Les Dennis found Holby role bizarre

Les Dennis has admitted that his upcoming role in Holby City knocked him for six.

Les, who is no stranger to soaps, having appeared in Brookside, Casualty and Crossroads, said: "I really enjoyed it. It was quite a tough role because I was playing this guy dying of cancer and coming to terms with being told the horrendous news that you literally have got months, possibly weeks, to live."

And he admited that he was stunned by the programme-makers' attention to detail.
He said: "Holby is very realistic. With the extras in the other beds, you do feel you are in a hospital ward, and certainly when I went down for the 'operation', I thought all that stuff they do with the blood and guts would be done separately, but it's not.

"They stick a prosthetic stomach across you and they open you up. You can see it on the cameras around you and hear doctors saying: 'I think we should just let him go,' and another saying: 'No, I want to stop the bleed.' It's like being awake at your own operation. It felt really, really bizarre."

Thankfully for Les, his new Radio 4 drama Going For Broke, which can be heard on March 28, proved to be a lot less traumatic.

He will also be generating a few giggles with Corrie veteran Sally Lindsay (Shelley Unwin) on UKTV's new panel show TV Now and Then, which debuts on April 5.

Les' appearance in Holby City hits screens in mid-April.