When you’re strapped to a hospital bed, it’s probably best not to say something that might antagonise your doctor. That’s exactly what villain Scott Ellison found to his cost on last night’s gripping episode of Casualty.
Scott, played by Will Austin, was being treated by Dr Ethan Hardy after falling from a balcony following a spat with his brother Mickey.
Despite his terrible injuries, he began goading Ethan about having to save his life even though he’d murdered Ethan’s brother, Cal.
At that point, the shackled killer began choking on his own vomit. But despite his pleas for help, Ethan did precisely… nothing.
His reluctance to intervene was perhaps understandable.
Quite apart from the fact that there was vomit spewing everywhere (it was pretty grim), it gave Ethan the chance to avenge his brother, whom Scott had stabbed to death in a previous episode.
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But that didn’t stop viewers from taking to Twitter to express their shock at the doc’s negligence.
“I literally cannot like Ethan anymore, he let a man die, that’s so gross,” tweeted one.
Another commented: “I cannot believe Ethan basicly [sic] let Scott die on casualty.”
And a third viewer chipped in with: “Oh Ethan. What have you done?”
And although the doctor probably feels his actions were justified, that’s the question he’ll be asking himself.
“He’s going to have to live with that moment in subsequent episodes,” actor George Rainsford told What’s On TV.
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“When we pick up post-Scott, there’s a lot more to deal with. We’re not going to see Ethan moving on.
“There are some really interesting and challenging scenes coming up. Ethan’s a changed man since Cal’s death. Ironically, the thing Ethan and Scott had in common is that their family came first for them…”