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Holby Wiki - Casualty and Holby City

Grace Beauchamp-Strachan (born 1 May 2007) is the daughter of Connie Beauchamp and Sam Strachan. Connie originally took care of Grace until 2015 when she moved to New York to live with her father. However, she returned with him in 2016 when he was in the UK at a conference involving cardiothoracics. Grace formerly attended Holby Grammar School.

Despite being demanding of her mother's attention, it's simply a result of Connie prioritising her career. In August 2016 Grace was involved in a severe car crash which left her in a coma for six weeks. Her recovery took around a year, and she was able to walk unaided by July the following year. A month after this, she returned to the US with Sam unknown to Connie.

Biography[]

Grace was born breach when Connie entered premature labour when shocking a patient with a defibrillator. Grace was born 7 weeks premature and she nearly died in the N.I.C.U. She grew up with her mother as her father moved to live in New York, but in 2014 was expelled from her boarding school. This meant that Connie frequently brought her into work with her but she found Grace to be a nuisance there as she was getting in the way.

In November 2014, Sam's mother Audrey insisted that she would be better off living in New York with him. Grace took a liking to Zoe which caused Connie to become jealous that she never had that kind of bond with Grace. Eventually, it became obvious that Connie's work life and time for Grace couldn't exist simultaneously, as it was becoming too much for her. In January 2015 Grace moved to New York to live with her father and half-brother Kieron. (CAS: "The Last Goodbye") In May 2015, Connie left Grace a message on her phone while in Bucharest with Charlie. (CAS: "Exile")

In February 2016, Grace called Connie from a hotel in Holby to tell her that her father's girlfriend Emma was having severe stomach aches. Connie sent an ambulance to collect them but upon arrival at the ED Grace wasn't interested in bonding with Connie but just wanted her to treat Emma. Sam also arrived and insisted that Emma be brought to a private hospital but Connie explained that there was no time. Eventually Connie was able to perform the procedure in the ED with some help from Jac Naylor and earned back Grace's respect for her. (CAS: "Hearts and Flowers")

Just Do It

Connie discovering Grace tearing up her papers.

The following week, Grace suffered a panic attack after she overheard Connie telling Jacob that she didn't want her to live with her. She was able to be calmed down by Connie and Jacob, and was preparing to leave with Sam later that day to go back to New York. However, as she boarded the connecting private jet to the New York flight, Connie and Jacob drove there to catch up to her. Grace met Connie at the steps, and Connie told her that she wasn't going to let her go again. (CAS: "Just Do It") The following week, Connie took the day off work to have a girls day out with Grace. (CAS: "Fatal Error - Part One")

Towards the end of March, Connie was once again forced to bring Grace into work with her as her child minder was ill. Whilst there, she asked Connie if she could see Jacob, due to the fact they got along well during her last encounter in the ED. Connie eventually asked Jack to look after Grace for the day, and he kept her entertained and even prank called Noel at reception together. At the end of the day, Grace saw Connie kissing Jacob which annoyed her. Back in the car, Grace gave her an ultimatum to choose her or Jacob. (CAS: "Sweet Child of Mine")

In April, Connie decided to choose Grace over Jacob and broke up with him. Connie was later trapped in a small room in the basement of a building with Jacob with sand quickly filling it up, burying them. When they were both unable to move, Connie was able to contact Grace on the radio through to the ED and told her how much she loved her. After they had successfully been rescued, Connie returned to the ED and went straight to see Grace. (CAS: "Buried Alive")

Towards the end of May, Connie took the day off work to attend Grace's sports day. Connie won the egg and spoon race against another competitive mother, Steph Sims. Grace got annoyed as she wanted to become friends with Carmel, Steph's daughter and wanted to stay on their good side. Later on during the child and parent's sack race, Grace and Connie worked together to purposely lose so Grace could become friends with Carmel. (CAS: "This Life")

After the sports day, Carmel and Grace became close friends. In late August[2] Grace and Carmel were on the trampoline after having a sleepover at Carmel's house when Carmel slipped and broke her leg. When Grace rushed home to get Connie she discovered her and Jacob kissing. Carmel was admitted to the ED, and when Connie discovered scratches on her stomach she told her that Grace did it. Despite taking the initial blame, Grace eventually admitted the truth to Jacob when he realised it couldn't have been her as she bit her nails. Social services were ultimately called when it transpired that Carmel had been subject to her mother's psychological abuse. In anger, Steph followed Connie and Grace home in the car and tried to get them to pull over on a road which ran on the ledge of a sleep cliff. They eventually reached a corner and Connie was unable to stop the car and they went plummeting off the edge as Steph looked on in horror from her car. (CAS: "Sticks and Stones")

S31E01 055

Grace after being found by the paramedics at the scene.

Following the impact, Grace and Connie were thrown from the car, although both in different directions. Connie was distraught when the car exploded, thinking that Grace was inside. Steph later stopped her car and tried to phone for an ambulance after having driven off but she was hit by an oncoming vehicle. When she ended up in the ED Jacob was informed by the paramedics of the damage to her car and he went out to see it with them. He made them drive along the road and they located the site of the crash. Jez noticed that Grace wasn't in the car and they eventually found her and she was suffering from breathing difficulties. Dylan later arrived and suspected Grace had a possible pneumothorax and a flail chest. Iain promised to go with her in the air ambulance after she left a message for Connie on her phone. However, a drone collided with the helicopter and it crashed down outside the ED and Grace sustained new head injuries. Jac Naylor went down to treat Grace after she'd been removed from the helicopter. During a CT scan she started fitting and Duffy suspected the new head injuries. It later transpired that she had sustained a subdural haematoma and the chances of surviving were not good, and Jacob was the one who went to tell Connie. (CAS: "Too Old for This Shift")

Following the crash, Grace had an operation to insert a ICP bolt which was successful. Connie stayed by Grace's bedside and only focused on Grace's well-being. Grace had ECG seizures and the swelling of her brain had gone down. (CAS: "Fall on Me") Two weeks after the crash, it was discovered that Grace had a small tear in her aorta, and that she needed an operation to correct it which was performed by Jac Naylor. (CAS: "Strike Three") Grace was taken off the ventilator shortly after this (CAS: "Pride Comes Before a Fall") and was on a nasal cannula for the next month. In mid-October, Grace finally woke up from her coma with Connie by her side. (CAS: "The Big Day")

Grace and Connie 3112

Grace being wheeled out of the lift as Hugo noticed her.

In November, Connie returned to work on the day of the inspection despite Jacob telling her to go home with Grace. Later in the day Grace's old school friend Hugo was admitted and Connie told him that Grace was simply busy. However, when she was brought down from the wards and Hugo saw her in a wheelchair he realised that Connie had lied to him, and ran off. Once Hugo had been brought back to the ED, Connie brought Grace to visit him, unsure as to if she'd recognise him because of her brain injury. However, she managed to mutter the word "skate", clearly remembering that she'd been skating with Hugo before. Later, Connie, Jacob and Grace left the ED for the day after he'd agreed to move in with them. (CAS: "About My Mother")

The following month as Christmas approached, Connie was trying to get Grace to be more independent and got her to feed herself. Despite Grace asking Connie to feed her, she simply told her that she had to learn. (CAS: "All I Want for Christmas Is You") On Christmas Eve, Jacob inspired Connie to follow through with the idea of getting Grace a puppy for Christmas. That evening, Jacob dressed up as Santa and Connie brought Grace's new puppy to her, and they were both delighted to see a smile on her face. (CAS: "Bah Humbug")

On New Year's Eve, Connie took Grace into the hospital for a speech and physiotherapy lesson. However, during the session Grace was finding it too hard to walk and Connie was forced to fetch the wheelchair. Later that day, Connie instructed Noel to run all of Grace's medical records since the crash off the computer, in an attempt to find out why Grace may never walk again. (CAS: "New Year, New Me, New You") The following week, Connie found what she thought to be an error in Grace's medical notes, and reported Elle to the Trust. (CAS: "What Lurks in the Heart") While Connie was at work on the day Jacob moved out, Grace learned to walk unaided, and was able to walk up the house staircase. (CAS: "Little Sister")

S31E22 41

Grace about to smash the bathroom mirror out of anger.

Later in January on the night before Elle's tribunal, Grace collapsed whilst trying to walk to the toilet. The following day, Connie tried to over-emphasise Grace's injuries by forcing her to observe in a wheelchair, against the advice of Sam. During the tribunal Connie embellished her version of events and slandered Elle in her speech, and Grace left the room disgusted. In the toilets, she destroyed a mirror with one of her crutches in anger before falling on the fragments suffering a tonic-clonic seizure and severing an artery. Elle soon found Grace and called for help. Connie later arrived at the scene, and was initially reluctant to let Elle treat her. Elle fit a catheter into Grace's neck to stop the bleeding before she was rushed to the ED. Grace was taken to have a CT scan and it was revealed that she sustained no further serious cerebral injuries but she may have developed epilepsy, to Connie and Sam's horror, and she later underwent surgery. (CAS: "You Are Your Only Limit")

After waking up, Grace was not communicating with Connie nor Sam. The scans confirmed that Grace has epilepsy. Sam initially thought the reasoning behind Grace not talking was due to PTSD, but it was a silent protest against Connie. (CAS: "Binge Britain") The following week just as Connie and Sam were preparing to take her home, Grace showed Connie her tablet screen with the words "This is all your fault," written on it. (CAS: "Slipping Under")

Connie and Grace April 2017

Connie attempting to connect with Grace in April. (CAS: "Child of Mine")

In April, Connie was angry with Grace when she discovered that she hadn't been taking her epilepsy medication. However, Grace was furious when she found the tablets put in the icing of a cake Connie had given her. In a fit of rage, Grace finally spoke again, admitting that she had always been able to speak but didn't want to as she hated Connie. In retaliation, Connie told her that the feeling was mutual, shortly before Grace had an epileptic fit. Connie and Sam then decided that it would be best if she went to live with him for a while. (CAS: "Child of Mine")

In May, Connie saw Grace and Sam together near the hospital's shop. When she walked over, Grace turned her back on Connie, making it clear that she still did not want to talk to her mum. Sam watched as Connie walked away, able to tell she was still upset about recent events. (CAS: "End of the Road") Later on in July, Connie stopped Sam outside the ED to ask about Grace's physiotherapy session later on in the day. Sam only reiterated Grace's wishes, telling Connie that Grace didn't want her there. However, Connie later ended up taking Grace as Sam was unavailable. At first, Grace seemed unhappy to see her mother again. But on the way back from the session, Grace told her mother that she could take her again next week, Connie's reply being that she would like that very much, forming a bond between the two once again. (CAS: "Man Up")

Grace&Connie2

Connie and Grace share a hug. (CAS: "Somewhere Between Silences - Part Two")

After a week, Connie brought Grace into the ED to show how much she had improved since the start of the year. However, as usual, Connie was called away and had to choose her work over her daughter. Later on when Sam's shift had ended, he and Grace bumped into Connie. Connie told the pair that she could not go with them due to Scott Ellisson's death, however she said to Grace that there would be another day. As much as Grace wanted to believe this, she couldn't and instead gave her mum a hug saying that she was still the best, putting their relationship back on track. (CAS: "Somewhere Between Silences - Part Two")

In August, Connie found out that Sam had gone back to the US, taking Grace with him. She later received a video call from Grace, who was unaware that Connie didn't know they'd left. Connie was left heartbroken that Grace had left and gone back to her life in the US. (CAS: Episode 1049)

Behind the scenes[]

Emily Carey made her first appearance as Grace on Casualty on 29 November 2014 and initially remained on the show for just over a month. She reprised her role midway through series 30 in 2016. Carey later left the show along with Tom Chambers at the start of series 32 in 2017. In 2020, it was confirmed that Carey had reprised the role of Grace; her returning scenes will air in 2021.

Appearances[]

See also: Character appearances.

Carey made her first appearance as Grace in the series 29 episode "Losing Grip". She remained as a recurring guest character until 2015. In 2016 she appeared along with Sam Strachan (Tom Chambers) in episode 23 of series 30, "Hearts and Flowers", which aired on 13 February 2016. Her role continued through the year. Her appearance in "What Lies Beneath" was uncredited. In recent appearances, she's been credited as "Grace Beauchamp-Strachan".

Notes[]

  1. Grace was born in 2007, but her age was canonically stated to be 16 in 2020.
  2. Events partially took place in an episode that aired in July, but took place in-universe in August.
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