Holby City fans were left devastated on Tuesday evening as the drama came to an emotional end after a 23 year run on the BBC.
Holby City's Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel) made a heart-rending decision in the show's final ever episode, as she asked Adrian 'Fletch' Fletcher (Alex Walkinshaw) to write her a do-not-resuscitate order, leading to her tragic death during the finale.
Jac awoke from her life-or-death operation to remove her brain tumour, led by trusty friend Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley), to tell Fletch she had decided to refuse future medical intervention.
He replied: “I just hate the thought of you giving up,” to which she said: “Let me tell you about giving up. Letting this thing take control. Wipe out my mind. Leaving me delirious and doubly incontinent - that's giving up.
“I have never been clearer about anything in my life. Please do this one thing for me.”
Jac’s final waking moment was seen scenes later, when Sacha Levy (Bob Barrett) tended to her as he said Elliot had booked her in for a scan.
He quipped: “You love me really,” as Jac replied: “You know I do,” her voice growing faint as she had a stroke, leaving the fan favourite character braindead.
Fletch later explained to Sacha, Elliot and Max McGerry (Jo Martin) the decision Jac had made as they fought to save her, saying: “She said if anything like this happened - I think she knew that something like this was coming and she made up her mind.”
As Sacha and Max broke down in emotional scenes at being unable to save her, Elliot said: “It's Jaq's decision. We may not like it but we have to respect it.”
Holby City fans then learnt that Jac had decided to donate her organs, including her heart, lungs, liver and pancreas, in to order “make a difference to a lot of lives.”
In the closing moments of the show, a voiceover detailed the individuals who had received Jac’s organ donations, ranging from a medical student to a full-time mother of four - while her heart was donated to Lexy Morrell.
During the heartbreaking closing moments of the beloved BBC show, Holby City fans took to Twitter to mourn the iconic character.
One wrote: “Jac Naylor is, without doubt, one of the most iconic female characters to ever grace our TV screens.
"A huge thank you to Rosie Marcel for portraying Jac so perfectly, a phenomenal actress and thank you to Holby City for her amazing storylines over the years. We'll miss you."
Another added: “I said I wasn’t going to cry, but here I go anyway…"
A third chimed: “Did they have to use Jac as a metaphor for the show? I know she IS Holby but this was too much."
Another BBC viewer tweeted: "An extremely poignant goodbye to Jac Naylor - literally the 'heart' of the hospital."
Ahead of the show's special finale credits, Jac delivered a closing monologue to end the show as the cast were seen responding to an emergency incident at the hospital.
She said in a voiceover to the final scenes: “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.”
She continued: “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.
“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.”
As the show ended on a final shot of the hospital with the words ‘Thank you’ and ‘NHS Holby City’ projected onto the building, Jac concluded: “All of us are doing the best we can in impossible circumstances. It's something to believe in. It's home.”
The finale featured returns from a host of past Holby faces, including Chizzy Akudolu as Mo Effanga, Hugh Quarshie as Ric Griffin and Luke Roberts as Joseph Byrne.
Ahead of the finale, Donna Jackson star Jaye Jacobs promised that the last episode “honours those hardcore, long-term fans” and Fletch actor Alex Walkinshaw called the episode “huge”.
The final episode of Holby City came after BBC bosses decided to axe the popular show “in order to reshape the BBC’s drama slate to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country”.
