Serena Campbell

Serena Campbell
Holby City character
Catherine Russell as Serena Campbell
First appearance	"Coercion" 1 May 2012
Portrayed by	Catherine Russell
Information
Occupation	Consultant general surgeon Joint clinical lead (AAU) (prev. Deputy CEO)
Family	Adrienne McKinnie (mother) Marjorie Haynes (half-sister) Jason Haynes (nephew)
Spouse(s)	Edward Campbell (divorced)
Significant other(s)	Robbie Medcalf Bernie Wolfe
Children	Elinor Campbell (daughter)

Serena Campbell is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by Catherine Russell. She first appeared in the fourteenth series episode "Coercion", broadcast on 1 May 2012. Serena is a consultant general surgeon and formerly Holby General Hospital's deputy CEO. She was introduced along with two other regular characters by the show's then executive producer Johnathan Young, who wanted more "truthful and complicated" characters in the series. Serena was originally Frankie Renard, but the name was changed as the producers thought it was "terrible". Russell auditioned for the role and attended a second call back where she was made up in Serena's costume and make-up. After being cast, the actress was given advice about Serena's profession from a female surgeon to help her prepare for the part. Aspects of Russell's personality traits were incorporated into the character of Serena after she was cast.

Serena is portrayed as being candid, professional, manipulative and efficient. She also has an MBA from Harvard University making her a good manager, as well as a good surgeon. Russell commented that Serena did not care what people thought about her. Serena was brought to the hospital by Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry) to help the place run more efficiently. She immediately clashed with Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie). Further exploration of Serena's background began when her mother, Adrienne (Sandra Voe), and daughter, Elinor (Charlotte Hope; Amy McCallum), were introduced, followed by her ex-husband, Edward (Aden Gillett), in 2013. He and Serena briefly reconciled until she learned that he was a secret alcoholic. Serena also faced disappointment when she was passed over for the job of CEO again. In 2014, she had to cope with Adrienne's vascular dementia diagnosis and the worsening of her condition.