The BDB Collective and their allies condemn the hospital drama Holby City’s use of the lesbian death trope despite earlier backlash, and the calculated harm caused to an audience particularly at risk of mental health vulnerabilities. We ask that the producers of the show engage with the fans and provide an explanation as to why it was thought necessary to feature this damaging story arc, especially since the character of Bernie Wolfe (played by Jemma Redgrave) had been written out in December 2018.
Thank you for the music, Bernie Wolfe
(Guest post by Payal. Originally published here.) I am writing this because Bernie Wolfe is dead. Or at least the powers-that-be at Holby City want us to believe that she might be. So, this is not about promiscuous bisexuals, or about dead lesbians (well, it is, but not in that way), or the fact that […]
Hope can be a dangerous thing
(This article contains spoilers for the first four books of the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard.) These past six months, I’ve been reading the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard. It began as a way to get closer to Berena without watching Holby City after the emotional turmoil of December – Catherine Russell plays […]
They should say sorry
(Guest post by Viv Pointon) A year has passed. Twelve months since Bernie promised to wait for Serena “for eternity”, since that amazing scene in ‘Primum Non Nocere’. So, it was fitting this week that Radio Diva addressed the controversy that has followed the December episodes when Berena was shipwrecked. What did we learn? That […]
From here to eternity and back
(Guest post by CPR) About a year ago, I sat anxiously awaiting the demise of Berena. It was advertised that Bernie was returning for a brief visit to Holby and the trailers didn’t hold out too much hope. It had been a joy to see Serena still so in love with Bernie. The smile that […]
The #BerenaForEternity Postcard Campaign
It’s been a year since Bernie Wolfe promised that she’d wait for Serena “for eternity”. It’s been exactly half a year since the exact opposite of that happened, and Bernie and Serena broke up over bins and slippers and swings. Where will Berena be a year from now, or even six months? We don’t know. […]