Bear Sylvester | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Doctors character | |||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Dex Lee | ||||||||||||||||
Duration | 2019–2024 | ||||||||||||||||
First appearance | "Barley, Hops, Yeast and Water" 18 November 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Mike Hobson | ||||||||||||||||
|
Bear Sylvester is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Dex Lee. Lee began filming for the role in June 2019 and Bear made his first appearance on 18 November 2019, in scenes that show him attending an interview to become the practice manager at the fictional Mill Health Centre. Bear's initial scenes show him struggling with the job for unknown reasons, but he is eventually diagnosed with dyslexia. He is also shown to have an issue with colleague Jimmi Clay (Adrian Lewis Morgan) and it transpires in the years prior to his arrival, Jimmi gave abortion advice to Bear's girlfriend.
Writers developed a relationship between Bear and colleague Ayesha Lee (Laura Rollins), which became brief due to Rollins leaving Doctors. He then moves in with Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) and the pair become best friends. Writers used Bear to explore racism in the medical industry when himself and mother Makeda (Angela Wynter) are subjected to racism at St. Phils Hospital. The arc garnered a Best Storyline nomination at the 2022 British Soap Awards, with Lee himself being nominated for Best Dramatic Performance. He has also received nominations for Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards.