Mo Effanga
Maureen "Mo" Effanga is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Chizzy Akudolu. She first appeared in the fourteenth series episode "Double Bubble", broadcast on 22 May 2012. Mo is a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and a member of Holby's transplant team. She was introduced along with two other regular characters by the show's then executive producer Johnathan Young, who wanted more "truthful and complicated" characters in the series. When Akudolu read the character breakdown for Mo and learned that she was on the transplant team, she knew she wanted the part because she was passionate about organ donation as her brother has had a kidney transplant. The actress met with a heart consultant to help her prepare for the role.
Mo is portrayed as having a bubbly and warm-hearted persona. Although her personal life is often "disorganised and chaotic", Mo's work life is more structured and she is an excellent doctor. Mo arrived at Holby heavily pregnant and it emerged that she was acting as a surrogate for a friend. Mo's storylines often developed through her close friendship with nurse and transplant co-ordinator Jonny Maconie. The character has also been central to a controversial storyline in which she ignored the wishes of a donor's mother. NHS Blood and Transplant revealed that several people had asked to be removed from the donor register as a result of the storyline.
Further exploration of the character's backstory began when her younger sister, Adele Effanga, was introduced in 2014, followed by the rest of their family the following year. A subsequent storyline saw Mo discover she was adopted. Producers established a friendship between Mo and obstetrician-gynaecologist Derwood "Mr T" Thompson throughout 2015, which flourishes when Mr T develops a romantic interest in her. Mo's surrogate son was introduced in late 2015, which created a story where Mo decided to have a child of her own. Akudolu opted to leave her role in 2016 and the character departed in the nineteenth series episode "For the Love of Maureen", broadcast on 13 June 2017. The actress reprised the role in 2018 for a two month guest stint, and later for the series' final episode on 29 March 2022. Akudolu has won and been nominated for several awards for her portrayal of Mo.
Development
Creation and characterisation
On 29 March 2012, it was announced that three new regular characters would make their debuts during Holby City's fourteenth series in May 2012. Actress Chizzy Akudolu joined the cast as Mo Effanga, alongside Catherine Russell as Serena Campbell and Michael Thomson as Mo's best friend Jonny Maconie. The character was created by producer Oliver Kent. Mo joined the show as a Cardiothoracic surgical registrar. Of the new characters, the show's then executive producer, Johnathan Young, commented "These are three very talented actors and I am delighted to welcome them to the cast. There are some dramatic and exciting storylines coming up on Holby City over the next few months and I know our new additions will have an immediate impact." Young later stated that he had wanted to introduce more "truthful and complicated" characters to the series like Mo.Akudolu's agent gave her the character breakdown for Mo and when she read that Mo was on the transplant team, she knew she had to get the part. She told Katy Moon from Inside Soap that she was passionate about organ donation as her brother had a kidney transplant. To prepare for the role, Akudolu went to a hospital and met with a heart consultant, who showed her how to use the instruments. She was also shown how to stitch by a woman in the show's prosthetics department. Mo's first episode was broadcast on 22 May 2012.
BBC Online describe Mo as having a "disorganised and chaotic" personal life, and a talent for finding disastrous men. Akudolu concurred, saying that while Mo's personal life was a bit of a mystery, she did have a messy home life and she dates men who are not good for her. Akudolu later stated that Mo's work life was "the be-all and end-all for her", it may not be perfect, but it has more structure than her home life. Moon observed that Mo was a "bubbly" person and "warm-hearted". She also commented "If Mo is half as much fun as actress Chizzy Akudolu who plays her, we'll be in for a treat!" Young thought Mo was a brilliant combination of "an excellent doctor but a chaotic person". He added that on occasion Mo makes difficult decisions without thinking them through. Akudolu's co-star Thomson branded Mo "tough" and said she does not like being told she is in the wrong. Akudolu described Mo's style as "more colourful and flamboyant" than her own laid-back look. She revealed that Mo's wardrobe had influenced her to choose more colourful clothes and she hoped to borrow Mo's "vivid-blue Lipsy dress" one day. Akudolu also said that Mo had some "cool pieces" in her wardrobe, including a Ted Baker feather boa and a Mary Portas leather jacket.
Friendship with Jonny Maconie
Mo was recruited to work at the Holby transplant centre along with her best friend, nurse and transplant co-ordinator Jonny Maconie. Shortly after their arrival, Mo and Jonny perform a "domino operation", where they take a donor's heart and lungs and transfer them to two different recipients. When asked how she got to know Thomson, Akudolu told David Collins from TV Choice that she sent Thomson a message on Facebook saying hi, after her suggestion of a weekend away in Paris was turned down by the producers. Akudolu continues by saying that she and Thomson clicked when they met and knew they needed to get their character's relationship right. Thomson revealed that he and Akudolu were close and said there was almost a family quality to their working relationship. He admitted that on occasion they irritated each other, so were either fighting or hugging, which helped with what they were doing on camera.When Jonny began a relationship with Jac Naylor, Mo felt pushed out, especially because Jonny started lying to her. Mo was upset when Jonny maintained the lie about missing their annual barbecue because he was visiting a relative – when he was actually with Jac. The pair are brought back together again when they save the life of a patient who is a Jehovah's Witness, and refuses to have a transfusion because her religion forbids it. An Inside Soap columnist observed that with Jac around, it would not be long before the "feuding friends" share another spat. When asked how Jac reacted to Mo, Akudolu noted that she was not very welcoming and believed it was because she saw Mo as a threat. Akudolu continued "She's another woman and another surgeon. So as far as she's concerned she doesn't want to get to know Mo. But also because Jonny and I have such a close relationship, she wants in on it, and it makes her vulnerable."
A couple of months later, Jonny and Mo had another falling out and a patient's life was put in danger as a result. Things between the friends were already difficult following Jonny's break up with Jac, but they fought further when Jonny discovered Mo was having an affair with married bartender Albie Cheshire. Thomson explained that while Jonny loved Mo, he could see that the affair would not end well. He was aware that she had a history of being attracted to men who were already in relationships, and had seen her "bounce from one disaster to another." Jonny and Mo's issues impacted on their professional lives when Jonny disobeyed Mo orders that a transplant patient must stay in bed. Jonny allowed the patient to go to the chapel and she collapsed, leading Elliot Hope to realise that there was trouble between Jonny and Mo. Elliot then threatened to remove them from the transplant team.
The following year, Mo and Jonny's friendship was tested when Mo acted unethically with patient Poppy Moss. Mo's career was also placed in jeopardy when Poppy's mother, Nicole, threatened an investigation. Mo wanted to save her patient Hattie Edison, who needed a heart-transplant. When Nicole withdrew her consent for the organ removal, Mo ignored her wishes and went ahead with the procedure to save Hattie. Of Mo's decision, Akudolu explained, "She's not thinking about anyone else's feelings. But Nicole wants her daughter to rest in peace. She thinks Mo and Jonny only cared about Poppy's organs." Mo and Jonny argued about the rules that she had broken, with Jonny telling Mo that she could lose her job. In order to portray Jonny's feelings of anger towards Mo, Thomson and Akudolu did not talk to each other in between filming, allowing the atmosphere on set to become hostile. Jonny and Mo eventually made up. While Nicole gained closure when she met Hattie, and Mo comforted her afterwards. In reality, heart recipients do not come into contact with donor families. Akudolu hoped the audience could see the various points of view and did not want the storyline to put people off becoming donors. She told Katy Moon, "it's a horrible situation, but Mo just wants to prolong a life in the wake of a sad death."
Pregnancy
Prior to her first appearance, Moon commented that Mo would have "a big secret" that would keep viewers guessing. When she arrived at Holby, Mo was heavily pregnant. Tara Lo initially assumed that Jonny was the baby's father, but Mo assured her that he was not. She refused to reveal the true identity of the father and Akudolu said it was a secret. Akudolu also commented that the pregnancy would not slow Mo down. The actress told Moon that she loved wearing the prosthetic baby bump on set and that it made her feel broody. Wanting to work until she was ready to give birth, Mo went into premature labour during a shift at the hospital. Initially, Mo thought she was suffering Braxton Hicks contractions, but it soon became clear that the labour was real. Akudolu explained "With Mo if she could, she would have the baby, then go back to work the next day. It's her first child and she knows nothing about childbirth, but she thinks she can just give birth and everything's going to be fine and she'll be back to normal."The truth about Mo's pregnancy was also revealed when she went into labour. It transpired that Mo was acting as a surrogate for her birthing partner Sorcia Winters, the baby's biological mother. When Sorcia cannot be found, Jac stepped in as Mo's birthing partner. Mo gave birth to a boy and then gave him up to Sorcia. Akudolu compared filming the birth to a workout, saying it was tiring. She spent a day and a half filming the birth and said she looked "rough" because her make-up was not touched up and her hair was a mess. Akudolu thought that the scenes looked real though, since anyone giving birth was not going to look glamorous. Akudolu was offered a tear stick during filming since she had never cried on-screen before; however she turned it down and cried for real as she wanted "to tap into the emotion of the scene." Young said having Sorcia's baby was "a wonderful thing to do", but did not think Mo had thought about the emotional consequences. Akudolu added that following the end of the storyline there would be a new Mo. At the time of her departure, Akudolu named the moment when Mo gave birth her "number one highlight", commenting "Having never given birth on telly or in real life before, I didn't realise how exhausting it would be!"