Connie Beauchamp

Constance "Connie" Beauchamp (formerly Chase; born 16 May 1963)  MBBS, FRCS, FETCS,  is a senior consultant in emergency medicine, former cardiothoracic surgeon and the current Clinical Lead of Holby City Hospital's emergency department. She arrived at the ED as Deputy Clinical Lead in March 2014 and assumed the role of Clinical Lead after Zoe Hanna stepped down in June 2014. She worked in the Darwin Ward of the hospital for over six years in cardiothoracic surgery from 2004 to 2010. Over three years later in 2014, she returned to the hospital's emergency department, having retrained as a consultant in emergency medicine.

Upon her abrupt arrival in the ED, she was disliked by some of the staff as a result of her attitude towards them. In the year following her arrival, tension arose between Connie and Clinical Nurse Manager Rita Freeman because she would give many of the undesirable jobs to the nurses. She has one daughter with Sam Strachan, Grace, born in 2006.

Throughout her time in the ED, Connie has, as well as being promoted to Clinical Lead, implemented a number of new policies which in her eyes would lead to a more efficient work environment. Since joining the team, Connie has seen the arrival of several new staff members including Jacob Masters, Jack Diamond and Alicia Munroe, and the departure of Martin Ashford as well as the death of paramedic Jeff Collier. In the long run, Connie is out for her own career but is ultimately focused on creating a smooth running, efficient emergency department after the death of her father in a crowded one.

Early life
Connie was raised in Peckham, South London where her mother was a nurse and her father a teacher. She excelled at her A-levels, something which made the local papers. Her mother died in 1995, and after that she was estranged from her father for a period of 12 years and reunited when Connie revealed that she had given birth to his granddaughter.

Connie joined Holby City Hospital in June 2004, and remained at the hospital until December 2010. Connie's job at the hospital was that of consultant cardiothoracic surgeon on the hospital's Darwin Ward. She later became Clinical Lead in 2006, and held the position until her departure. During her time working at the hospital, her husband arrived only for them to split up, she then fell pregnant with another man, Sam, soon after they divorced. She also gave an annual lecture at UCL to students at which point she met Caleb Knight.

During her time at the hospital, she visited the ED multiple times. In December 2004 she assisted Harry Harper in the ED and their day took a turn for the worst and they decided to cut power to the ground floor after a tanker was leaking petrol. An incident which had a huge impact on the hospital, Connie was worried about what the implication may have been for her career which encouraged her further.

In 2007, she visited the ED once again to help out when they were understaffed. She clashed with Maggie Coldwell over a patient's treatment and later reprimanded Charlie for giving out prescription painkillers without one. However, she and Maggie reconciled when they worked together successfully to save a patient.

In December 2010, her father was rushed to Holby in need of an operation, and she learned that he was suffering from Alzheimer's. During the operation her father nearly died, which lead to Connie deciding that she could no longer work there and she later handed in her resignation. She later met with Jac and told her that she was giving up work to look after her father.

Following her departure, she went to Switzerland to carry out research, however it's unknown as to what this entailed. Connie's father died shortly before she returned to Holby, in a crowded ED, which acted as inspiration for her to retrain in emergency medicine and make Holby ED as efficient as she could. Connie was eventually hired back in the ED of the hospital by Guy Self, the CEO at the time.

Time in the emergency department (2014-)
In March 2014, Zoe had expressed concern to Guy Self about the lack of staff in the ED, so he said that he would organise for the arrival of another consultant to assist her. Guy had selected Connie for the role following her return to Holby, and she started at the ED on 29 March 2014 as Deputy Clinical Lead. He told Zoe, when she asked, that Connie was in his office by pure coincidence when a new consultant was needed.

She began her first shift immediately, without even consulting the Clinical Lead at the time, Zoe Hanna. On her first day, she clashed with Zoe and despite not being granted permission, she also went out to the scene of an accident and put herself in danger by climbing up some unsteady support beams to reach an injured man on the metal supports above the stage. Although the man was safely returned to the ED and survived, Zoe confronted Connie about her refusal to follow instructions. She came across to the other staff as being rude and bossy, which caused them to take a dislike to her. She also recognised Cal from when he attended one of her lectures whilst studying at UCL.

The following week, Zoe was startled when she heard Louise's voice come over a new tannoy that Connie had installed in the department. When Zoe confronted her about it, Connie said that she had agreed it with the senior nursing staff and Tess agreed that it would save time. Later in the day, Tess informed Connie that the way she decided to treat one of the patients wasn't their usual protocol but Connie continued nonetheless. Zoe later spoke to her and overrode her plan of action to Connie's embarrassment. However, Zoe was later left annoyed when Connie revealed that she had been out for dinner with Guy Self the night before and discussed the ED with him.

In May 2014, she raised concerns to Ash after a man who was admitted to the ED died, questioning Zoe's choices. Zoe and Connie went for a drink after work that night, and Connie intended to get Zoe drunk so she could get her true opinions on her position and job. Eventually, Zoe admitted to her that she didn't like the things that came with Clinical Lead, which delighted Connie as she saw it as a possible job opportunity if she were able to get Zoe out of the position. Soon after, Ash and Zoe realised that Connie had played them off against one another as Connie had spoken poorly of Ash at the bar the previous week whilst at the same time questioning Zoe to him.

The following month, Connie decided to go to the hospital's CEO Guy Self to question Zoe's competence as Clinical Lead. Although he initially dismissed the claims, Zoe later left the ED to help at the scene of an accident, which left the department with no leadership. Connie had a favourable relationship with Zoe before this in comparison to other staff, partly due to the fact that she was Clinical Lead upon Connie's arrival, not because she thought any higher of her. After Zoe disobeyed her instructions to stay in the ED, she resigned as Clinical Lead as she felt saving lives was more important than the responsibility. After Zoe announced this, Guy asked Connie if she would like to be Clinical Lead, to which she said she did. Guy then suggested that Connie fire Zoe, but Connie strongly objected saying that Zoe was one of the best consultants she has ever worked with. Connie had her first shift as Clinical Lead the following week.

In July, Connie's old boss Andrea visited the ED whilst in Holby. However, she started to take control of the ED and question Connie's decisions in front of her team, much to her annoyance. Andrea returned once again in September and insisted that a boy needed an operation, but really she was doing it for her own sake as a result of her own illness. Also in September, Connie organised a meeting with Tess, Robyn and Lofty in regards to a joke which Robyn had put on a patient's allergy forms. Connie was furious, as the notes had followed the patient up to the wards and into surgery, and Tess explained to them that what they had written could have been mistaken for something else and been life threatening. Charlie interrupted midway through, and Connie went on to tell Robyn and Lofty that they both seemed to treat work as a joke and that she wouldn't stand for it in her ED.

In October, Connie was involved in a minibus crash whilst travelling to a nearby failing hospital, St Stephens, with various other members of staff. Connie escaped with only minor injuries and was able to call for an ambulance. However, back at the ED Charlie prevented her from performing a procedure on a badly wounded Ethan due to her wrist injury. It was revealed to the rest of the team that Jeff had been killed in an explosion that followed at the scene of the accident. The following week at the funeral, Connie realised she had three missed calls from Grace's boarding school in Dorset. Worried that Grace was involved in an accident, she phoned them back but they told her that Grace had been expelled, forcing Connie to drive to Dorset to get her.

Later in the month, Connie had a complaint lodged against her by Hailey Blake, the daughter of a patient who died in the ED whilst under Connie's care. Hailey argued that her father shouldn't have been discharged in his state and that Connie had missed something during his examination. Despite trying to reason with her, it seemed to only make things worse for Connie as Hailey grew more angry.

Whilst caught up in the stress of the court case, Connie had few options and had to bring Grace to work with her. Connie hadn't planned on the scenario ever coming about as Grace was enrolled in boarding school. However, in the following weeks their relationship strained as Connie continued to put patients before her.

At the end of November, Hailey once again showed up in the ED to speak with Connie, however shortly after a dangerous patient became angry and grabbed Grace. Connie stepped in but became annoyed with Grace and shook her and shouted, causing her to go running over to Zoe. Hailey filmed the incident from the stairs in reception and left the ED. The following week, Audrey Strachan, Grace's grandmother, came to stay with Connie and Grace to provide extra support due to Connie's busy work schedule and to step in for the nanny who kept cancelling. However, just a week after this, Connie ended up taking her anger out on Grace after she threw her tablet on the floor of resus whilst she was busy at work. Grace then confided in Zoe and asked her to call Audrey.

On New Year's Eve, Connie was asked to go along for a meeting with social services after an anonymous call was made from someone concerned about Grace's welfare. They had the meeting, and the social worker ensured Connie that they would need to speak again. The situation became more serious later that day when the General Medical Council told Connie they'd been sent the video footage of her shaking Grace at work. Jumping to conclusions, Connie assumed that Zoe was to blame and called her into her office. There, Connie shouted at Zoe and accused her of calling social services and sending in the video footage, although Zoe denied the accusations.

In January 2015, Connie had another meeting with Grace and the social worker at her house. However, all her hard work came to nothing when, after being cleared by social services, Grace decided she wanted to live with her grandmother. Connie's day only got worse when she later discovered that the video footage had leaked online. Towards the end of the day, Hailey went to visit Connie in her office and told her that she was the one who called social services and put the video online.

In turn, Hailey's actions only reflected badly on her in terms of the legal action she was taking against Connie, as Connie had already hired defence lawyers to support her initial claims. After a lengthy ordeal for both Connie and Hailey, they had a conversation outside the ED later in the month and Connie decided not to take her case any further to Hailey's relief. The following week, Rita's sex offender ex-husband Mark visited the ED having been released from prison. Coincidentally, Grace went missing around the same time whilst at work with Connie which led Connie to believe that Mark had abducted her. Ultimately, it became clear that Mark hadn't taken her, but Connie channelled her anger on Rita anyway, telling her that she wanted her out of the department within six months. Soon after, Connie finally let go of Grace and allowed her to go and live with her father in New York as Audrey had suggested. Although she was distraught at losing her daughter, she saw this as an opportunity to focus on her work more.

In February the day of the ED's inspection arrived, and Connie was showing the strain. At the end of the day, she was furious at the staff, particularly Rita, as in her eyes they'd let her and the department down. As a result of the events, she asked Cal Knight for his letter of resignation the following week, however Charlie managed to persuade her to withdraw her request.

At the end of February 2015, Alfred Maxwell was admitted to the ED, and elderly patient suffering from motor neuron disease. After just a short while, he asked Connie to help him die, something which she made clear she wouldn't do. However, he put her under more pressure to do so and began asking her on a regular basis. This caused Connie's stress to peak and in March, she started to enforce new rules and regulations that the staff were ordered abide by. Some of these things were unpleasant, especially for the nursing staff and the porters. After she started to demand too much of the doctors by making them work longer shifts, Lily fainted on her shift. When Dylan got her to go home, she hit someone with her motorcycle while driving as she couldn't concentrate due to a lack of sleep. After this incident, Connie decided to cut the staff some slack after Charlie and Rita both spoke to her separately.

Continuing her visits to Alfred, she visited him one evening in April and took 2 boxes of benzodiazepines with her, and gave him a therapeutic dose of two tablets. The next day, Alfred died in the ED, and a suspicious Rita requested a toxicology report on his body. Upon seeing that he had received an overdose of benzodiazepines, she checked and saw that two boxes were missing from storage. She jumped to the conclusion that Connie had assisted Alfred's suicide and called the police, and Connie was arrested at the end of her shift. They brought Connie in for questioning the following week. During this, Connie told the police that in her top drawer they would find the two boxes with 2 tablets missing from one box as proof that she didn't give him an overdose. However, when the police arrived at the ED, Rita overheard them telling reception where they want to search, so she went to Connie's office first. To her surprise, there were only 2 tablets missing, therefore proving Connie's innocence. Rita took the boxes and hid them from the police but later gave them to Charlie and apologised. Charlie took the evidence to the police, and Connie was set free. Despite this, she was still suspended from work for a couple of weeks, leaving Dylan as acting Clinical Lead.

In May 2015, Connie went with Charlie to Bucharest in search of his son, Louis who they'd been told was in trouble. They met a Romanian doctor named Alex who was caring for Louis in hospital. After finding out he was going for kidney harvesting because he owed money to a drug dealer, Connie and Charlie located the hospital where the operation was due to take place with the help of Sofia, Louis' girlfriend. They arrived just in time before the kidney was going to be removed, to find that Alex was one of the doctors performing the operation. Connie had to attempt to save Louis after one of his internal veins was accidentally cut by Alex when Charlie pushed him out of rage. She then distracted the drug dealer, Christian when he arrived with the help of Sofia and Alex. Connie also learnt from Charlie that it was Rita who set her up the previous month by calling the police. In early June 2015, Connie returned to the ED after her false suspension, replacing Dylan from his role as temporary Clinical Lead.

In August 2015 she took Jacob Masters' new gun violence protocol into account, and viewed it as being a possible benefit to the ED. After Rita declined the need for such a thing, Connie got directly involved, and they both soon realised that he was manipulating them. Later in the month after Zoe and Max's wedding, Charlie experienced a heart attack which brought him to the ED as a patient. Due to his cardiogram showing little signs of life, Rita tried to persuade Connie to stop attempting to resuscitate him, but Connie refused to stop, and she eventually managed to stabilize him again.

In September during an extremist takeover of the ED, Connie and Jacob got caught up in the middle of it and were being held at gun point with Big Mac in the boardroom. However, Jacob was able to get hold of a gun and hold them at gunpoint but when the police intervened one of the officers mistook Jacob for one of the attackers and shot him. He was rushed downstairs with Connie and the rest of the team, and Connie was able to save him. In the following weeks, Connie spoke with the superintendent of Holby Police about the incident, and they made it clear to her that they weren't thinking of punishing the officer responsible as it was an accident. After she told Jacob this, he said he wanted to know who the man was. Although she said they would never reveal it, he told her that there were other ways he could find out. In November, he received an envelope containing the name of the police officer who shot him from an unknown source, but he eventually threw it away without opening it after Connie said it would ruin his career.

In November 2015, an incident involving Alicia outside the department left Connie and Lily angry, despite the fact she was doing the right thing. As a result of this - and Lily's bullying - Alicia decided to hand in her resignation notice. In December, Connie and Jacob ended up sleeping together following a dramatic day of work. However, Connie inadvertently revealed it to some of the staff the following week when she became annoyed with Jacob for not following her instructions when dealing with a patient with motor neurone disease.

The following year in January, Connie helped Cal by covering for him after he was involved in a car accident. The police wanted to speak with him, but he was worried that he would still be over the limit from the night before so she purposely put him under observation for a couple of hours to ensure that he wouldn't get in trouble. At the end of the month, Connie was left embarrassed when she realised that it was Jacob's birthday and she hadn't got him anything. However, she agreed that her present to him could be that she would stay at his for the night.

In February, Grace phoned Connie from a hotel in Holby to tell her that Sam's girlfriend couldn't get up from her bed due to severe stomach pains, so Connie phoned for an ambulance. Once at the ED, Connie greeted Grace but Grace made it clear that she didn't care about their relationship and only wanted her to treat Emma. They later revealed that they were in the UK for a 3 day conference on cardiothoracics which Sam was attending. Soon after, Sam arrived and stated to Connie that he wanted Emma being treated privately, but her condition was too serious by this stage as they believed she had an internal bleed or enlarged blood vessel in her abdomen. Connie performed the operation with the help of Jac Naylor after Sam found himself unable to do so, and she also gained some respect from Grace.

The following week, Emma was still recovering and Sam told Connie that him and Grace were leaving that night to return to the US due to his work and Grace's school. However, Connie was not very happy about Grace leaving just as they had started to bond. When talking to Jacob during her shift, Connie inadvertently said that she didn't want Grace living with her and unknown to her, Grace was standing behind and overheard. Shortly after, Noel went to get Connie to tell her that Grace was sitting in her office tearing up papers on her desk. Despite being initially angry, Connie soon became concerned and it soon transpired that Grace was having a panic attack. Connie called Sam in for a chat, as Grace had told Connie that her dad was aware that she had suffered from them before. Sam told Connie that she wasn't cut out for mothering Grace as her career always came first and although Connie tried to prevent Grace from leaving, Sam said she was going back with him for her own sake. After her shift and saying goodbye to Grace, Connie and Jacob drove to catch up to Grace who was about to board a connecting flight to her New York flight. They arrived shortly before the plane took off, and Grace rushed out for Connie to tell her that she wouldn't lose her again.

Towards the end of March, Connie treated Kieran Blithe, a prison inmate who had been admitted to the ED after being beaten up. However, the prison officer guarding him set him free, and soon after he kidnapped Connie whilst trying to escape the ED. It soon transpired that he was in a relationship with the guard, who had helped him escape because her daughter needed expensive surgery and she was being paid to aid his escape. He threatened Connie with a needle infected with HIV, but Connie was able to alert Jacob when she answered her phone whilst they were in the basement and she revealed her situation through conversation with Kieran so Jacob would hear. He came to help, and they eventually were able to get a seriously ill Kieran back upstairs for treatment. However, he died in resus but Connie told the prison officer she wouldn't condemn her in her statement as it was Kieran making the threats. At the end of the day, Grace told Connie that she'd have to choose one of them, and that if she chose Jacob she'd go back to New York to live with Sam.

In April, Connie explained to Jacob that Grace needed her and that they couldn't be together anymore. Connie later attended the scene of a crush injury in an unstable building. Jacob had already gone to the scene with the paramedics to avoid Connie. They managed to get the patient out after performing an arm amputation but just as Connie and Jacob were about to get out, the floor gave way. They found themselves in a room quickly filling with sand, burying them. Jacob was unable to move and Connie soon suffered the same fate when she was knocked unconscious by a falling rock. Connie was able to contact Grace back at the ED and tell her how much she loved her in case the worst happened. Just as the sand covered their faces, the paramedics were able to rescue them by tearing down the wall, releasing the sand. Connie rushed back to the ED to see Grace as an upset Jacob followed.

In May, new consultant Elle Gardner started working at the ED, a friend of the hospital's CEO Henrik Hanssen. The week after her first shift, Connie discovered that Jacob and Elle knew each other from growing up together when they were reunited in reception. Shortly after, Elle decided to attend the scene of an incident at a chemical factory with Jacob despite not having permission from Connie. When they returned, Connie disciplined Elle in her office despite the fact the patient they saved survived. Connie assured Elle that Hanssen would agree with her in her way of running the department, not knowing of their friendship.

The following week, Elle held a friendly conversation with Connie, deciding to put their differences aside and Connie told her she was leaving for the day to attend the sports day at Grace's school. Upon arriving there, Connie met a competitive parent, Steph Sims. Although Connie won against her in the parents' race, Grace was left angry at her because was trying to become friends with Steph's daughter Carmel. They later purposely lost the race so Grace could become friends with Steph's daughter Carmel. Steph also told Connie that she didn't look how Grace described her; a witch. Despite this, Connie laughed it off with Grace, happy that they'd reconciled their relationship.

In June, Hanssen once again visited the ED to speak to Connie, this time about the fact a patient's relative was going to the press about some pills she claimed were stolen the previous week. He urged Connie to get to the bottom of it, but she insisted that she had more important things to do. Eventually Elle found the pills in Charlie's locker and took them to Rita and she was forced to report it to Connie. Connie was persistent to resolve the issue without involving Hanssen, but Elle tried to warn Connie of an earlier conversation that she had with Hanssen where he told her that the trust could demand someone senior responsible, hinting to Connie. Connie ignored her hints of warning and told her to leave. However, Elle later inadvertently revealed Charlie's responsibility to Hanssen anyway when she thought he had been told. Rita was then forced to suspend Charlie and Connie pinned the blame on Elle for Charlie being suspended. She revealed this to the rest of the staff which turned them against Elle.

By the beginning of July, Charlie had been reinstated and the staff were on friendlier terms with Elle once again. Jacob was due to present his speech on gun shot policies at a local conference and Elle encouraged Connie to join him for support. She decided to go with him, but during a storm along the way they were alerted by a man that there was another man in the storm drain which led to the river. Jacob rushed to help but was swept away. Connie instructed him not to jump back in again after he'd reached safety but he defied her which ultimately led to him saving the patient. After the conference, they stayed the night in the hotel but gave into the temptation and shared a kiss.

After rekindling their romance, Connie and Jacob officially got back together. Charlie quickly caught on, but Connie requested that he keep it quiet for Grace's sake. By mid-July, Connie was preparing to tell Grace about the relationship despite being unsure of how she'd react. However, just as Connie was about to tell her, Grace explained that she was having issues with school following another argument with Carmel which resulted in Connie keeping quiet about the relationship once again.

In August the staff were busy preparing for Charlie's 30th anniversary celebrations at the Hospital, but Connie was distracted when Grace's friend Carmel was admitted after injuring herself on a trampoline. When Grace went to get Connie, she inadvertently walked in on her and Jacob kissing which left her furious. In the ED, Connie began treating Carmel but soon became suspicious of her malnutrition and suspicious scratches on her stomach. Carmel told Connie that Grace had hurt her, but eventually opened up to Connie that she was self-harming due to what her mother had said to her. Steph was furious when social services were called, and when Connie left work with Grace, Steph followed in pursuit of them. Whilst speeding along a motorway along the edge of a high ledge, Steph told Connie to pull over but she kept driving. They eventually reached a sharp turn in the road, and Connie was unable to stop. Steph managed to stop her car at the top as Connie and Grace sped over the edge, plummeting to the ground.

Following the impact, they were both thrown from the car. Steph got in her car and left, and although she later attempted to contact the emergency services, she was hit by an oncoming vehicle before she was able to do so. Connie noticed the car go up in flames and thinking Grace was still inside, she crawled towards it. The car exploded soon after, and Connie was left fearing for Grace's life. Jacob realised something was amiss when Steph was admitted to the ED, and he went out with Jez and Iain fearing that Connie had been involved in an accident. He noticed the scratches down the side of Steph's car, and upon searching found Connie and the crash site. Grace was later found alive with chest injuries and they were forced to sedate Connie so they could take her to hospital. Connie refused to have a CT scan until Grace was at the ED, however the air ambulance which was carrying Grace was hit by a drone and crashed down outside the ED. Jacob later managed to assist in Grace's rescue, and Connie was relieved that her daughter was in the hospital. Connie went up to theatre for an operation after they discovered that she had a bleed coming from her liver, but whilst she was having the procedure done it transpired that Grace had sustained a subdural haematoma from the crash. Jacob informed Connie of the seriousness of her condition whilst she was recovering, leaving Connie heartbroken. Two days later, Connie was still recovering on the wards and Fletch visited her.

Later that week with Grace still recovering, Connie wasn't willing to leave her bedside. Jacob visited her and insisted that she eat but she was too focused on Grace to worry about herself. Later in the day she shouted at a staff nurse for intruding. The following week, Connie had a nightmare whilst sleeping at Grace's bedside that Grace had died on the operating table. She was woken by Sam, who had returned from the US when he heard the news about Grace. Shortly after, it was discovered that Grace had a small tear in her aorta and needed surgery. Connie was initially apprehensive about letting Jac perform the procedure and her fears intensified when things from her dream began coming to life. Eventually, she put her fears of it being a premonition aside and the operation was a success. Connie was discharged the week after Grace's operation, but soon returned to the hospital to be at Grace's side after a brief visit home.

In mid-October, Elle was shocked when she found that Connie had stayed overnight in the on call room whilst staying at Grace's bedside. However, she returned to work that day surprising Elle and Jacob. Elle questioned Connie's ability to be returning to work so soon and her doubts proved to be true after Connie accidentally inserted incorrect information into a teenage boy's file. This resulted in him receiving paracetamol, a drug which he was allergic to. Although Elle was able to treat him for the reaction, the boy's father was later found and admitted after overdosing on drugs which Connie had trusted with him to throw away. At the end of the day, Elle spoke to Connie and instructed her to go and be with Grace and take some more time off. At Grace's bedside, Connie was delighted as she noticed that Grace was awakening from her coma.

The following month, Connie once again turned up for a shift, although Elle insisted that Jacob convince her to go home as it was also the day of the ED's inspection and she couldn't risk Connie making any more mistakes. Connie was also bitter because it was Elle's first shift as permanent Clinical Lead. A boy, Hugo, was admitted and requested to be treated by Connie. It transpired that he was a friend of Grace's and when he kept asking Connie where she was, she lied to him that she was active and well, but Jacob soon became concerned when Connie began believing her own lies. However, when Grace was brought down to the ED in the lift in a wheelchair, Hugo saw her and was furious that Connie had lied resulting in him running away. Outside after a chat with Charlie, who convinced Connie to take Grace home, Connie caught sight of Hugo boarding a bus. She got the bus to pull over after a pursuit on her motorcycle and was able to get Hugo back to the hospital. She later brought Grace in to see him, and although struggling she was able to mutter a few words to Hugo. Connie later agreed for Jacob to move in with them as she left the hospital for the day, unaware that he'd slept with someone else in the previous months.

As Christmas approached, Connie was still struggling to balance her work life and looking after Grace. During the shift, Connie treated a boy, Peter, whom she had previously treated whilst on cardiothoracics. Soon, she became too invested in his treatment and even insisted that the decorations in reception be taken down. Connie was later delighted when a double lung and heart transplant match became available for Peter. Back at home at the end of the day, Connie tried to get Grace to be more independent in feeding herself. On Christmas Eve, Connie attempted to get Grace walking again despite Jacob telling her to give Grace a break as it was Christmas. On her shift, two women involved in a shopping disaster were admitted and were arguing over a doll. Connie eventually gave the doll to one of them, only to discover that she'd lied about having a daughter. When she later gave the doll to the other woman, Connie was inspired to follow Jacob's advice and get Grace the puppy she wanted for Christmas. Later that day, Jacob dressed up as Santa as Connie presented Grace with the puppy, and they were overjoyed to see a smile on her face.

On New Year's Eve, Connie arrived at the hospital with Grace for speech and physiotherapy. They bumped into Charlie and Connie congratulated him on his engagement. Speaking about Grace's condition, Charlie reminded her that every case is different. During the physiotherapy session, it got too much for Grace and they were forced to cut it short. Later in the day, Connie went down to the ED and demanded that Noel print out copies of all Grace's medical records since she was admitted following the crash, adamant to know who let Grace's condition get so bad.

The following week, Noel was able to get Grace's medical notes and handed them over to Connie. Upon looking through them, she noticed what she thought was a mistake and confronted Elle. Connie asked her what she'd do if a patient was admitted with a potential brain injury, and Elle said to intubate. However, Connie asked her why she hadn't done this for Grace, and informed her that she'd have to report her to the Trust. The following week, Jacob tried to get Connie to retract the allegations but she refused. When she later belittled Elle, Jacob was furious. He told Connie that if she didn't retract the allegations, their relationship was over. Refusing to do this, they both accepted that it was the end.

Later in January, Jacob collected his belongings and moved out. Connie threw herself into work as a distraction, but ended up clashing with Jacob over the treatment of a man in his 60s with a much younger fiancée. She started to have suspicions when the man's fiancée got their solicitor into the hospital so he could sign the will. However, just as Connie was beginning to investigate, Elle discharged the man as part of her new three hour rule. When he later collapsed, Connie pinned the blame on Elle and convinced the man to make a complaint. When Connie returned home that evening, she was delighted to discover that Grace had walked up the stairs by herself.

Towards the end of the month, Connie was delighted when another complaint was lodged against Elle, by the man whom she'd convinced to do so just weeks before. However, after a chat with Jacob, Elle was able to save a patient's life as Connie watched on doubting her. After their shift at Duffy and Charlie's wedding reception, Connie told Elle that she could enjoy the party all she wanted, but that she'd be gone after the tribunal.

The following week, Connie was prepared for the tribunal and wanted to bring Grace with her in a wheelchair as a reminder to Elle of what she'd caused. Sam objected to this, but Connie was set in her ways. At the hearing, Connie belittled Elle in front of everyone and Grace became irritated at having to be there. Sam took her out during the break and she went to the toilet. However, in anger, Grace smashed one of her crutches against a mirror and suffered from a seizure, injuring her neck on broken glass. Elle found her at the scene and successfully treated her, although Connie was doubting her medical competence. As a result of this, Connie returned to the hearing and admitted that she blamed Elle for something which wasn't her fault. As she was leaving, Connie realised who was really to blame, as she picked up the phone and requested a visiting order for Stephanie Sims.

Grace woke up a week after the events of the tribunal. However, she wasn't communicating with Connie or Sam. Although they initially suspected she was still unwell, Connie began to suspect that it could be psychological. Meanwhile, Sam had just been appointed as the hospital's new Medical Director. A week later, Connie went to visit Steph in prison, telling her to plead guilty so Grace could be spared the trial. However, when Connie began taunting her, Steph lashed out. Steph was later admitted after a suspected suicide attempt. Steph underwent a procedure, but whilst she was recovering, Connie hesitated in saving her life which led to Charlie intervening. Things only got worse when Grace showed Connie her tablet, with the words "this is all your fault" written on it.

By March, Connie and Grace's relationship still hadn't improved, and she was refusing to eat whilst Connie was caring for her. Looking for some comfort, Connie turned her attention to Grace's friend Hugo. She even agreed to meet him at the school for the concert, whilst Grace was unknowingly co-operating with the childminder at home. In April, Connie was furious when it was announced by Sam that the hospital was making budget cuts, and all consultants would have to re-interview for their jobs. The following week, Connie struggled to connect with Grace when she discovered that she hadn't been taking her epilepsy medication. Connie attempted to slip them into her cake, which resulted in Grace finally speaking to tell Connie that she hated her. Connie angrily responded that the feeling was mutual, shortly before Grace had another seizure. Looking for someone to care for, Connie turned her attention to Grace's friend Hugo who had also been admitted, and offered him a place to stay with her.

Later in April, Hugo turned up at the ED seeking Connie's help with his science homework. Later that day, Connie's attentions were turned when Cal was brought into the ED after being stabbed, and later died. In May, Ethan returned to work, and Connie was worried that his mind wouldn't be focused on the job. However, she was later pleased with him when he noticed an abnormality on a patient's CT scan results. Connie's bond with Hugo was also growing, which became evident to Connie when he accidentally called her "mum".

Later in May, Hugo's father Jim approached Connie to inform her that they intended to move to Edinburgh with Hugo. Connie was distraught, and was left to break the news to Hugo. He reacted badly to this and ran away, resulting in Connie, Jim and Jacob mounting a search for him. A policeman receiving treatment in the ED, Phil Paterson, overheard the reports of Hugo's disappearance and joined in the investigation to help. Connie eventually tracked down Hugo at a container port on the outskirts of Holby. Phil was not far behind, but suffered a cardiac arrest before he could reach them; a result of earlier symptoms displayed in the ED. Together, Connie and Hugo were able to save his life. Connie later bid an emotional farewell to Hugo as he moved out, suffering greatly from the prospect of their separation.

In June, the day of the consultants' interviews arrived and Connie was irritated at the prospect of having to be interviewed by Sam. Taking a relaxed approach to the interview, Connie refused to believe that Sam would get rid of her. Ultimately, no jobs were lost as Sam stepped down as Medical Director. The following week, Sam returned to the department as a registrar, stepping in as Cal's replacement. Connie was furious at this, but her anger escalated when Sam attended a call-out without her permission. Due to the fact the patient was saved, she agreed to let him off without disciplinary action.

In July, Sam asked for Connie's permission to take some time off so he could take Grace for her physiotherapy appointment. Eager to do more, Connie declined his request and informed him that she'd take Grace herself. After the appointment, Grace agreed to let Connie take her the following week as well, in an attempt to repair their relationship. When Connie returned to the ED, she was furious to discover that Sam had ordered restricted drugs without her permission. Towards the end of the shift, he dragged her into a storage cupboard to confront her about the day, but they ended up kissing after a short argument.

Later in the month, Connie delighted in bringing Grace into the ED, who had started walking unaided. Despite being proud of her, Connie continued to put her work first during the shift. Connie was already stressed following the incident involving Scott Ellisson's fall from the ED's balcony. When he later died, Connie began to prepare for the likelihood of an official investigation. Grace eventually realised that she couldn't be Connie's priority all the time and decided it was best if she lived with Sam.

In September, Connie decided to visit a private clinic to undergo several cardiothoracic scans after experiencing pain and fatigue. Analysis of the scans confirmed the presence of a potentially maligant tumour which was later identified as a leiomyosarcoma. Connie, however, initially decided against undergoing treatment so that she could go on holiday with Grace. When her arm became ischemic, Connie blackmailed Ethan into secretly performing an embolectomy on her by threatening to notify the police about his role in Scott Ellisson's death. Connie continued to refuse any treatment but, with Ethan's encouragement, she began to attend chemotherapy sessions. In December, as a result of the chemotherapy, Connie began to lose her hair. At the ED, Ethan implored Connie to stay at home as she was at a high risk of infection. Charlie also began to notice her illness. Ultimately, Connie decided to remove all of her remaining hair. Upon returning to work, one of her patients, Kim, ran out of the hospital with a necklace Grace gave to Connie. Connie followed her to a dilapidated house where she found Kim with her infant son. Whilst seeking aid, the floorboards collapsed beneath Connie. Iain and Sam Nicholls took Connie back to the ED, where she fell unconscious and went into atrial fibrillation. Consequently, Ethan was forced to disclose her leiomyosarcoma. After her heart rate stabilised, Connie was forced to cancel her trip to America to visit Grace over Christmas.

Personal life
Connie was once married to Michael Beauchamp, but they divorced in 2006 and she kept her married name. After a brief relationship with Sam Strachan shortly after, she gave birth to their daughter, Grace, in 2006. Connie was apprehensive to let Sam have anything to do with the birth, but later became more accepting. Grace took Connie's surname of Beauchamp from her previous marriage to Michael Beauchamp.

In the years she was at Holby City Hospital as a surgeon, her romantic interests included Ric Griffin, Will Curtis, Mubbs Hussein, Sam Strachan, John Grayson, as well as her ex husband, Michael Beauchamp. In May 2015 when she was in Romania in search for Louis Fairhead with his father, she had a fling with a local doctor named Alex. Later in 2015 Jacob Masters took a liking to Connie and their flirting became noticed by other members of staff.

In December 2015, Connie and Jacob were bought closer together following a shift at the ED, and they ended up sleeping together. She inadvertently revealed this to the rest of the staff during an argument with Jacob the following week when a patient with motor neurone disease was brought in. However, they made up and decided to spend Christmas together.

On the night of Jacob's birthday, which Connie did not know about, he failed to turn up at her house only for her to find out that his friends had taken him out for birthday drinks. Feeling guilty that she hadn't got him a present, Connie decided she would spend the night at Jacob's to make it up to him since she had previously refused to spend the night there. By February 2016 despite not being completely open about their relationship, they acknowledged it to those who asked, making it official. In April 2016, Connie broke up with him as she felt she needed to focus more on Grace. Despite this, in July after the conference which they attended, they shared a kiss in the hotel room. They later got back together officially, but decided to keep the news from Grace.

Later in the summer, Grace walked in on Jacob and Connie kissing which annoyed her. Despite her initial anger, she later accepted their relationship. Following the crash, Connie distanced herself from Jacob and pushed him away as she focused on Grace. At some point after this, Jacob slept with someone else, but in November Connie asked him to move in with her, which he accepted, despite not telling her the truth. In the new year, Connie and Jacob broke up after he refused to take her side in her allegations against Elle.

In July, Connie and Sam shared a kiss in the storage cupboard, after having spent the shift arguing.

Trivia

 * During her time on Darwin, she gave birth to a daughter, Grace, whose father was Sam Strachan one of her previous partners.
 * Connie used to be the Clinical Lead for cardiothoracic surgery and Director of Surgery at Holby City Hospital.
 * She began working at the ED in March 2014.
 * Connie joined Holby City Hospital as a surgeon on 1 June 2004.
 * Connie left Holby City Hospital on 28 December 2010.
 * Her father died on 21 February 2011, less than two months after her departure from Darwin.
 * Connie volunteers at an MND support group.
 * Connie will rarely be seen in the staff room or the pub.
 * During their relationship, Jacob referred to Connie as Sweetcheeks, Pussycat, Babe, Queen Bee, Sexy, and unbeknown to her, Sexy Margaret Thatcher.
 * She has twice been in legal troubles since joining the ED.
 * Rita attempted to frame her for murder in 2015.
 * Elle nicknamed her the Ice Queen.

Behind the scenes
Amanda Mealing has portrayed Connie on Casualty since March 2014 and previously portrayed her on Holby City from 2004 to 2010. She also portrayed Connie in 3 other episodes of Casualty between 2004 and 2007 during her time on Holby City, but not as a permanent role.

Amanda Mealing took a 3-episode acting break from Casualty in series 31 whilst she focused on directing, as she directed the ninth episode of the series. This was written into the show after the character was involved in a car crash in the series 30 finale, with the repercussions playing out into series 31.

Since arriving on Casualty, she has made three guest appearances on Holby City.

Reception
Connie has been subject to many criticisms, mainly since she arrived in Causalty due to the fact she is unrepresentative of what the NHS is really like. During her time in Holby City, Connie has been described as "ruthless" by The Times' Emma Cook, and an "egomaniac" by The Daily Mirror ' s Clare Raymond and Jim Shelley respectively, but the BBC describes her as "an outstanding surgeon who wields her power just as comfortably in the boardroom as in the bedroom.

Discussing public reception of her character, Mealing states that: "The response has been amazing - from men, women and children. I'm often stopped out shopping or dining etc. and told 'You're so mean to (whoever).. but we love you!' I think there's a little in all of us that would like to say what we really feel, the way Connie does". Mealing has received several award nominations for the role; ranking seventh 'Best Actress' in the 2004 BBC Drama Awards, being nominated 'Best Actress' in the 2005 TV Quick Awards, and 'Best Newcomer' in the 2005 National TV Awards. With her return in Casualty, the Daily Mail ' s Claudia Connell called Connie out for being unrepresentative of the NHS, "wearing more make-up than the entire cast of TOWIE" and "teetering around saving lives in her tight pencil skirts and towering heels".

Appearances

 * See also: Character appearances and Category:Connie centric.

Connie made her first ever appearance on Casualty in the series 19 episode "Casualty@Holby City - Part One" which aired in 2004. She appeared in two more episodes as a guest character before joining as a series regular in the series 28 episode "Valves to Vagrants" in March 2014. To date, she has had centric episodes, the second highest of all the current main characters. She made her 100th appearance on Casualty in the 30th series finale episode "Sticks and Stones".