Alicia Munroe is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by Chelsea Halfpenny. She first appears in the series thirty episode "Cradle to Grave", broadcast on 19 September 2015. The character is introduced as an F2 doctor for a workplace bullying storyline with registrar Lily Chao (Crystal Yu), appearing for a stint of eight episodes. Alicia is characterised as bright, bubbly and a try-hard, making her appear naive. Despite this, Alicia is a brilliant doctor who always does more than is acceptable for her patients. Alicia's backstory states that she has grown up in Newcastle where she attended medical school, but recently moved to Holby.
Halfpenny reprised the role in August 2016 and the character was involved in a story about how separation affects adults. Alicia then became embroiled in a love triangle between brothers Caleb "Cal" Knight (Richard Winsor) and Ethan Hardy (George Rainsford), and a subsequent relationship with Ethan, which ends following Cal's death. Producers later involved Alicia in a two-part special set in France, followed by a focus on Alicia's career, which saw her become a specialty registrar in pediatric emergency medicine.
Alicia's development continues as she creates an anonymous blog criticising the ED's ongoing problems after becoming disillusioned with the NHS. Producers then explored the topic of rape and sexual consent in a new storyline arc for Alicia after she is raped by F1 doctor Eddie McAllister (Joe Gaminara). Halfpenny decided to leave the drama in 2018 and Alicia departs in the twenty episode of series thirty-three, broadcast on 19 January 2019. The character and her storylines have been well received by critics, with Elaine Reilly of What's on TV writing that she arrived in "a puff of pink hair and optimism".
Casting
Alicia was previewed to viewers through a show trailer released on the show's official website on 15 July 2015. It featured a clip of Halfpenny wearing doctor's scrubs. Halfpenny confirmed her casting in August 2015 via Twitter, expressing her delight at joining the series. She revealed her first episode would air on 19 September 2015.
Halfpenny had previously appeared on the show as a patient, Karine, in the series eighteen episode "What Parents Do". Derek Thompson, who plays Charlie Fairhead, remembered Halfpenny from her guest appearance because of her "unusual" surname. Halfpenny recalled her guest appearance and praised the cast then and upon her return. She added that she found it easy to make friends within the cast. The character was introduced during the series thirty episode "Cradle to Grave", broadcast on 19 September 2015.
Halfpenny had two auditions for the character and believed that because producers had an idea about the character, she did not have to attend several auditions. She auditioned for the show's casting director in her first audition. Halfpenny described her second audition as "overwhelming" and "so stressful". In her section audition, she screen-tested with Crystal Yu (who portrays Lily) and performed an operation on a mannequin which she said was hard. Halfpenny struggled with the 'operation' and was "squeamish" so the medical advisor and Yu assisted her. Halfpenny struggled to pronounce the medical terminology and was nervous when she had a single line in a scene in case she forgot it. Halfpenny also had to learn how to stitch for the role.
In 2016, Halfpenny shadowed an A&E doctor which she described as "really interesting." She hoped that shadowing a doctor would allow her to make her acting appear more "realistic" and said she was "more confident with things like CPR", but would not be able to perform it in real life.
Development Characterisation and introduction
Alicia is billed as "bright and bubbly" and Halfpenny said that "she's got blonde and pink hair, so people expect her to be a bit ditzy, but she's not." She called Alicia "a bit of a try-hard" because she tries to impress everyone, making her appear naive. She added that Alicia was "a young and kind person". Alicia is a "typical junior doctor" and very talented at her job which shows when she starts working. A BBC Online reporter described her as "effortlessly brilliant and passionate about her chosen subject – medicine". She is a positive person and "a joy to have in the department". Halfpenny was highly publicised for playing Amy Wyatt in the British soap opera Emmerdale, and she contrasted Alicia's characteristics with that of Amy, stating that whilst Amy "lied quite a lot", Alicia is "very happy-go-lucky". She said she also preferred smiling to being miserable, which Amy was known for being. Halfpenny reflected on Alicia's characterisation in 2018, noting that Alicia joined the show as "a naïve girl" who struggled with serious injuries and found herself getting over involved in patients' lives, but over the course of her time on drama, Alicia has become more "professional".
Alicia's backstory states that she had recently graduated from medical school, which not only made her a brilliant doctor, but also a "genuinely nice person to be around." In an interview with Olivia Heath (Reveal), Halfpenny described Alicia as a "clever girl" and "a quick learner" who does not appreciate how hard working in the ED is, but despite that is professional. On-screen, the character Connie Beauchamp (portrayed by Amanda Mealing) described Alicia as "a breath of fresh air". Her positive nature can also cause her to be portrayed as annoying. Alicia's popularity among her colleagues irritated Lily Chao (Crystal Yu), who struggled to connect with them personally. In addition to this, Alicia tried to "have a laugh" with Lily, who had "none of it". Halfpenny opined that because Alicia is kind, she wanted to give Lily a hug and "understand" her.
Halfpenny described Alicia's first shift as "hell on earth" and revealed that Alicia would impress her colleagues, apart from Lily, when she spots a vulnerable patient. Halfpenny hoped fans would like Alicia, but worried that they may be annoyed by her cheerfulness. Halfpenny did not watch any of her scenes before they aired and said that she was "nervous" about watching her first scenes. Of her introduction, Halfpenny said that she was "enjoying this new chapter" of her career.
Workplace bullying and departure
Halfpenny's initial stint on the show revolved around a storyline which saw her bullied by her mentor Lily. Lily disliked Alicia's popularity and sound medical skills and Halfpenny believed that Lily was "threatened" by someone with both those skills. She began to resent Alicia and started expressing her resentment of her in front of their colleagues. Yu described Lily's actions as bullying, but believed that she bullied her because she was grieving for her father. Lily did not realise that she was bullying Alicia and Yu explained that "Lily says things in the heat of the moment and then regrets them, but she’s too proud to own up or say sorry to Alicia."
Alicia coped well with Lily's treatment of her for several weeks and Halfpenny explained that Alicia has an "outlook on life where she doesn’t take everything to heart", which meant she felt "quite bad for Lily about her father’s death" and wanted to be her friend. When Lily's attitude worsens, Alicia starts to realise how bad their situation is. Halfpenny believed that Alicia's vulnerability made her "even more of a target" for Lily. Alison Graham of Radio Times and Elaine Reilly of What's on TV both believed Lily was "jealous" of Alicia, with Reilly also describing Lily's constant criticism as a "sustained bullying campaign" against Alicia.
Halfpenny was only signed to appear in eight episodes and departed in the series 30 episode, "Avoidable Harm", broadcast on 14 November 2015. The episode was centric to Alicia and Halfpenny voiceovered the episode. She described it as "high drama" where viewers discover more about Alicia. Halfpenny described it as "the most challenging couple of weeks" of her career because she "had so much to do". The show's executive producer, Oliver Kent, teased the episode before its airing, promising "a huge crisis of conscience" for the character which would make her question "her faith in her career." The episode left Alicia's future "open ended" and Halfpenny speculated whether Lily's constant criticism caused her to end her career as a doctor. Halfpenny described Alicia's departure as "sad", while Reilly described Alicia's final shift as "harrowing".
In the episode, a child in Alicia's care goes missing, but in her search for the child, she is forced to treat a seriously injured man, who is being followed by his partner's violent father, in the back of a van. Halfpenny explained that Alicia realises "the true depths of the job" when in the van. Alicia saves the man's life and when the father gives up, he accidentally runs down his daughter and despite Alicia's best efforts to save her back in the department, she dies. Lily publicly berates Alicia in the department's reception, taking her bullying to a new level. Yu described the scene as "an explosion of all the emotions Lily has been feeling", adding it was "a shame that Alicia is on the receiving end of it!" Alicia struggles to cope with her emotions and Halfpenny said Alicia questioned whether she was "strong enough" to be a doctor. Alicia decided to quit her job at the hospital following Lily's bullying and Halfpenny described her decision as "impulsive". She said that Alicia was under pressure and felt "lonely" because she was lacking support from Lily.
Following Alicia's resignation, Lily's colleagues accused her of bullying Alicia, making her briefly feel guilty. Yu explained that Lily felt guilty, but believed that because of her bad experience being mentored by Martin Ashford (Patrick Robinson), Alicia should receive the same treatment from her. Lily realises that she has made a mistake in her actions towards Alicia, but it is too late and it "gets to the point where she's way beyond saying sorry". Yu disliked filming scenes where she was mean to Halfpenny as they were friends off-screen.
Reflecting on the role, Halfpenny said that the episodes were "really nice" for her and that she "really enjoyed it" and had "a great time", describing it as "action-packed". Her role in Casualty had reminded her why she had left Emmerdale, because she had "wanted to do other things".
Reintroduction
Following her departure in 2015, Halfpenny teased a possible return for her character. In November 2015, the show's series producer Erika Hossington suggested that Alicia's departure was "an 'au revoir' and not a goodbye", teasing that the character should face Lily. Halfpenny later expressed her desire to return to the show as a regular cast member. She told Soaplife that she enjoyed her time on the show and wished it had been more permanent.
The show's Summer 2016 trailer featured a clip of Halfpenny, with Radio Times confirming that she had returned to the role of Alicia. Oliver Kent confirmed that Alicia would be returning to the show, with TV Times magazine predicting that Alicia's return would be "bound to cause a stir". Halfpenny promised "interesting storylines" for Alicia. Alicia returns as a locum doctor, following her parents' divorce, which would delight Ethan Hardy (George Rainsford) and Louise Tyler (Azuka Oforka). Alicia tries to avoid Lily, but realises she is not as nasty as before and decides to stay at the hospital. Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy described the announcement as "good news for Casualty fans".
Introduction of parents