List of Doctors characters introduced in 2012
Doctors is a British medical soap opera which began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 March 2000. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictional NHS doctor's surgery, as well as its sister surgery located at a nearby university campus. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in Doctors in 2012, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the programme's executive producer, Will Trotter. Akono Mezu made his debut in January, as well as Malcolm and Paula Malone, the parents of Cherry Clay. Mandy Marquez is introduced a month later as a love interest for Freya Wilson, as well as a friend of Jimmi Clay's, Franklyn Ward. Joe Granger Carmichael is born in February to parents Daniel and Zara. [|Martin Miller] debuts in April as a love interest for Julia Parsons, and Howard Bellamy debuts in May as the new practice manager of the Mill. Jas Khella arrives in August as a police surgeon. Emma Reid, Valerie Pitman and [|Chris Reid] are all introduced in October, as well as Al Haskey (Ian Midlane
Akono Mezu
Akono Mezu, portrayed by Emmanuel Idowu, first appeared on 13 January 2012 and made his final appearance on 3 February 2012. Jane Rackham from the Radio Times stated that Akono "certainly had an eyebrow-raising introduction to the staff at the Mill yesterday", saying it was a "brave decision to let Jack give him a taste of student life", but it was unfortunate that "the first person they met was Jack’s uni friend Sarah".Akono appears when the church asks Mrs Tembe if she would give Akono a home whilst he studies at Letherbridge University. She welcomes Akono staying, as they are both Christians. He is given a tour of the university by Jack Hollins, though begins to question whether he wants to stay in England when he sees Jack's friend Sarah Trevllin drunk. He begins to question his beliefs as he learns of Sarah's history of rape and that she is missing her university lectures, and considers returning to Nigeria. Akono begins to develop feelings for Mrs Tembe, though she does not feel the same way about him. Later on, Akono kisses her. Mrs Tembe is shocked by this, and asks Akono to move out.
Malcolm and Paula Malone
Malcolm Malone and Paula Malone, portrayed by Jeremy Swift and Tracey Childs, are Cherry Clay's parents, who arrive for Cherry's wedding to Jimmi Clay. The couple first appeared on 31 January, before departing on 14 February 2012, after the wedding was over.Although the two first appear when they are invited to the wedding by Cherry, Paula phones Cherry three months earlier to tell her that Cherry's and Jimmi's wedding venue is burning down. Whilst Cherry and Paula go dress shopping, Malcolm and Jimmi stay at the house, drinking beers. Malcolm gets drunk, telling Jimmi all about Paula, and how because of her Malcolm had to give up his punk rock career. Malcolm then makes Jimmi promise that Cherry does not turn into another Paula, before he falls asleep. Paula and Cherry return home, to find Malcolm asleep and punk rock music playing, much to Paula's disgust. Cherry starts to have second thoughts about the wedding, but is persuaded by Paula that they are just nerves. Jimmi begins to realize the similarities between Cherry and Paula, and panics whilst at a dinner with the two and Malcolm, telling them that he has been married before to Eva Moore and about how she was presumed dead. Paula and Malcolm are shocked by this, telling Cherry that they cannot let her marry Jimmi. However, after much persuasion from Cherry, they both attend the wedding, before leaving.
Mandy Marquez
Mandy Marquez, portrayed by Danielle Henry, first appeared on 10 February 2012 and made her final appearance on 7 October 2014. Mandy was introduced as a love interest for Freya Wilson. Mandy is introduced as a bridesmaid to Cherry Malone. Freya later begins to develop feelings for Mandy, and the two meet up. The following week, Freya takes part in a football game, and Mandy comes to watch. When Mandy gets there, the team is a player short, so Mandy is asked to play. They win, and Mandy asks Freya back to her house.Development
Mandy begins a relationship with Freya. Lloyd told Katy Moon of Inside Soap that he believed Freya needed to grow up and have a "mature relationship" with meaning. He added that Freya's crush on Cherry and her fling with Kevin Tyler were a direct result of Freya searching for stability. However, Mandy is left to contend with Freya's prevailing feelings for Kevin. Corfield opined that the dynamic of the three characters was "glorious" and that Mandy is not sure where she fits in. Freya reassures Mandy, but "there's still such a pull towards Kevin" which she fails to hide. Corfield revealed that Freya and Mandy's romance would face problems in future episodes. Freya is "useless" in relationships because she is "petrified" that something will go wrong as she has never been treated well. While Corfield felt that the pair setting up home was moving too fast, in the long-run it would benefit Freya. She added that Freya would mess things up "quite wonderfully" which sets the scene of the relationship that will not run smoothly. It was noted that a Doctors storyline never usually develops without problems. Like Corfield; Henry also believed Freya's "love-hate relationship" with Kevin could cause issues.Although, their relationship has positive traits which help Freya. Mandy is characterised as "honest" and "very upfront", which works out well for the indecisive Freya. Mandy's "straight-down-the-line" attitude and dislike to overcomplicate a situation; results in her just wanting to be with Freya. Mandy does not foresee the possible problems that Freya does. In one storyline, Freya promotes her blog on a radio station and gets ridiculed for her bisexuality. Mandy interrupts the broadcast to help Freya, which sets the theme of Mandy acting as her support network. Henry later told Kilkelly that she thought Doctors did a "really good job" of making their character's sexuality incidental. She branded the realism of their lesbian relationship a rare occurrence on television - adding that they made a departure from the stereotypes and dramatisation associated with gay characters, adding "I think Doctors have done a really good job I think Mandy and Freya's sexuality is just incidental a lot of the time - they're just two people who have a lot in common and really love each other. At the core of it, that's the most important thing". Freya and Kevin were revealed to be involved in a fire storyline leading to them both being seriously injured. After an argument with Kevin, Freya goes around to his house to find it on fire. Freya decides to enter the building in an attempt to save Kevin. Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy said that there would be a "shock ending" to the episode which would leave an "agonising" three-week wait to see if they survive. He later reported that Kevin survives the blaze, but Freya dies in hospital leaving Mandy "grief-stricken". However, despite the departure of Corfield, producer Peter Eryl Lloyd confirmed that Henry would stay in the show adding that she is "a great addition to the cast", and that she has "made an impression in her own right". He also teased that Mandy has got "some great storylines coming up".
Franklyn Ward
Franklyn Ward, portrayed by Steven Meo, first appeared on 10 February 2012 and made his final appearance on 1 November 2012. Franklyn is Jimmi Clay's friend. On 23 October, Franklyn returned for six episodes, and departed on 1 November 2012. Franklyn appears for the wedding of Jimmi Clay to Cherry Clay. Once the wedding is over, Franklyn leaves. Months later, Franklyn returns after the news that Jimmi has split from Cherry, as she cheated on Jimmi with Daniel Granger. Franklyn does drinking games with Jimmi to cheer him up, and the two end up laughing about Cherry. Two days later, Franklyn applies for a job at the Mill, working as a security guard, alongside List of Doctors characters #Barry Biglow. Franklyn sprays "scum" over Daniel's car with shaving foam. Barry suspects Franklyn did the graffiti, however Franklyn blames it on Valerie Pitman. Barry sends a picture of Daniel's car to Jimmi. The following day, Barry questions Franklyn about the graffiti, but he once again blames it on Valerie, persuading Barry that he has an alibi for when the crime was committed.Joe Granger Carmichael
Joe Granger Carmichael, portrayed by Oliver Falconer from February 2017, is the son of Zara Carmichael and Daniel Granger, who is born on 13 February 2012. When Zara goes into premature labour, Joe is delivered by Cherry Clay. Zara and Daniel decide to call the baby Joe, after Daniel's uncle, Joe Fenton.Speaking to Digital Spy, Walsh talked about how she prepared for Zara's labour scenes saying: "It was very daunting, really - especially as we know that so many people watching Doctors are people who are staying at home with their children. It will be fresh in their memories, so I didn't want to do it wrong! But of course, when you start researching, you discover that it's different for every woman - and if you ask people about giving birth, everybody will say something different. I've been preparing for it for a long time, though, as it's what my character has wanted ever since she came into the show. That was nearly three years ago, so to finally get the thing that I've played her as wanting for so long was quite emotional to shoot." On calling the baby Joe, she said, "I think it's really appropriate, because Daniel's father figure was Joe, who was on the show for years and was the patriarch of Doctors for a long time. So that's a very significant name for Daniel, and I think it's very loving of Zara that she doesn't insist on calling the baby something like Lysander or Demetrius - as she'd teased him that she would!" Walsh also stated that it has been "amazing" working with babies. Joe departed in August 2012, as Walsh was expecting a baby and left to go on maternity leave. Producer Peter Eryl Lloyd said that Zara's exit storyline would air in August 2012 and would take Joe with her since "she has to take Joe with her and have a reason to come back". The characters returned after Walsh's maternity leave.
When Daniel begins dating Becky Clarke, Joe is confused by their relationship but takes a shine to Becky. Half-sister Izzie Torres tells Joe that Daniel has poor taste for women and that he should get used to his parents fighting for Joe's love. When Daniel and Zara are invited to an online safety assembly, they insist they are busy. Al Haskey disagrees with their trust in Joe, so he pretends to be a young girl called Pixie. He chats with Joe online, and asks him to send personal details, to which Joe does. He then educates Joe on the dangers of the internet, and what not to do online. When Joe meets new classmate Ozzy Bashara who is fasting for Ramadan, Joe decides he wants to fast too. Zara explains that he is not a Muslim, so he does not have to fast, but he refuses to listen. Zara and Daniel eventually persuade Joe to not fast, after he cannot wait until sundown for food. When Daniel discovers that Joe has been using voice assistant Harper to do his homework for him, he confiscates it. After Daniel drives drunk, the pair get into a car crash and Joe is hospitalised.