Percival "Abra" Durant
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Percival "Abra" Durant is the name of a fictional character on the BBC television series Holby City. The character was portrayed by actor Adrian Edmondson.
| Percival "Abra" Durant | |
|---|---|
 |
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| First appearance | 7x38 |
| Last appearance | 9x14 |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Cardio-Thoracic and General Surgical Consultant |
| Children | Kyle Wallis |
| Portrayed by | Adrian Edmondson |
Contents |
[edit] Background
Abra Durant worked at Holby City Hospital as a Cardio-Thoracic Consultant on several brief occasions, before returning in a more permanent role as a General Surgical Consultant. He met fellow General Surgical Consultant Ric Griffin whilst working abroad in Ghana, providing his link to Holby. His parents are referred to as being both wealthy, and well connected in medical circles. He has one son, Kyle, however the child believes Abra's fictitious brother to be his father.
[edit] Overview
Abra was a truly maverick surgeon, with little or no regard for rules and regulations. From operating whilst intoxicated, to assisting in the surgery of his own son, orchestrating an illegal porcine kidney transplant and stealing used drugs from the Holby City Hospital pharmacy, he displayed a constant reckless compassion.
With a penchant for numerous vices - including but not limited to gambling, drinking and women, Abra was a fun loving character, however deeply flawed. He constantly demonstrated commitment issues, always seeming keener to run away when confronted with problems than tackle them. Ultimately, his own recklessness caught up with him, and he was forced to take flight again after a string of illegal activities.
[edit] Character History
Abra first appeared in episode ‘Tuesday’s Child’ as an ex-pat colleague of Ric Griffin now living in Ghana. He revealed a keen enthusiasm for both women and Schnapps, also engaging in gambling and smoking throughout the episode - even going as far as to assist Ric in performing a C-Section while barely sober enough to stand. He revealed that the nickname Abra is short for the Ghanaian name Abrafo, meaning ‘trouble maker’, and also engaged in mild flirtation with registrar Diane Lloyd.
Abra did not appear again until episode ‘Great Expectations’, in which he accompanied a patient from Ghana to the UK for an operation. He frustrated hospital chairman Michael Beauchamp by announcing his intention to transplant a third-hand heart, which he went ahead with anyway despite having been expressly forbidden to do so. He was also instrumental in convincing recently demoted Matron Lisa Fox to leave Holby to practice medicine in Ghana.
Abra returned again in episode ‘Prometheus Unbound’, when his ‘nephew’ was brought into Holby for a live liver tranplant. It was revealed that Abra had orchestrated events so that Ric would perform the surgery, and when the patient’s mother Jenny Wallis confessed that Abra was Kyle’s father, Ric agreed to operate. As Kyla recovered, Abra came close to admitting his paternity, however lost his nerve at the last minute, leaving despite Jenny’s confession that she still loved him.
Abra returned to England on a more permanent basis from episode ‘Abracadabra’ - confessing to Diane he had been run out of Ghana by the father of a woman he had had a fling with. He was offered a permanent position at Holby by Christopher Sutherland, which was almost immediately retracted when Abra defied new protocol by utilising the emergency theatre for a minor gall stone operation. He proved unable to stop Diane from leaving the hospital for a three month sabbatical, although again flirted with her gently throughout the episode. After clashing with Nick Jordan, Abra made a favourable impression on Lord Byrne, an old family friend. He then left Holby again briefly for a research project recommended by Lord Byrne.
From the time Abra began to work at Holby City Hospital on a permanent contractual basis, he exhibited wildly maverick tendencies. He performed a porcine kidney transplant on renal patient Pete Golding, tricking Ric into inadvertently finishing the surgery. Their relationship was badly damaged when Ric found out. Abra was almost dismissed from his position, and was saved only by impressing Ric whilst operating on Nurse Tricia Williams.
Around this time, Abra also began a relationship with Acting Sister Kyla Tyson. They quickly moved from mutual flirtation to a physical relationship. When Ric left Holby for Uganda following the near exposure of their illegal transplant (making up with Abra beforehand and jesting that he ‘might just save the world one day’), Abra confessed the secret to Kyla, who helped cover for him upon the arrival of new General Surgical Consultant Daniel Clifford.
Abra had also recently begun stealing used anti-retroviral drugs from the hospital pharmacy, to ship to various African countries. When Kyla discovered a small stash in his desk drawer, she assumed he was suffering from HIV. She tried to indirectly extract a confession from him, only serving to confuse Abra deeply, and culminated the episode ‘Crossing The Line’ by terminating their relationship. The misunderstanding was resolved by episode ‘The Very Thought Of You’, during which Abra tried unsuccessfully to regain her affections throughout the episode. He eventually succeeded by decorating the hospital car park, and asking her to dance while a small crowd looked on, music played, and student doctor Dean West provided fake snow.
Soon after, the investigation into the suspected corruption within the General Surgical department was stepped up. Although at one point Abra managed to outwit both Clifford and Sutherland by shipping his latest supply of drugs and filling his locker instead with teabags just before they had it broken into, his luck was short lived. In episode ‘The End of the World as We Know It’, Clifford managed to extract a confession from Abra. He revealed an admiration for Abra’s maverick ways, and instead of turning him in, told Abra to leave Holby immediately with his record in tact. Although Abra argued that he needed to say goodbye to Kyla - lamenting that earlier that day she had said she’d visit him in prison if need be, a first for him - Clifford was firm. The best Abra managed was a hastily penned note, instructing Kyla to ‘Ask Max to look after my bat for me - I’ve been run out for a duck.’ Discovering the message, Kyla ran out to the hospital car park, but was too late to stop Abra’s taxi pulling away. As Abra disappeared into the night and back to Africa, Kyla was left behind, devastated.
[edit] External links
| Holby |
|---|
| Shows |
| Casualty: Series 1 · Series 2 · Series 3 · Series 4 · Series 5 · Series 6 · Series 7 · Series 8 · Series 9 · Series 10 · Series 11 · Series 12 · Series 13 · Series 14 · Series 15 · Series 16 · Series 17 · Series 18 · Series 19 · Series 20 · Series 21
Holby City: Series 1 · Series 2 · Series 3 · Series 4 · Series 5 · Series 6 · Series 7 · Series 8 · Series 9 Forthcoming: HolbyBlue |
| Casualty characters |
| Charlie · Tess · Abs · Selena · Sam · Guppy · Maggie · Kelsey · Nathan · Alice · Greg · Dixie · Cyd · Jeff · Nadia · Stitch |
| Holby City characters |
| Ric · Diane · Donna · Connie · Mark · Matt · Dean · Lola · Elliot · Jac · Sam · Joseph · Kyla · Daniel · Maria · Maddy · Faye |
