The set is named "Arthur's flat" and often film in dressing gowns and Ostlere uses the on-set bed to rest, learn his lines and tried to spend more time there.