Donna Jackson
Donna Jackson is a fictional character from BBC medical dramas Holby City and Casualty, played by actress Jaye Jacobs. Donna entered Holby City in its sixth series as a staff nurse, characterised as a wild-child with a chaotic personal life. During her tenure, she grew to take her work more seriously, becoming a ward sister and accepting more personal responsibilities by adopting her half-niece Mia. A tart with a heart character, Donna had many romantic liaisons with her colleagues, including a one-night stand with midwife Mickie Hendrie. She ultimately fell in love with agency nurse Kieran Callaghan, and departed to be with him after he was injured in Afghanistan as part of the Territorial Army.
Jacobs' casting was chronicled in the documentary Making It at Holby. She made appearances as Donna in both Holby City sister show Casualty, and two crossover editions of the programmes, broadcast as Casualty@Holby City. After seven years, Jacobs resigned from Holby City in order to pursue new projects; Donna departs in the drama's thirteenth series. The character's reintroduction was announced in February 2017 and she returns in the nineteenth series. Jacobs was included in the final cast of Holby City when it concluded in 2022. She reprised the role a year later in Casualty for a five-month stint.
Donna's relationship with her terminally ill father Derek attracted praise from critics. Her affair with married consultant Michael Spence proved less popular, with several critics opining that Donna deserved better treatment. She was named "Best Emerging Talent" at the 2005 Screen Nation Awards for her portrayal of Donna, and was nominated for two further awards while part of the series.
Storylines
''Holby City''
Donna arrives at Holby City Hospital as a staff nurse on the general surgery ward, making a poor first impression by being disorganised and insolent. Mistakenly believing that living with her superior will ensure her an easy time at work, Donna invites herself to move in with nurse Lisa Fox. The two have a strained relationship: within weeks, Donna is evicted for falling behind on her rent, and when she is later allowed to move back in, she lets bailiffs take Lisa's possessions after failing to keep up her own loan repayments. Forced to run a shift in charge of the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit as recompense, Donna struggles to manage and learns a new respect for Lisa. During this period, Donna has a friendship with midwife Mickie Hendrie. Mickie is questioning her sexuality, and the two have sex while drunk. Mickie is disappointed when Donna states that it was just a one-night stand, but they are able to reconcile their friendship. When the general surgery ward is downsized, Donna is forced to reapply for her job. Although she gives a good interview and impresses Lisa, other candidates have more experience, so she is unable to retain her position and has to work as a bank nurse.Following a short-lived relationship with physiotherapist Justin Fuller, Donna moves on to date hospital manager Bradley Hume. Their relationship is terminated by the discovery that Bradley has been running a pharmaceutical scam, resulting in the death of one of Donna's patients due to a morphine overdose. After entering into a scratchcard syndicate at work, Donna wins £20,000. She refuses to share her winnings with the others and resigns from her job, making plans to travel to Australia. On her last day, a patient with bi-polar disorder steals and re-distributes her money. Donna misses her flight, and is forced to remain in Holby. She goes on to begin an affair with consultant general surgeon Michael Spence, despite the fact he is married. When Michael's wife Annalese begins working at the hospital as a locum anaesthetist, she suspects that Michael has been unfaithful to her and confronts Donna, who confesses the affair and apologises profusely.
Donna is shocked when her estranged father Derek is admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with cancer. He dies soon thereafter, and when dealing with his effects, Donna learns that he unknowingly fathered another daughter. Though her half-sister is recently deceased, Donna meets her half-niece Mia, who is being raised by her grandmother, Patti. Within weeks, Patti also dies, and Donna decides to adopt Mia. She and her friend Maria compete for a ward sister position on the general surgery ward. Although Maria is the successful applicant, she realises that Donna needs the job in order to support Mia, and withdraws her candidacy so Donna is appointed sister. Donna falls in love with agency nurse Kieran Callaghan, and is devastated when he is called to serve in Afghanistan with the Territorial Army. Kieran asks her to marry him, but Donna refuses, terminating their relationship with the intention of giving Mia stability. When Kieran is injured by an improvised explosive device, Donna reconsiders, supporting him through the amputation of his leg. Upon learning that he will be transferred to a rehabilitation unit in Liverpool, Donna resigns in order to move there with him.
''Casualty''
When a fuel tanker crashes into the hospital, Donna works alongside ED staff members to treat patients. A year later, Donna is involved in a car crash en route to the staff Christmas party. She and paramedic Paul "Woody" Joyner then inadvertently cause a tunnel to collapse while trying to rescue a trapped baby. Donna is seconded for a shift to the ED as they deal with the aftermath of a school shooting, which Donna finds a challenge.Development
Casting and characterisation
Jacobs was cast as Donna immediately after leaving drama school, and considers herself "completely blessed" for having won the role. She was cast alongside fellow series six newcomer Kelly Adams, as midwife Mickie Hendrie. A BBC documentary entitled Making It at Holby chronicled their casting process, which entailed seven weeks of auditions, including group workshops to allow the series producers to gauge candidates' personalities. Adams originally auditioned as Donna, however the casting directors felt that she would be better suited to Mickie, the quieter character, and "mild mannered" counterpart to Donna's "sassy staff nurse". She and Jacobs were paired together during a three-hour workshop, and the producers detected an "instant spark" between them, leading to their dual casting. Following her successful audition, Jacobs was mentored by actress Jan Pearson, who played ward sister Kath Fox.Jacobs characterised Donna as "a working class tart". Upon her arrival in the programme, Donna was said to be a recent college graduate. Lacking career ambition, she selected nursing as the most exciting role available to her, hoping to meet a wealthy surgeon. The BBC stated that, despite her lack of ambition, Donna was likely to succeed on her chosen career path due to her propensity to "land on her feet". On the series' official website, Donna was described as a party girl with a "wild-child reputation". Her negative characteristics included being easily led and materialistic, easily bored, and "outspoken, stubborn and lazy". The website also highlighted her determination to "live life to the full", her fun-loving and straight-talking nature, bravery, honesty and loyalty, and the fact that "her heart's in the right place."
Donna's costume initially involved short skirts, tight-fitting tops, multi-coloured hair extensions and a nose-stud. Jacobs, who affected a Bristolian accent for the role, commented that Donna had "no sense of what she should keep covered up." A size 12, Jacobs was not pressured to lose weight for the role, and considered Donna's figure "part of her loveable charm". In early episodes, the character was seen to partake in recreational drug use and arrive for work hungover. Jacobs described her as "everything that you secretly want to be, but can't get away with in normal society", calling her "very gregarious" and immune to maturing. The Guardian Grace Dent deemed her "weak-willed" in a 2006 feature on television medics, and in 2008, the Daily Mirror Jane Simon branded her unintelligent.
A 2006 review by Simon noted that Donna lacked dedication to her job, and was easily distracted by her love life. Following an April 2008 interview with Jacobs, the itv.com website for the entertainment show This Morning observed that despite Donna's "chaotic" personal life, she had grown more serious about her work. Ultimately, adopting her half-niece Mia forced Donna to grow up, focussing on her career by attaining promotion to ward sister and accepting the resultant responsibilities. Reflecting on Donna's development in January 2011, Jacobs observed that she had changed a great deal from her early days, when she was used as a comical character with "bumbling one-liners", into a serious, more responsible person.
When Donna returned in 2017, Jacobs billed her character as "flirty, brash and ballsy", while Simon Harper, the show's acting executive producer, described Donna as "sparky irreverent". Jacobs told Jessica Ransom of What's on TV that although Donna has matured since her departure in 2011, she is "still just Donna Jackson". She summarised Donna as "such a floored, quirky, mental character." Jacobs confirmed that Donna continues to be flirtatious upon her return, because it is in her personality. Sarah Deen, writing for the Metro, branded the character a "flirty, feisty whirlwind" and described her as "ballsy and bubbly". Reflecting on Donna's character development between leaving and returning, Jacobs commented, "Before she was a girl in her 20s who was very focused on love and men, and now she has two children so her life is a lot more child-focused." She added that Donna tries to focus on her maturer lifestyle while maintaining the lifestyle she had when she was younger. Jacobs stated that Donna's costume reflected that and opined that her dress sense had "regressed" since her departure. A BBC Online contributor characterised Donna as "a sassy, fun-loving nurse and a breath of fresh air." They stated that Donna is able to voice her opinions because she speaks in a comical tone. The reporter added that Donna returned to the nursing profession "a little worldlier" than before.