| Diane Lloyd | |
|---|---|
| Holby City character | |
 Patricia Potter as Diane Lloyd | |
| First appearance | "High Risk" 2 July 2002 |
| Last appearance | "Promise" 22 October 2019 |
| Portrayed by | Patricia Potter |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Consultant surgeon (prev. Surgical registrar) |
| Family | Carol Lloyd (mother) Oliver Lloyd (father) Joanna Lloyd (sister) Jack (nephew) |
| Spouse | Owen Davis |
| Significant other | Steve Waring Ric Griffin Danny Shaughnessy |
Diane Lloyd is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Patricia Potter. She first appeared in the series four episode "High Risk", broadcast on 2 July 2002. Diane arrives at the hospital to work as a surgical registrar. She is characterised as an "ambitious" female determined to succeed in a "male-dominated world". She is portrayed as unlucky-in-love and has numerous failed relationships during her time on the show.
Writers paired Diane with healthcare assistant Danny Shaughnessy (Jeremy Edwards) but he is unfaithful. She terminates a pregnancy following the death of her lover, charge nurse Steve Waring (Peter de Jersey). Writers also created a romantic connection with consultant Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie), which lasted her entire duration. It was her relationship with consultant obstetrician Owen Davis (Mark Moraghan) that writers fully developed into marriage. This pairing was marred by the constant interference of Owen's former partner Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley). Writers created a long running "love triangle" story between the characters which culminated in Owen being unfaithful and choosing to be with Chrissie.
Diane has also been featured in the special episode, "Tuesday's Child", which sees Diane travel to Ghana to convince Ric to return to Holby City hospital. Potter, Quarshie and the show's crew travelled to the Ghanaian city of Elmina, where they filmed the episode in sweltering heat. Writers also put Diane's career into jeopardy following two patient deaths which were investigated by the hospital board. The first being Dominic Fryer (Simon Dutton), who had previously sexually assaulted Diane. The second was a patient who died following a surgical error made by Nick Jordan (Michael French). Diane covers for him and is suspended for three months.
Potter decided to leave Holby City in 2007 and producers killed Diane off. She becomes down on her luck, quits her job and commits suicide by stopping her car on the railway track just as a train was passing. Her final appearance was in the episode titled "Past Imperfect", which was broadcast on 3 July 2007. In 2019, Potter agreed to reprise the role for a special episode to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. Diane appears as a vision when Ric Griffin goes into cardiac arrest during brain surgery to remove a benign tumour. The character proved popular with television critics who chose her stories in their "pick of the day" features. Andrea Mullaney from The Scotsman named Diane of the show's best characters. The People's Sarah Moolla hailed her one of Holby City's "strongest and most likeable characters".