I Want My Husband and My Lover!

Baz is doing her best to keep her husband and Charlie apart - but eventually she's going to have to make a choice

She's a woman who believes she can have her cake and eat it. She's got a successful, doting husband at home and a passionate lover at work. Baz, Casualty's senior registrar, is enjoying every minute of her affair with Charlie Fairhead, the senior nursing manager at Holby City Hospital. But she has no intention of leaving husband Peter. So does she think she'll be able to keep them both?

'She thinks she can have everything' says Julia Watson who plays her. 'When she was offered a permanent job at Holby at the beginning of this series, she had to think hard whether to take it or not. She'd already got involved with Charlie at the end of the last series, and she knew that taking on the job meant taking on the relationship too. In the end she went for both - the job and Charlie. Now she's seeing him but still keeping the affair a secret from her husband. Charlie's' pressing her to choose because he wants all or nothing. Baz, however, is playing for time because she's not ready to give up either man. She agonises over what to do, but in the end she wants it all. She doesn't want to change her comfortable lifestyle with Peter, but she loves the passion she has with Charlie.'

It's hard to imagine good, dependable Charlie, played by Derek Thompson, being anyone's torrid lover, let alone a woman who's as bright and good-looking as Baz. So what exactly does she see in him?

'Baz and Charlie had a great relationship 10 years ago' explains Julia. 'He was a lot more relaxed back then and they were a really good match. It was a real shame that she walked out on him. I think it was because she was so ambitious. She knew she'd be a senior doctor and didn't see herself married to a man who was merely a nurse. It was a classic role reversal. Baz went away and got what she wanted. She married a man who was a great success in the computer industry, with a big car and lovely home. They've been married for 5 years and Baz was quite content until she came back to Holby and met Charlie again. The truth is that Charlie disturbs her in a way Peter never has. He stirs up all kinds of warm feelings in her. He has a great warmth and charm and their relationship is actually very physical. In fact they fancy each other like mad!'

So where can it all go from here? Can Baz hold the two of them at bay for long?

'She'll try.' says Julia. 'But it may not work. To be honest I think she's fooling herself to think she can have both. It's crazy for any woman to be involved with two men at once. Peters' bound to find out sooner or later and Charlie won't put up with being her other man for very long. He wants it all out in the open.'

There are plenty of daring moments coming, as Charlie and Peter come face to face.

'In one episode Baz is kissing Peter in her office when Charlie walks in. The atmosphere is frozen and Baz is left trying to explain to Charlie whilst Peter knows nothing. They'll spin this one out but in the end I think she'll have to choose - and I hope she goes for Charlie. He and Baz are perfect for each other and hopefully this time she'll recognise it.'

Julia first appeared in Casualty in the first series, when Baz was a medical student and she and Charlie fell madly in love. She came back at the end of the last series and is now a permanent fixture in the cast.

'It feels great to be back. It certainly doesn't feel like 10 years. The best thing about it is working with Derek again. We became great friends during the first series and we still get on really well. He's a joy to work with, a wonderful actor who makes what he does look so easy. He gives so much and his performances are very clever. He has great charismas on screen and Casualty simply wouldn't be the same without hi,.

Charlie may have been there forever, but whilst Baz was away, Julia took a break from acting to get married and have a baby.

'Casualty asked me back just as I was ready to work again. The timing's perfect. I have to spend half my time in Bristol and it's hard leaving David and Hannah in London. Luckily he works from home and he's able to be with her when I can't. I know they're fine together but I still miss them a lot. Derek and I talk kids a lot. His son, Charlie is six so we've both become parents since we first appeared together. We're always comparing notes on their education and how many teeth they've lost. We're both loving the storylines in Casualty too. It's exciting when you've got a plot that twists and turns. Neither of us knows what's in store, so there could be all kinds of ups and downs. I'm sure they'll be some heartache, but I hope the two of them make it and grow old together. I can see them, still fussing over the bedpans and shaking their thermometers when they're collecting their pensions.'

Woman Magazine September 1995