A seriously ill patient arrived in Holby City last night, which isn’t so unusual for a popular medical drama set in a hospital.
But he wasn’t just any patient… The sick man was played by an actor who should have been very familiar to soap fans.
Read more: Holby City and Casualty to merge for the first time in 14 years
In fact, he was involved in one of the most famous Coronation Street storylines of all time…
Al Nedjari is best known for playing Samir Rachid in the ITV soap Corrie.
Samir was a waiter who Corrie icon Deirdre met while on holiday in Morocco, and they fell in love and married.
Read more: Canadian Corrie fans furious they have been ‘snubbed’ by the soap
Heartbreakingly for Deirdre, within a year of marriage, Samir was brutally attacked by a group of youths and did not recover. In death, he donated his kidney to his step-daughter Tracy.
On Tuesday (26 February), the actor arrived in Holby with a serious clot on his intestines that needed an operation to remove it.
Al played Tarek, who arrived in the hospital in agony with his partner Patricia – the hospital cleaner and former patient who Sacha fell for.
Sacha was forced to put his feelings for Patricia aside as he battled to help Tarek – but would a new transplant procedure that’s never been tried on a patient before save his life?
Only a handful of eagle-eyed viewers recognised Tarek from his role as Deirdre’s toyboy lover, with one saying: “@itvcorrie I’m watching Holby City, anyone else spot Deirdre Rachid’s Samir?”
Another said: “Is that Samir from Corrie years ago? He was married to Deirdre #HolbyCity.”
A third added: “The actor who played Samir ‘Diddery’ Rachid in #Corrie is on #HolbyCity tonight.”
“No way Samir from Corrie has turned up in #HolbyCity,” write another. “I hope Tracy doesn’t want her kidney back! #Corrie.”
Good spot!
No way Samir from Corrie has turned up in #HolbyCity, I hope Tracey doesn’t want her kidney back! #Corrie
— Edd Payling (@Edd4178) February 26, 2019
#HolbyCity that cleaners fella was Samir in Corrie lol pic.twitter.com/SGHZcNT3n4
— Matty James (@mattyjboy78) February 26, 2019
yup I think it is – I thought I recognized him but couldn’t place him
— MarkAdamJames (@MarkAdamJames1) February 26, 2019
@itvcorrie im watching holby city anyone else spot deirdre rashid shamir
— ian s gardener (@ilittleian) February 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/chrisorton2011/status/1100489799188865024
Al played Corrie’s Samir from 1994 to 1995, and has since only starred in a handful of TV series including Strong Language and Berlin Station.
He was associate director of the BBC War Horse Prom, and movement artist on Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. He’s also been busy being a daddy to son Forest.
Did you spot the soap crossover? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!