Rosie Marcel "fought very hard" for Jac Naylor not to die in Holby City's finale.
The BBC soap ended last night after 23 years on screen and in tragic scenes at the end of the episode, Jac finally lost her battle with her inoperable brain tumour and her organs were donated to other patients.
Rosie has now admitted she was desperate for Jac not to pass away in the show, and joked she was a "nightmare" as she battled with the show's bosses and writers about how the storyline would end.
She described Jac's death as like a "bereavement" for herself as she bid goodbye to her character for good.
"You know, when I found out that they were going to kill the character I was bereft. I fought very hard against it, actually. I think I drove everybody a little bit insane - I was a nightmare!" she told What’s On TV.
"I just didn't think it was the right thing to do at the time. On a personal note I never reconciled with the fact Jac was going to die."
Jac explained it as an "emotionally difficult" time as she tried to come to terms with the show ending.
She added: "I understood why they did it but, for me, having been that character for 16 years… the idea of never being able to play her was emotionally very difficult. It's like bereavement. Yeah, we all went through weird phases!"
As part of the finale, despite Jac's heartbreaking death, something good did come from it - and her organs were given to those patients who really needed it including much-loved character Lexy Morrell.
"When I was told about Jac’s organs going to others and her heart going to Lexy, I understood it more," she explained, "It became more of a celebration of someone's life, who they are, and what the NHS meant to them."
In a poignant moment at the end of the episode, the show paid tribute to the NHS.
"It took me a long time to find a place I belonged, somewhere to call home. It wasn't with my mother or the carers she dumped me with. It certainly wasn't with any man. It was when I first walked into a theatre and breathed in that rarefied air, realising my hands could save lives. I knew then on day one I had found my place in the world. Somewhere I belonged," Jac shared.
"This is what the NHS means to us. Not a badge on a cabinet minister's lapel. Not a number down the side of the bus. It's a nurse missing her break to sit with a lonely patient. A surgeon grinding out a 15 hour op.
"The sound of sirens coming to the rescue. Thursday night applause floating across the rooftops. All of us are doing the best we can in impossible circumstances. It's something to believe in. It's home."
