| Lofty Chiltern | |
|---|---|
| Casualty and Holby City character | |
 Lee Mead as Lofty Chiltern | |
| First appearance | "The Last Chance Saloon" 1 March 2014 (Casualty) "Project Aurous" 16 May 2017 (Holby City) |
| Last appearance | "High Tide" 12 March 2016 (Casualty) "Lemons" 17 December 2019 (Holby City) |
| Portrayed by | Lee Mead |
| Spinoff(s) | "Mrs Walker-To-Be" (2015) |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse | Dominic Copeland (2018−) |
| Relatives | Shelaigh Chiltern (grandmother) |
Ben "Lofty" Chiltern is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, played by actor Lee Mead. He first appeared in Casualty's twenty-eighth series episode "The Last Chance Saloon", broadcast on 1 March 2014. The character is introduced to fill the role of a young, male nurse. Mead previously appeared in the drama in the twenty-sixth series of Casualty. Lofty originally appears as a staff nurse but is promoted to senior staff nurse in 2016. The character is specifically written for Mead and he was contracted to the show for a year. Lofty is portrayed as a nice person who is likeable and popular. His clumsiness often leaves him in awkward situations although he is a brilliant nurse and a team player. Lofty's backstory states that when his parents grew tired of his wild behaviour, they kicked him out.
The character's introduction sees him found to be living in Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson) and Max Walker's (Jamie Davis) loft. In Casualty, Lofty develops friendships with Robyn, Max and Dylan Keogh (William Beck). Mead took a sabbatical from the show in 2015 and Lofty departs after feeling responsible for the death of an agency nurse. The character departed in the series thirty episode "High Tide", broadcast on 12 March 2016. Eighteen months later, Mead decided to reprise the role in Holby City. Lofty first appears in the series nineteen episode "Project Aurous", broadcast on 16 May 2017, when he joins the fictional Keller ward as a staff nurse. Producers explored Lofty's absence and his ability to work in the hospital, as well as establishing friendships with his new colleagues.
Through his absence, Lofty's sexuality is explored and he is revealed to be bisexual. After initially clashing, Lofty develops a friendship and on-off relationship with Dominic "Dom" Copeland (David Ames). They later marry and face problems in their marriage. Mead also appears in one episode of Casualty in June 2017. The character and Mead's portrayal are well received from critics, with Lofty's relationships with Dylan and Dom gaining a positive response. For his portrayal, Mead has been nominated for two Newcomer awards at the 2014 TV Times Awards and the 20th National Television Awards respectively.