Dr. Lily Hassan is a fictional character from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', portrayed by

Seeta Indrani Seeta Indrani (born 20 April 1963) is a British dancer and actress from London. Biography Performance After graduation as a dancer from the London Contemporary Dance School, Indrani took the role of Cassandra in the original 1981 West End pr ...

, who made her first appearance on 28 October 2008. Her backstory involves going from a rebel in her youth to reinventing herself and achieving a medical career. During her time on ''Doctors'', Lily is depicted as a talented and devoted doctor who "does everything by the book". She struggles with social interaction and does not find it easy to trust people. Lily made her final appearance on 31 March 2010 when she leaves the fictional Mill Health Centre to go on

sabbatical leave A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bib ...

to take care of drug-addicted teen Sapphire Cox (

Ami Metcalf Ami Louise Metcalf (born June 1994) is an English actress. She rose to prominence in 2010 after portraying Sapphire Cox in the BBC soap opera ''Doctors'', for which she won the Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress. Followin ...

). Producers of the soap felt Lily was a successful character since she provided a contrast between herself and other colleagues.

Storylines

Lily arrives at the Mill Health Centre when

Heston Carter Dr. Heston Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''Doctors'', portrayed by Owen Brenman. He made his first appearance in 2008, and he continued to appear until 2018, when Brenman left ''Doctors'', with Heston being killed in ...

(

Owen Brenman Owen Brenman (born 17 December 1956) is an English actor, known for his roles as Nick Swainey in the BBC sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'' and Heston Carter in the BBC drama series ''Doctors''. Early and personal life Brenman was educated at U ...

) employs her to ease the workload of his colleagues. From her arrival, it is clear Heston is in love with her. Despite her constant rejection, he perseveres and it is made clear that she has feelings for him too when Lily kisses Heston. Lily becomes well known for keeping a skull which gains her the nickname Morticia amongst colleagues. Lily helps

Ruth Pearce Ruth Pearce may refer to: *Ruth Pearce (diplomat), Australian diplomat *Ruth Pearce (sociologist) (born 1986), British sociologist *Ruth Pearce (Doctors), a fictional character in the British television series ''Doctors'' {{hndis, Pearce, Ruth ...

(

Selina Chilton Selina Chilton (born 1981) is an English actress. After making appearances in various stage productions including ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''Can-Can'' and '' Marianne Dreams'', she was cast in the BBC soap opera ''Doctors''. She appeared in ...

) to recover from her stay at a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

. After being persuaded by

Julia Parsons Julia Parsons (also McGuire) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''Doctors'', portrayed by Diane Keen. She was introduced as the ex-wife of Mac McGuire (Christopher Timothy) who begins working as a receptionist at the Riverside H ...

(

Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress. With a career spanning numerous decades, she has appeared in various television series, films and stage productions. Keen's notable roles include Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom '' The ...

), Lily proposes to Heston at the Christmas party after their commitment to foster children together. To her shock, he walks out of the room and later explains that they would not work out in the long-term. Lily leaves the Mill to go on a long-term

after taking on the care of teenager Sapphire Cox (

), who is addicted to

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid used medically to treat chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Prescribed for daily use, the medicine relieves cravings and opioid withdrawal sym ...

Development

On the

website, it was noted that Lily was a rebel in her youth but that she managed to reinvent herself by achieving a career in medicine. It also stated that despite being academically talented, she finds social interaction with others difficult, as well as trusting people. Lily is a general practitioner, police surgeon and forensic archaeologist; the BBC website stated that her dedication to her career "borders on the obsessive" and that she "does everything by the book". However, due to her stern personality, she lives a "lonely life of predictability" and secretly hopes that someone will love her for the person she is. ''Doctors'' producer Peter Lloyd was asked if Lily would ever return to the series following her exit. He said that a return had never been ruled out since he saw Lily to be "a successful character who provided a great contrast to the others in the gang." However, he felt that the producers had reached a natural end for the character. Lloyd was happy with the ending she had been given as he had planned for her to get a positive ending with Sapphire.

Reception

Indrani was longlisted for Sexiest Female at the

2009 British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and have ...

References

External links

Lily Hassan
at

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Lily Doctors (2000 TV series) characters British female characters in soap operas English female characters in television Fictional British medical doctors Fictional female doctors Television characters introduced in 2008 Fictional physicians in soap operas