Casualty doctor Nicole Piper was recently forced to confront her mysterious childhood when her foster mother Maggie arrived in the ED, and later passed away.
Since then, Nicole has grown closer to Cassie, who was also fostered by Maggie. Her quest to help the vulnerable girl has begun to consume her life, months after she ended her relationship with Ngozi and shocked everyone.
Here, Inside Soap catches up with Sammy Dobson, who tells us that fans had very strong reactions to this major plot twist…
Hi, Sammy! We’re still recovering from Nicole’s split from Ngozi at the end of the last boxset…
“It was such a rough moment as an actor to get the script where Ngozi told Nicole she was an alcoholic and she said, ‘Get out the house and take your kid with you.’ I went to the producers and said, ‘I don’t think Nicole would do that.’ But then they told me about this boxset, and with context you understand where it came from.”
BBC
What was the viewer reaction like to the break-up?
“I got over 100 messages that night from people saying, ‘Why’s she done that?’ It was really intense, and I just felt awful. That scene was so brutal. But there is a good reason…”
Why has Nicole been so secretive about her past?
“In trying to block it out, it was easier to never talk about it and keep it locked up. She also can’t talk about it because she doesn’t know herself what happened, it’s all a question mark. There is a lot of shame for her.”
BBC
How would you describe Nicole’s relationship with Cassie?
“With Cassie, it’s like Nicole is looking at her younger self. She’s a kid who’s just given up, and she’s sort of like a sister so it’s like family. There’s a lot of raw, weird emotions involved for Nicole…”
