Appearance
S8 E4 ‘More Equal Than Others’ –
Job Title
Clinical Lead (Darwin) Consultant Cardio-thoracic Surgeon
First Words
Connie and Tricia follow a trail of food to Elliot in the office. He is singing along to his walkman and doesn’t notice them standing behind him, holding a bit of his food in their hand.
Elliot ‘Ah! Looks like someone’s trodden on it!’
Background
Elliot Hope is intelligent and a highly skilled surgeon. He is described as a ‘disorganised genius’ and his work methods and appearance are of stark contrast to that of Connie. Connie is text book brilliant, whereas Elliot is more inspired. He is always thinking, and although some may call him eccentric, he is great with patients and very straight forward. Despite this Elliot lacks organisation and managerial skills and is forever losing or forgetting things. His family life is secure, married to Gina and has two children.
We are first introduced to Elliot in S8 E4, Connie and Tricia follow a trail of food into the office where Elliot is munching away and sorting out hoards of junk that he has just brought up. At this point, Connie has no idea that he has been given the role of Clinical Lead and is slightly put out. As a reconciliation, Elliot offers her to share the office with him but his mess causes some tension. In S8 E5, Elliot continues to ruffle Connie’s feathers. His slow bumbling approach frustrates her as well as him questioning her opinions. The both operate on a stabbing victim in theatre. In S8 E10, Connie persuades Elliot to dress as Santa for the patient’s party. In S8 E16, Elliot is given the job of Clinical Lead, annoying Connie who was up for the position. Elliot tells her he was only persuaded to apply, thinking that she would get it anyway. In S8 E18, Elliot has a new PA who’s gets under his feet; he decides to get her transferred to a different department and asks Connie to move back into his office. Meanwhile, he assists Joseph gaining confidence in his work after Connie switches mentors. In S8 E23, Elliot is desperate to his best for a pateint, Sandra, on the heart transplant list. To celebrate his anniversary, Elliot has bought expensive concert tickets for his wife, Gina. We learn why Elliot was so keen to help Sandra, when Gina is revealed to be terminally ill, though he is optimistic they would one day find a cure. Gina walks out of the recital when she feels she is causing a disturbance with her severe coughing. In S8 E26, Elliot’s daughter, Martha, tricks Joseph into coming to look at Gina at home. Gina’s condition – motor neurone disease – is worsening but both she and Elliot have so far managed to keep it a secret from Martha. When Gina deteriorates rapidly and needs an emergency procedure, she is adamant that she does not want the treatment. However, against her wishes, Elliot manages to perform the operation in secret at the hospital, persuading Joseph to assist. At home, when Gina comes round, Elliot tells her he is sorry but he couldn’t let her go. Joseph, meanwhile returns to the hospital, distraught at the difficult position he was put under. In S8 E29, Joseph opens up to Elliot about his brother being in a coma. In S8 E35, Gina, arrives at Holby because her tracheotomy has become infected. After some ambiguity over details of the original procedure and a chaotic operation, both Elliot and Joseph have some confessions to make. Joseph admits to Elliot he has OCD whilst Elliot admits to Connie about his wife’s treatment and says he will resign his position as Clinical Lead. In S8 E43, Elliot is treating a patient, Margaret, who has Motor Neurone Disease and has had stem-cell treatment. Elliot is encouraged by his patient’s progress and suggests the treatment to Gina. Gina is at first reluctant but later decides not to give up the hope, that Elliot so desperately has. In S8 E47, Elliot is very concerned about the welfare of Margaret, who has recently had stem cell restoration work in Singapore, and sees her “recovery” as hope for his wife. But he is upset when Margaret’s condition worsens and she goes into arrest. Having requested a DNR, she dies. Meanwhile Gina confides in Connie that Elliot is not ready for her to die. Elliot takes her on a picnic where Gina tells him she doesn’t want to go to Singapore and they must face the future realistically and stop chasing dreams. In S8 E50, Connie faces a difficult decision when Gina comes to see her and asks for help behind Elliot’s back. She wants to go to Switzerland to attend an assisted suicide clinic and asks Connie to help her fill in the necessary forms. At first, Connie is reluctant but she eventually decides to help Gina apply. In S8 E51, Gina goes to see Connie again asking for her help. But Connie feels torn between helping Gina, her professional duties and her friendship with Elliot. In S8 E52, Connie has gone to Liberte, in Switzerland, with Gina while Elliot remains in Holby unaware of what his wife is intending to do. However, as the time draws nearer, Gina admits to Connie that she wishes Elliot was with her. Connie tells her she has already called him and he is on his way. When Elliot arrives, he is desperate to change her mind but she remains adamant with her decision and asks him to respect it. The couple spend the last few hours reminiscing about old times before emotionally in Elliot’s arms, Gina drinks a lethal cocktail of drugs which ends her life.
In S9 E1, Connie worries about how Elliot is coping after Gina’s death when he immerses himself in work. In S9 E2, Elliot’s son, James, comes into the department to talk to his father. His letter from Gina holds many unanswered questions for him. Elliot suggests they see a psychiatrist where James pours out his anger over his mother’s decision to end her life. In S9 E3, Elliot is trying to keep himself busy to take his mind off Gina’s death and stays on at work to do the nightshift, even though he’s not on duty. Joseph is back at work after his overdose and he and Elliot work together, both grateful for the distraction and admit they have both been told by other parties (Connie and Lord Byrne) to look out for eachother. In S9 E8, Martha calls on Joseph’s help to get through to Elliot. The pair take Elliot home for the first time since Gina’s death. In S9 E9, Elliot lands Martha a job on Darwin. In S9 E10, Elliot is still coming to terms with Gina’s death but avoids speaking to the other staff, or his children, about it. Mark tries to tell Elliot that he understands what he is going through. He consoles him, and they decide to scatter Gina’s ashes in the peace garden outside the hospital. In S9 E13, Elliot feels betrayed with Joseph when he catches him kissing Martha. In S9 E17, Elliot comes up with a radical procedure for a patient with an inoperable condition. In S9 E20, Elliot overhears Martha making a call about deferring another year at University. After speaking with Martha, Mark tells Elliot she is staying in Holby to look after him and says he needs to prove to her he can cope on his own. Mark pushes Elliot into being involved in the 5-a-side charity football match between the surgeons and anaesthetists. Elliot doesn’t quite make the grade during the match but it gives him and Martha a chance to talk, where she reveals she is infact scared to go back to Uni and being on her own again. In S9 E35, Elliot tries to persuade Diane not to quit Holby. She is later involved in an accident and Elliot takes the call that she has died. In S9 E37, Elliot confronts Thandie about her poor performance, but Thandie calls him a racist. In S9 E39, Elliot is shocked to learn that Thandie has filed an official complaint against him for racial discrimination. Elliot then gets a visit from his son James, who tells him he’s still grieving for his mother, but Elliot clearly has other things on his mind. Later, Elliot finds a note from James telling Elliot to forget about him. Elliot gets worried when James’s fiance Becky tells him that James drove off in her car, which has since been found abandoned. Jayne tells Elliot that, if he makes a formal apology, the case against him will be dropped but, more concerned about James, Elliot dismisses her. Elliot then reports his son missing. In S9 E40, Thandie has to attend the racism tribunal against Elliot, who is preoccupied with his missing son. When Elliot leaves the tribunal early, Ric confronts him only to find he was taking a call from the police about his son. In S9 E43, Elliot is exonerated when Thandie’s past is exposed.
In S10 E1, Mark and Donna arrive at an industrial estate where they find James arguing with three hoodies. As he tries to escape, one of the hoodies shoots James, who hits the floor barely conscious. En route to the hospital with James, Mark insists they hide the truth from Elliot. In theatre, Elliot sees that the patient is his son, and tries to operate. In S10 E2, Elliot contacts the police about his son James getting shot, but James refuses to press charges. After an emotional argument Elliot ends up giving James money to help him pay off his debts. However, James tricks Elliot by taking more money than he owes and goes off to buy more drugs. In S10 E3, an injured Barry arrives at Holby carrying a large amount of drugs, cash and a watch belonging to Elliot. Elliot asks James to speak with the police but James refuses and threatens Barry – who blames James for his injury – with a gun to keep him quiet. Barry then frames James by injuring himself, and James is taken away by the police. In S10 E4, Mark confesses to Elliot about his recreational cocaine use. In S10 E9, Martha, arrives at Holby to confront Elliot about James. It emerges that James tried to commit suicide in custody and he blames Elliot. James could avoid prison if Elliot provides a character reference, but James would then have to live with Elliot. Meanwhile, Tim arrives from the STI clinic and distributes leaflets around the ward – but the staff either mock or generally ignore him. When Elliot takes his bad day out on Tim, he snaps and returns to Holby with a crossbow, shooting Zoe, Faye and Martha. In S10 E10, Elliot finds it all too much to bear – James is due to be sentenced and Martha has been found but is critical. Sam also blames Elliot for nurse Zoe’s death, as Elliot had shouted at Tim before he went off the rails. Elliot later walks out of Holby in a complete daze, just as he is due to perform a young girl, Izzy’s heart transplant. In S10 E11 (a special festive episode based on It’s A Wonderful Life’). Feeling unable to go on, Elliot walks towards a bridge and prepares to jump into the icy water below. A man called George interrupts him, however, and asks him to help a woman who is just about to give birth. Elliot wishes he was never born, and, in true ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ fashion, his wish is granted. Viewers then witness the world without Elliot. Joseph is a patient in a psychiatric ward, Darwin has been shut down following the shootings, Connie doesn’t recognise him, Mark is in a wheelchair and many more of the staff have died as a result of the shootings. Finally, Elliot visits his late wife, Gina, and discovers she wants to die, but is unable to trust her family to cope without her. Realising all the good he has done, Elliot decides he wants his life back, despite his problems, and returns to successfully operate on Izzy and enjoy an emotional family reunion with Martha and James. In S10 E29, Lady Byrne appoints Elliot as the new Medical Advisor, but in S10 E31, Joseph and Connie feel that Elliot is exploiting his position. In S10 E34, Lady Byrne and Elliot are caught in a compromising situation by Connie. In S10 E35, Connie causes Elliot to suspect that his ‘kiss’ with Lady Byrne wasn’t an accident. After finding Lady Byrne getting on well with Dominic, the Trust’s PR officer, a jealous Elliot tells her he wants to resign from the charity. Later, Elliot explains he doesn’t really want to step down, and they decide to go for a coffee – just the two of them. In S10 E36, Elliot gets jealous when he overhears Professor Walter Noble ask Lady Byrne out to dinner. When Lady Byrne cancels, Elliot decides to ask Lady Byrne out on a real date. Lady Byrne accepts and they share a passionate kiss. In S10 E37, Elliot’s old friend Gordon Ramsay has been invited to open a press event for the Byrne Foundation, as he’s raised thousands of pounds for the hospital Trust fund. When Gordon reveals he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s, Elliot vows to help with his treatment. But Lady Byrne refuses to use hospital funds to treat Gordon, and when Elliot breaks the bad news to Gordon, the old man threatens to tell the press that the Trust’s main fundraiser can’t get treatment. Later, when Gordon introduces Lady Byrne as Gina, a distraught Elliot tells Lady Byrne their relationship must come to an end. In S10 E39, Elliot is upset to learn that Lady Bryne has left Holby. In S10 E48, Elliot helps Donna in her quest to become a scrub nurse.
In S11 E20, Elliot is forced to bring his dog, Samson, to work and it destroys Connie’s pashmina. Elliot’s daughter Martha arrives with new husband Ben – which is news to Elliot who knew nothing of her marriage. In S11 E25, Martha plans a picnic for Elliot to try to get him to bond with Ben. He can’t accept the fact she’s married and the picnic goes badly. Elliot walks off, chased by his dog, who is run over by an ambulance. In S11 E26, Elliot’s dog is still in a bad way and Elliot decides to operate on the dog himself with help from Martha and Jac.
Memorable Moments
- S8 E4 – Connie is put out when Elliot joins the department and has been made Clinical Lead.
- S8 E23 – We learn Elliot’s wife has motor neurone disease.
- S8 E26 – Elliot performs surgery on his wife without her consent.
- S8 E47 – Gina tells Elliot to come to terms with her terminal condition.
- S8 E52 – In Switzerland, Elliot is with Gina as she has an assisted suicide.
- S9 E17 – Elliot bonds with Martha following a charity football match.
- S9 E39 – Elliot has torn emotions following a racist allegation remark and the wellbeing of his son.
- S10 E4 – Elliot’s son, James, is brought in after being shot.
- S10 E5 – James tricks Elliot into giving him money for drugs.
- S10 E11 – Feeling low, Elliot takes on It’s A Wonderful Life
- S10 E36 – Elliot and Lady Byrne kiss.
- S10 E37 – Reminded of Gina, Elliot calls things off with Lady Byrne.
- S11 E26 – Elliot operates on his dog Samson.
“This is all too much like a public school urinating competition!”
