David Hide

David Hide is a staff nurse who currently works in the emergency department of Holby City Hospital. He started working in the department at the end of April 2016 as a replacement for Ben "Lofty" Chiltern who left the previous month.

Prior to joining the ED, David had taken a two-year break from his career following a split from his wife, Rosa. Suffering from bipolar, David found it hard to control his emotions during this time and was deemed unfit to work by the Department of Work and Pensions. However, after getting his life back on track, he joined Holby in need of a fresh start.

Early life
David was married to Rosa Hide until 2014 for an unknown amount of time. During their marriage, she gave birth to their son, Ollie in 2005 or 2006. Shortly before their break-up, David kidnapped Ollie and went off to Acapulco with his new girlfriend, which led to Rosa taking primary care of Ollie and cutting David off.

Following his divorce, he had some time off from work, and he joined Holby ED after the Department of Work and Pensions decided that he was ready to return to nursing after a two year break.

Time in the emergency department (2016-)
David Hide had his first shift in the ED on 30 April 2016. Rita informed Dylan that she had been unable to get a word out of him, and thought that Charlie hadn't chosen the right person based on the interview. Nevertheless, he proved his abilities during the shift by providing comfort to a recovered alcoholic who later became involved in an incident outside the ED. Although she ultimately died, David impressed Connie and Dylan with his sound nursing skills.

In May, new consultant Elle Gardner was unhappy with David when he loudly stated a patient's injuries in reception and a local woman who knew him heard. He was frustrated with himself for this, although Elle was friendly to him after. However, Elle kept referring to him as Dave, something he didn't like, although he didn't want to mention it to cause a problem.

Later in the month, David overheard Robyn telling Louise how hard he was to talk to although he didn't appear to be that bothered by it. They later worked together in bringing a couple back together and after their shift, went to watch them get engaged at their mortality cafe. Robyn also suggested setting one up at the hospital too. The following week they were preparing for their first meeting in the The Hope & Anchor after their shift. David baked a cake and Robyn met Glen Thomas, a man whom she took an interest in. In July, David discovered that Glen had been lying about having a wife who'd died. He eventually confronted them and Glen was forced to admit the truth which resulted in Robyn going to David for support.

The following month, Glen was admitted to the ED with some severe facial lacerations and was seemingly drunk. However, it was later discovered that he had a brain tumour and that he'd lied to Robyn as she didn't want her having pity on him. David worked to get them back together and get him to tell her the truth which he eventually did. Despite initially rejecting treatment, Robyn was able to make him reconsider. Later that day, David accidentally nearly revealed the surprise party plans to Charlie for his 30th anniversary of working in the ED. Later in the day, his congratulation video to Charlie was shown where he summed up Charlie in one word as calm. Following the helicopter which Grace was inside crashing into the ED, Elle and David worked together in treating and calming down Connie. They eventually helped Connie get to her daughter, but she too had sustained a nasty head wound from the car crash. As Elle was later preparing to move Grace, she was alerted by David of Jacob in reception who had become angry at the child whose drone accidentally collided with the air ambulance causing it to crash. David attempted to intervene but Jacob pushed him away. After the situation had been resolved, David was among the staff who agreed to stay until the mess was cleaned up.

In September at the pub, David shared a conversation with Duffy whom he opened up to about his son. She encouraged him to try to contact his son, despite the fact he was estranged from his ex-wife. This prompted David to leave his ex-wife Rosa a message asking her to call him back.

Later in the month, David's son Ollie visited the ED by stealing his mother's car. David was delighted to see him, but an angry Rosa found him there and tried to get Ollie to go back with her. David later told Ollie that he couldn't live with him and he reacted badly. He went to sit in the car and burned a posted he had of him and his dad, but in the process the car caught fire. David rescued Ollie, but a nearby patient was injured when the car exploded. Later on, Ollie took to the roof when Rosa inadvertently branded him as crazy, which prompted David to come clean about his own condition of bipolar disorder. Eventually, David and Rosa set their past aside and decided to try to figure out a way to make their situation work.

In October, David and Dylan discovered Robyn's boyfriend Glen having a seizure on the floor of a corridor of the hospital. They were able to get him back down to the ED and stabilise him. Later in the day whilst taking him upstairs, David got stuck in the lift with Glen, Dylan and Max. Together, they were forced to help Dylan perform life-saving surgery on him. The following week, wedding plans for the pair were going ahead. David, Max and Noel helped Glen celebrate a stag do by his bedside. David later visited Glen just before the wedding was due to take place and Glen asked him for a pen and paper. David assumed he was writing his vows, but it transpired that he was actually leaving an apology note for Robyn. David was forced to break the news and give Robyn the letter as she broke down in tears.

Two weeks after Glen's disappearance, David and Max were out in Robyn's car whilst she tracked Glen's phone on her computer. They eventually discovered that a man had Glen's phone in his bag and in the chase he ended up badly wounding himself on some barbed wire. It transpired that Glen had given the man, Paolo, his belongings before his disappeared and told him to get rid of them. Later in the day, David found Robyn outside the toilets in severe pain thinking she was having a miscarriage. David and Dylan performed a test on her with the Doppler to try to hear a heartbeat. Although they were initially unsuccessful, David noticed that the sound was turned down. When they turned it up, they heard the heartbeat, which made Robyn change her mind on her earlier idea of terminating the pregnancy.

In November, Dylan became annoyed with David when he and Seb failed to inform him about a patient's suspected meningitis. Unfortunately for them, Archie, Seb's father, overheard them arguing about it amongst other things with the rest of the staff in reception at the end of the day. Shortly after, Archie revealed himself as the undercover inspector in the ED. The following week, Jacob sent David out with the paramedics in an attempt to boost his confidence. When a fire alarm was set off and the exit blocked by a car, David faced his fears and jumped down from the building and moved the car. Later in the ED, he shouted at a man who was responsible for an 18-year old being admitted after using drugs.

In January 2017, David was struggling to connect with Ollie. When he arrived at work, David was surprised to see Ollie's teacher in the ED as a patient. David was even more puzzled when he found out that Ollie was in a school play that evening and hadn't told him about it. It eventually transpires that the teacher has an extra female chromosome and had taken an overdose of foreign tablets, resulting in his illness. However, David was humiliated as he discovered that he was the gossip of the school regarding the Acapulco incident. Despite the eventful day, David attended the play anyway to surprise Ollie, and he discovered that the reason Ollie didn't tell him about it was because of the rumours at school, and that he knew how much David liked to avoid it. After the play, David admitted to Robyn that he'd have to reduce his bipolar medication in order to be the father that Ollie deserved.

At the beginning of March, David prepared to send Ollie off to Spain to live with Rosa. Spending one final day together, David finally realised how reducing his medication had made him feel more human that he had ever felt whilst taking the lithium. With this, he told Robyn that he intended to come off his medication completely. The following week, the staff became concerned with David's erratic behaviour when he turned up to work in a trendy new car and clothes. After helping Sally Hodge during the day, his confidence in himself was boosted, but he soon went off the rails at Duffy's birthday party. Robyn took it upon herself to intervene, telling David to take her for a drive in his new car.

In the car, David's behaviour became increasingly concerning for both Robyn and the staff back at the ED whom she was communicating with on the phone. Dylan informed her that his psychologist was simply a figure of his imagination. David became frustrated when Robyn told him to stop the car, and proceeded to throw her phone out of the window. He eventually stopped at a church to see his brother's gravestone. Shortly after, Robyn went into premature labour, giving birth to the baby in the graveyard. Charlie, Duffy and Max were able to track them down and get Robyn and her baby back to the ED. Dylan told David to get help, at which point he willingly sought psychiatric help, realising he wasn't fit to go back to work.

Three weeks later, David returned to work, and planned on resigning. Although Robyn and Max both showed hostility towards him during the shift, Robyn eventually let David hold her baby, Charlotte, in an attempt to made amends. Jacob handed back his resignation letter, unopened, assuming that this small act of kindness may be enough to make him stay on.

Following Cal's death in April, David began to see his life as underwhelming. Dylan gave him a book by Friedrich Nietzsche to act as inspiration. David compiled a list of goals based on Nietzsche's philosophies and asked Dylan to help him reach them. However, David ultimately ended up comforting Dylan after he had experienced a panic attack. At the end of his shift, David checked the 'work' box after befriending a difficult patient and moved onto love. In July, Dylan agreed to attend a charity speed-dating session at The Hope & Anchor. Later that day, David started talking to a woman called Gillian via text. He was saddened when he discovered that she didn't exist and that Noel and Grace were playing a prank on him. Afterwards, Dylan signed him up for the humanitarian trip to France.

A few weeks later, David went to France with Dylan, Alicia and Louise. When they arrived at the refugee camp, David and Dylan bonded with Sudanese orphans Mariam and Sanosi. Later that night, they treated Mariam after she was attacked by traffickers. The following night, David and Dylan raced to a port to rescue Mariam and Sanosi after they made a break for it with the traffickers. However, disaster struck when one of the chains attached to the container they were in and the two children were left holding on for dear life. David and Dylan managed to catch Sanosi but Mariam lost her grip and fell to her death. Two days later, David refused to leave Dylan after the latter decided to leave early. When the pair reached the border, David was horrified to learn that Dylan was attempting to smuggle Sanosi into the UK. When their vehicle was searched by border security, they were questioned when another refugee was found underneath the car. After they were cleared, David, Dylan and Sanosi made it to Holby.

In August, Dylan called David for help when he became trapped inside a dilapidated boat. When David tried to pull him with some rope, he lost his footing and fell in too. After relocating Dylan's knee and escaping, the pair panicked when Sanosi wasn't on Dylan's houseboat, resulting in Dylan injuring his knee again. They decided to go to the ED to treat Dylan before resuming their search for Sanosi. When they returned to the boat, they were relieved when they found Sanosi safe and sound. David also gave Dylan the phone number of Sanosi's uncle Kamal which he found online. Later that month, after Dylan reunited Sanosi with Kamal, they were shocked when Kamal was admitted to the ED with abdominal pains. When it was revealed that Kamal had swallowed condoms filled with heroin, he was reported to the police. When Dylan decided to continue looking after Sanosi, Dylan warned him of the potential legal consequences.

In October, David argued with Dylan about Sanosi's future; Sanosi overheard the feud and escaped the houseboat. When they found him injured, they decided to take him into the ED to treat him. They became agitated when Louise questioned the story they concocted surrounding his injuries and suggested calling social services. In cubicles, Dylan began to panic at the prospect of getting caught, prompting David to slap some sense into him. In the corridor, David implored Dylan to work out a plan for Sanosi. Unbeknownst to them, Louise found Sanosi's jacket and discovered a food token in his pocket; Louise soon began to connect the dots.

Later that month, Louise found out the truth about Sanosi and argued with David and Dylan at work. When Connie overheard their quarrel, she demanded to know what was going on. After digging up Dylan's patient notes from the day Sanosi was taken into the ED, Connie asked him and David to meet her in her office. When Dylan suggested lying to social services about Sanosi's current location, David was disgusted and asked him if he ever stopped to remember that he had his own son to look after. When Dylan failed to turn up at her office, David told Connie that he didn't remember what happened on that day, infuriating her. The next day, after learning that Dylan had given Connie his letter of resignation, he stopped him as he tried to leave Holby with Sanosi and implored him to do the right thing. After Dylan took Sanosi to the police, David handed his letter of resignation back to him.

Trivia

 * He always carries a multi-coloured bumbag around with him, which contains his bipolar medication.
 * David gets frustrated when people call him "Dave".
 * He's a fantastic listener.
 * David has a son named Ollie with his ex-wife Rosa.
 * David's older brother, George, committed suicide when he was 20.

Behind the scenes
Jason Durr began filming in mid-January 2016. His first scenes aired on 30 April 2016 in the episode "Tangled Webs We Weave", the 33rd episode of series 30.

"I'm delighted and thrilled to be joining this iconic BBC flagship show in its 30th year," said Jason. "I have to confess that I have a huge phobia of blood and needles so I'm hoping my time in Holby will help me overcome my lifelong fear!"