Ric Griffin

Ric Griffin
Holby City character
Hugh Quarshie as Ric Griffin
First appearance	"Rogue Males" 4x01, 9 October 2001
Created by	Mal Young
Portrayed by	Hugh Quarshie
Information
Occupation	Head of General Surgery Director of Surgery (2008-2009) Consultant General Surgeon Clinical Lead, AAU
Spouse(s)	Thandie Abebe-Griffin Lola Griffin Amber Griffin
Significant other(s)	Diane Lloyd Sam Kennedy Annalese Carson
Children	Leo Griffin Jess Griffin Cleo Sullivan (stepdaughter)
Relatives	Paris Khan (grandson)
Nationality	Ghanaian

Kobina Eric "Ric" Griffin MBBS MD^[1] PhD^[2] FRCS FRCS(Gen Surg)^[1] is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hugh Quarshie. The character first appeared on-screen on 9 October 2001 in episode "Rogue Males" - series 4, episode 1 of the programme.^[3] Ric is the longest serving main character in the show, after the departure of Chrissie Williams on 19 October 2013.

Development

Discussing the storyline which saw Ric's oldest son Leo die from a heroin overdose, Quarshie said; "I don't think his death is a shock to Ric as he almost expected it. It's devastating for him, but in true Ric style he holds everything in and throws himself into work. The consequences of the tragedy are felt later down the line."^[4] He drew on Ric's troubled relationship with his own father to explain his distant relationship with his children, assessing; "Ric had a domineering and violent father. He swore he'd never be that controlling with his own kids and as a result he was too hands-off."^[4]

In July 2010, Quarshie revealed that Ric would be diagnosed with inoperable cancer, explaining: It's asymptomatic - you don't know you've got it until it's spread... It's so far gone, what's the point in having chemotherapy?" He stated that following the diagnosis, Ric would become close to Annalese Carson, the estranged wife of his colleague Michael Spence.^[5]

Storylines

Ric arrived at Holby City Hospital in episode "Rogue Males" as a General Surgical Consultant.^[3] It was revealed in the show's seventh series that he originated from Ghana, where his brother Kumi runs a hospital. He has been married five times - twice to Clinical Care Consultant Lola Griffin - and has had several romances during his time on the show, including engagement to Senior House Officer Sam Kennedy, long term flirtation with former flame Diane Lloyd, and a brief marriage to Registrar Thandie Griffin.

Two of Ric's six children have appeared in the show; oldest son Leo Griffin, who Ric initially hoped would follow him into medicine, but died in series ten from a heroin overdose, and daughter Jess Griffin, who worked alongside him at Holby City Hospital as an AAU nurse. Through Jess and Leo, Ric had two grandsons, but both died as infants.

In the show's tenth series, Ric applied for the position of Director of Surgery, making an underhand deal to turn the position over to Connie Beauchamp in return for her support with his application. As each of the other candidates dropped out or were rejected, Ric was moments away from being offered the position, when he was called away to identify his son's body.

Later in mid series 11, Connie reminded Ric, that the director of surgery job was up and he had to pass it over to her like they had agreed. But Ric didn't and made out that he had resigned and had to give three months notice. Connie found out that he was lying. In the end Connie and Ric constantly battled each other, but Ric still holds down the position of the job.

Ric had recently introduced breathalyser tests as part of his zero tolerance policy. Annalese Carson failed hers. Ric promised to cover it up as long as Paul Rose supervised her in theatre. But Connie found out and reported it to Jayne.

A full investigation was held into the death of Steve Hewitt. He was a friend and patient of Connie's who died during an operation Michael Spence was performing. Ric had previously refused to operate on him as he was a zero tolerance patient, but his condition deteriorated. Michael Spence operated on Steve Hewitt. Annalese was the anaesthetist in the operation and she hadn't given proper drugs when he arrested and died on the table. His wife wanted an investigation, and Kathy Hewitt blamed Ric. An investigation was held and Connie discovered the hidden information Michael had tried to hide.

In episode thirty-five of series eleven Ric Griffin was informed by Jayne Grayson that she has lost confidence in his leadership as Director of Surgery and was planning to ask the board to re-advertise the position. At the end of the episode Jayne is seen handing a piece of paper with details of the director of surgery job to Connie.

Reception

Quarshie has been nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Ric, and won "Favourite Male TV Star" at the 2008 Screen Nation Awards.^[6] He was nominated for the "Male Performance in TV" award at the 2006 Screen Nation Awards,^[7] and received a Mention in the same category in 2007.^[8] Quarshie was named 23rd "Best Actor" in the 2004 BBC Drama Awards,^[9] and came 22nd the following year.^[10] He was long-listed for the "Most Popular Actor" award at the 2004 and 2005 National Television Awards,^[11][12] and was also long-listed for the "Best Actor" award at the 2004 TV Quick Awards.^[13]

References

External links

• Ric Griffin at BBC Online
• Ric Griffin at the Internet Movie Database