Temperatures have been rising at The Beeches medical practice in recent weeks as the attraction between Peak Practice doctors Erica Matthews and Andrew Attwood has grown stronger.
This week in the last episode of the current series a personal crisis for Erica draws the couple closer and forces them to make some crucial decisions about their future.
‘I’m sure the audience must have been wondering why they don’t stop messing around and just get together,’ giggles Saskia Wickham.
‘Erica has been let down by Andrew in the past. In the last series they slept together once just before Andrew left the practice and disappeared off to Manchester. That left Erica feeling betrayed both professionally and personally.’
A veteran of two series of Peak Practice, Saskia, 30, was happy to sign a contract for future episodes. ‘Playing Erica for the second time was like meeting up with an old friend,’ she explains. ‘But it was a strange experience too. Erica has her own identity with her clothes, her house and the surgery where she works. I slipped so easily into character that there were times when I wondered whether I was Erica or Saskia which was quite spooky.’
Unusually for an actress Saskia has worked almost nonstop since she left drama school with parts in Boon, the costume drama Clarissa, and the ITV thriller Circles of Deceit. It’s clearly a family traits; her parents, Jeffrey Wickham and Clair Stewart are also in the profession.
‘I knew I’d act from an early age and my parents are very pleased about it. Although the attention that my career has bought with it makes them slightly nervous,’ says Saskia. ‘When I started out I was naive. I was conned into posing for revealing publicity photos and I learned the hard way that I shouldn’t talk about my private life, there has to be a moment where the door closes.’