Doctors

(c) Harriet Smart, 2002

A shadow episode of the BBC 1 soap, 'Doctors'.

Story details

Format
TV series

Genre
Medical drama

Concept
Woman surprises family by committing suicide for love.

Setting
A small town in the Midlands.

Theme
Love and death.

Impact
To tug at the viewer's heart-strings.

Outcome
Tragedy and Diana's family reassessing their view of her.

Audience
Daytime TV viewers.

Character profiles

Katrina

Gender
Female

Sexuality
Heterosexual

Age
25

Appearance
Tall, dark, big-boned, big bosom.

Spirituality
Unknown

Personality
Forthright and frothy; a good-time girl.

Likes
50's style men, music and cars.

Strengths
Tenaciousness.

Weaknesses
She's a bit of a gossip.

Basic goal
To be happy.

Desires
Sex and cocktails.

Diana

Last name
Holland

Gender
Female

Sexuality
Heterosexual

Age
75

Appearance
Cropped white-hair, beautiful bone structure, tall.

Spirituality
Atheist.

Personality
Intellectual, stubborn, passionate, stoical.

Likes
Wordsworth, herbs, claret, linen, Mozart.

Dislikes
Bigotry, slow-wittedness.

Strengths
Courage.

Weaknesses
Intolerance.

Basic goal
Retain dignity.

Desires
To be at peace.

Past traumas
The death of her lover.

Guest story: An old woman grieves when her secret lover dies.

Ben and Kali: Kali meets Ben's father, George and meddles in their relationship.

Katrina: Katrina encounters a flirtatious plumber.

Part I

1. EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana visits Patrick's grave in the graveyard.

2. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (KATRINA)

Katrina discovers the ladies loo is flooded.

3. (KATRINA)

Katrina calls a plumber.

4. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana arrives at the surgery for her appointment.

5. INT. RIVERSIDE - HELEN'S CONSULTING ROOM - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana discusses her condition with Helen.

| DIANA

| So, Dr Thompson, how serious is this?

| HELEN

| With the right treatment, the condition is very manageable.

| DIANA

| Manageable. What exactly does that mean?

| HELEN

| It means that your day to day life shouldn't be too affected but - you will have to make some adjustments. It is inevitable.

| DIANA

| I see. And the treatment - I will have to go into hospital for that?

| HELEN

| Yes.

| DIANA

| How very tedious.

6. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - NIGHT (BEN AND KALI)

George Kwarme arrives in reception, asking for Ben. Kali overhears and realises that he is Ben's father, whom she has not met.

| KALI

| Mr Kwarme?

| GEORGE

| Yes?

| KALI

| I couldn't help overhearing. I'm a colleague - and a friend of Ben's. I'm Kali Hamada.

| GEORGE

| Oh?

| KALI

| It's just I'm seeing him a bit later. I just thought I could...

| GEORGE

| You are seeing him tonight?

| KALI

| Yes.

| GEORGE

| Socially, yes?

| KALI

| Yes. I suppose you would put it like that.

7. EXT. RIVERSIDE SURGERY - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

Kali introduces herself to George and tells him she will be seeing Ben later. She asks him to join them.

8. EXT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana's son and partner, Tom and Sarah, arrive. Sarah faints.

9. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Tom and Diana decide to go to the surgery to get an emergency appointment for Sarah.

10. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (KATRINA)

Bob the plummer arrives.

11. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana, Tom and Sarah arrive to get an emergency appointment.

12. INT. RIVERSIDE LADIES LOO - DAY (KATRINA)

Bob tells Katrina that it will take all day to fix the plumbing.

13. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Helen seeing Diana asks if everything is all right. This alerts Tom.

14. INT. RIVERSIDE LADIES LOO - DAY (KATRINA)

Katrina brings Bob a cup of coffee only to find he is missing.

15. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Tom asks Diana if he ought to be worried.

16. INT. RIVERSIDE SURGERY - DAY (KATRINA)

Katrina discovers she and Bob share the same taste in music.

| KATRINA

| Er, excuse me -

| BOB

| Yes?

| KATRINA

| That's a live recording of Lou Birdy, isn't it?

| BOB

| Yes. Why, do you like his stuff?

| KATRINA

| Yeah, a bit.

| BOB

| I heard him play in Nashville last year. Quite something, I can tell you.

| KATRINA

| You did? Really?

17. INT. RIVERSIDE CONSULTING ROOM - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Sarah tells Helen in her consulting room that she thinks she is probably pregnant.

18. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Sarah tells Tom she is suffering from a virus. He is already worried about Diana.

19. INT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Helen goes to see a patient, Dolly, who is upset because the flowers on her husband's grave have been moved.

| DOLLY

| Somebody moved my flowers. The flowers I put there for Patrick. Lovely thery were. Orange and white. Perfect - and somebody moved them and dumped a whole load of mouldy old weeds on there. Can you believe it? Somebody took the flowers of my own husband's grave.

| MARY

| Sit down, Mum, you're just getting over-wrought again.

| HELEN

| Have you been sleeping any better, Dolly?

| DOLLY

| Sleep? How am I supposed to sleep? How am I supposed to do anything? Will you tell me that?

Part II

20. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (KATRINA)

Bob asks Katrina to a concert. She refuses.

| BOB

| Well that ought to do the trick. Sorry I took so long. You see, i had to take a little detour. When I went to get the other parts, I dropped in on a mate and -

| KATRINA

| Wayne Newton and the Mississippi Fiddlers. I don't believe it. How in the world did you get those?

| BOB

| I told you I had a mate in, er, Wolverhampton.

| KATRINA

| You went all the way to Wolverhampton to get -

| BOB

| I fell in love. That was the trouble.

| KATRINA

| You fell in love?

| BOB

| With you. Walked in here and wham, bamm. Like the planets collided.

21. INT. CAFE - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

Kali is stood up by Ben but chats to George.

22. INT. BOTANIC GARDENS - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

George tells Kali that he is taking stock.

| GEORGE

| We make a lot of sacrifices, don't we, to be doctor's?

| KALI

| Yes but ... It's always worth it in the end. I mean for someone like you - think how many people you've saved.

| GEORGE

| And how many I've killed.

| KALI

| What?

| GEORGE

| It's a fact of life for a surgeon, Kali, death. We set ourselves up as such great men adn then we discover we have feet of clay.

| KALI

| Was it something in particular happened? Is that why you want to see Ben?

| GEORGE

| Nothing in particular. Don't look so worried. I'm not about to charged with malpractice. I was speaking philosophically. I've been taking stock a great deal recently, you see.

23. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (KATRINA)

Bob appears again at reception and sweeps Katrina off her feet.

| BOB

| I know you said no, but I just thought you weren't seeing me in my true colours.

24. INT. DIANA'S HOUE - NIGHT (GUEST STORY)

Diana tells Tom that she loved a man other than his father.

| DIANA

| Sometimes you never appreciate a thing properly until its gone.

| TOM

| Is that what you felt when Dad died?

| DIANA

| No, actually I wasn't thinking about your father.

| TOM

| Oh well, I suppose I know things weren't that wonderful between you.

| DIANA

| No they weren't. I was thinking of someone else. I loved a man and he died and the the world seemed not to be the same place any more. That's how you would feel if you lost Sarah I think.

25. INT. KALI'S HOUSE - NIGHT (BEN AND KALI)

Kali tells Ben she has seen his father. He is angry with her and storms out.

26. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - NIGHT (GUEST STORY)

Diana tells a worried Tom that she is dying but only in the ordinary way.

| TOM

| I'm not sure I'll sleep. You've rattled me. There is something, isn't there? You're not...

| DIANA

| Dying?

| TOM

| All right, yes. Are you?

| DIANA

| Only in the ordinary way.

27. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - NIGHT (GUEST STORY)

Diana sits alone writing letters.

28. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - NIGHT (GUEST STORY)

Diana goes in and kisses the sleeping Tom and Sarah.

29. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Diana takes her sleeping pills.

30. EXT. BEN'S HOUSE - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

Kali patches things up with Ben. He agrees to go and see his father.

31. EXT. RIVERSIDE SURGERY - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Tom arrives at the surgery. He wants to talk to Helen about Diana.

32. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Sarah takes Diana a cup of tea. She can't wake her.

33. INT. RIVERSIDE - HELEN'S CONSULTING ROOM - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Helen and Tom are talking about Diana when Sarah rings.

34. INT. RIVERSIDE RECEPTION - DAY (KATRINA)

Katrina arrives late. She had a great night with Bob.

35. INT. RIVERSIDE - HELEN'S CONSULTING ROOM - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Helen and Sarah and Tom discuss Diana's suicide. Tom has a letter to deliver to Dolly.

| HELEN

| That must be Dolly Keneally. She's one of my patients.

| TOM

| Her husband was in Mother's department. They were lovers - that's what she says here. He died and she could cope without him so she... For years. They were lovers for years. Ever since my father died and probably before. And she never -

| SARAH

| Oh my God.

| TOM

| Listen to this: " My darling, don't be sad, and try not to be very angry. This is what I want. Life has been a quiet hell without him and I cannot go on indefinitely. And then there is the threat of dying the sort of death he died, which I cannot countenance. It was cruel beyond words. Doctors are such clumsy fools. They never know when to give up."

36. INT. RESTAURANT - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

Ben and George have lunch. George says he's taking early retirement and that he approves of Kali.

37. INT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Tom delivers the letters to Dolly.

38. INT. DIANA'S HOUSE - DAY (GUEST STORY)

Sarah learns she is pregnant. She tells Tom. They wonder if it might have changed Diana's mind.

39. INT. RIVERSIDE - BEN'S CONSULTING ROOM - DAY (BEN AND KALI)

Ben, thoughtful, asks Kali to marry him.