Thomas "Tom" Kent (born 15 June 1983)[1] is a paediatric emergency medicine registrar who worked in the emergency department of Holby City Hospital from 2012 to 2013. He joined the department in January 2012 after completing a six month rotation with the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.
During his time in the department, he entered a relationship with Sam Nicholls, something which contributed to her ex husband Dylan Keogh leaving. Tom and Sam got married in December 2013 and left the ED together to start fresh.
Early life
Tom wanted to be a professional swimmer when he was younger and then he stopped as a result of his dad pushing him to swim in the Olympics. This prompted him to go on and study medicine. In 2011, Tom joined the HEMS for a six month rotation with them, after which he initially planned to go back and do more studying.
Time in the emergency department (2012-13)
In January 2012, an explosion occurred at the Silverton Estate in Holby as a result of a leaking gas pipe. Tom was called out with the HEMS to assist with the casualties, although he wasn't looking forward to it as he was scared of heights, and questioned why he had picked that starting point. He began to assist in the ED when the staff were needed there instead, and he accepted a job there. He had his first shift the following week but his day soon became a mystery when a family involved in the previous week's events turned up with mysterious injuries.
In April, a teenage girl Alicia was admitted to the ED after collapsing at school which left Tom desperate to get to the bottom of her symptoms. However, Linda simply believed that her problems were psychological and that she'd developed and unhealthy fixation on Tom so he recommended her for counselling. The following month, a secondary school roof collapsed and Alicia was one of the students admitted to the ED. However, her jealous boyfriend claimed he didn't want Tom treating her, so Nick took him off the case for his own safety.
In August, Sam and Tom were on alert at a local outdoor festival. However, when the stage caught fire, the crowds went rushing through the exit tunnels and it resulted in a crush and a wall collapse. Tom managed to rescue Sam when she was almost crushed by the crowds. Tamzin also asked Tom if he was single. However, in September Sam invited Tom out for a drink but it turned into a few and they shared a kiss. The following month, they shared another kiss in the staff room, unaware that Dylan had walked in.
After he caught site of Sam and Tom kissing, Dylan started to become jealous and ignored his colleagues. In December, he attempted to get Tom sacked but eventually they confronted each other outside the ED about it and ultimately Dylan left. In March 2013, Tom became jealous when another doctor asked Sam out after their relationship had grown cold.
In May, Tom's judgement was called into question when he discharged a baby, only for the infant to become life threateningly ill with meningitis. The following week, a complaint was made against him and he didn't cope well. When the patient became severely oxygen deprived, Tom suffered a panic attack. A week later, another baby was brought into the ED suffering from breathing difficulties, and Tom took the lead and was very thorough in his examination to be sure nothing went wrong like the last time. However, he undertook tests without the clearance of Zoe which left Sam worrying about his state of mind. Shortly after, he began taking diazepam in order to relieve his stress. Sam falsified a prescription for diazepam for him, and he became addicted to the drug, stealing further supplies from the department even while telling Sam he was no longer taking the pills. He came clean to Sam in June, and asked her for help to beat the addiction. He claimed to have flushed the pills as she told him to.
In July, Tom was called to a prison on a personal matter to visit his estranged birth father, Peter Marshall. When another visitor delivered bad news to her brother who was an inmate in the prison, he pulled out a knife and a hostage situation soon occurred. Soon, a riot began and Tom, Jeff and Dixie were all put in danger. They needed to escape with Tom's father as he had fallen ill but they couldn't exit without giving access to the rioters. They eventually managed to escape after getting caught up in the riots and were escorted out with the help of Carol Walcott and the other security guards.
In August, Tom asked Sam to move in with him. The following week, she told him that he could move in, but with her. In October, Tom and Sam' relationship once again strengthened and he planned to propose to her. He later did, and she accepted. It wasn't long before Robyn spread the news of the engagement around the ED. In December on the day of their wedding, their plans were interrupted when they came across a man who had been electrocuted and needed help. However, they got married later in the day and decided to leave the ED together to start fresh and take an extended honeymoon. After leaving the ED, Sam and Tom were replaced with registrars Ethan Hardy and Caleb Knight in January 2014.
Personal life
His only romantic relationship whilst in the ED was with Sam Nicholls who he had an on off relationship with. They eventually married in December 2013 after having built up their relationship again throughout the course of the year.
Behind the scenes
Oliver Coleman portrayed Tom in Casualty from January 2012 to December 2013.
References
- ↑ "Garage Flowers" (S27, E39)
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