Holby City spoilers: Essie haunted by ghost of late husband Raf in tear-jerking scenes
HOLBY CITY's Essie is haunted by the ghost of late husband Raf as she continues to come to terms with her cancer returning.
Joe McFadden is set to return to the hospital drama as Raf di Lucca, who was killed off in 2017.
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Struggling to come to terms with the fact that she's living on borrowed time, a heartbroken and shell-shocked Essie desperately tries to search for a purpose to her tragic fate.
Eager to find out why her life is being cut so tragically short with the return of her cancer, Essie soon finds hope in a place she certainly did not expect.
As Essie's sad story continues to play out, she is visited by a ghost from her past in the form of late husband Raf.
In tear-jerking scenes, he will appear in Essie's imagination and with her desperately searching for answers, her former lover will inspire her to focus her energy on love, not hate or anger, with the time that she has left.
Act Joe, 44, defended the decision to bring back Raf and reason with his former wife.
He told : "There's nothing naff about Raf's return to Holby. There's no wobbly vision!"
"He reappears as a figment of Essie's imagination. People do talk to their dead loved ones, and Essie is in this sad situation. There's no more treatment [for her ovarian cancer] and she's basically having palliative care."
He added: "Raf comes to her and offers advice about making everything right with the people she loves. It's very poignant and has been done really sensitively."
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McFadden mentioned that he enjoyed being back on the set of Holby, where he played Raf for three years from 2014-2017.
The former Strictly winner explained: "It was surreal. It's so familiar, yet different, some of the wards have changed and there are new people, but within a couple of hours, it felt like I'd never been away.
"It reminded me what a lovely job Holby is and how great everyone there is. From the writers to the production team and the actors, they're at the top of their game."