Constance ('Connie') Beauchamp ( nee 'Chase') grew up in Peckham, London, but currently resides at 23 Agincourt Place, Lenton, Holby, (near Bristol). She replaced Tom Campbell Gore as Cardiothoracic Consultant on Darwin ward in the episode In The Deep End (Series 6, Episode 35), which was aired on June 1st 2004. A variety of storylines have seen the progression of the character, played by actress Amanda Mealing. 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. She gives her all to Holby and expects those around her to do the same, no matter what . This is still true to this day, and Mealing says Connie is not averse to using her feminine wiles - and she doesn't believe in wasting time . Connie was very much a man-eater when she first arrived at Holby, but since the birth of her child, Grace Beauchamp, she has softened. In the years she has been at Holby however, her romantic interests have included Ric Griffin (Played by Hugh Quarshie), Will Curtis, Mubbs Hussein, Sam Strachan (played by Tom Chambers), John Grayson, as well as her ex husband, Michael Beauchamp (played by Antony Calf). On her first day, she flirted with Ric then slept with him in his office, leaving him in his underpants simply saying, 'Oh by the way, I'm your boss, so don't be late tomorrow'. There has been nothing more then a kiss between herself and Will Curtis, with her having said I just needed to know I could . In 2005 Connie's relationship with her husband Michael came to light, however he turned on her after a VRSA cover up and she ultimately had him jailed. After ten months, he was released but unable to work in the UK. She refused to move abroad with him and they later divorced. In Series 9, after a famous scene in the Darwin locker room with registrar Sam Strachan, Connie falls pregnant. Grace is born prematurely in the episode entitled Deep Dark Truthful Mirror , after Connie went into labour following the use of defibrillator paddles whilst trying to treat Dr Lola Griffin, who had had a heart attack. Sam is not allowed to attend the birth when Connie finally stops work and goes to the delivery suite, and he is kept distant in the first few weeks of the critically ill child's life. When test results show minimal brain stem activity, Connie agrees to turn off the life support, with friend and colleague Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley) by her side, however, Sam is allowed in and Grace miraculously pulls through. It is from this moment onwards that Connie starts to soften towards Sam and he is gradually allowed more access to his child. Later in the series, Connie visits her home town of Peckham. It is there she discovers that her now deceased mother suffered from depression when Connie was in her youth. Connie's father, Billy Chase (played by Donald Sumpter), had kept this secret from Connie until now. It is during this episode that it is revealed that Connie became estranged from her father following her mother's death in 1995. 12 years on, the pair reunite and Billy Chase learns he is a granddad, and Connie tries to encourage him to receive treatment for his pulmonary condition. In series 10, Connie takes a sabbatical and goes to Hamburg on a research project. She alienates herself from the staff when she returns, in the aftermath of a crossbow attack which killed a member of the nursing staff while she was away. In the episode We Serve All Who Come To Us , Connie ignores several phone calls from her temporary nanny. It is only when she is leaving the hospital that evening that she is met by the nanny, learning Grace has had a fall and is badly injured. Grace requires surgery for a collapsed lung and spends some time in the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU). At this time, Grace's father, Sam, is suffering from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and collapses with septic shock. He also is admitted to ITU and Connie stays at the bedsides of both, who later go on to make a full recovery. It is during this time however that a little about Connie's faith is revealed, as she prays for them both and lights a candle. Come late series ten / early series 11 Connie is seen to have started a relationship with a man known as 'John'. It is later revealed he is the husband of Connie's friend and colleague Jayne Grayson, and she ends the affair. With Mealing having no plans as yet to leave the show, there is surely much more to come from such a much loved character. Show less «