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June 2002
It's a long time since we saw CASUALTY's Lara Stone smile and things are about to get a lot worse for the senior house officer.
In last weeks episode, one of Lara's patients, a woman called Melanie Collier, confided that her husband David, a senior police officer, had raped her.
'Melanie wouldn't take it any further, so there was nothing Lara could do,' says actress Christine Stephen Daly, who plays the medic. 'But she let the husband know exactly what kind of man he was. As a result, he ended up taking his wife to another hospital for treatment.'
But this week, David Collier is back at Holby's A&E, investigating a shooting incident. 'Lara can't resist winding him up,' explains Christine. 'He thinks she's going to report him to the police.'
So Collier waits for Lara in the car park. 'He jumps out at her and brutally attacks her,' reveals Christine. 'But he doesn't count on the fact that Lara is a tough cookie...'
The fight scene that follows was almost too realistic. 'I burst into tears after filming it,' says Christine. 'It wasn't just I was terribly hurt- just bad bruising and neck scratches, but I found it very
harrowing.'
On screen, viewers will see Lara make a desperate effort to save her own life by reaching for a brick. It's an action that's set to have far-reaching consequences.
This year seems to be going from bad to worse for Lara, who's still reeling from the death of the man she loved, Dr Spiller, who died from his injuries sustained in a car crash.
'After this, Lara will be lower than ever,' sighs Christine, 29. Which will mean more work for make-up! Before filming Lara's latest traumas, the Australian-born actress had taken a two week holiday to Melbourne.
'I came back feeling very refreshed. But you'd never guess if you see me on TV,' says Christine. 'I was looking way too healthy for what Lara's going through, so I had to have special make up to cover the tan and make me look suitably wan!'