Ed Keating is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor Rocky Marshall.
Writers concocted various surgical dilemmas involving organ transplants, which the duo solve in unorthodox ways.
They forge test results, lie to patients, carry out organ transplants without any consent and Ed lets Tom operate under the influence of alcohol.
On 20 July 2002, Tim Randall from the Daily Record announced that Marshall had joined the cast of Holby City and that he would debut on-screen during August 2002.
He struggled to say anaesthetist but revealed that his scripts contained medical glossaries to help familiarise himself with Ed's lines.
He was hired as a replacement for "disgraced" Senior house officer Sam Kennedy (Colette Brown), working for Anton Meyer (George Irving).
A reporter from BBC Online evaluated that "with Mr Campbell-Gore's support, he quickly rose to the position of registrar.
When registrar Diane Lloyd (Patricia Potter) tells Ed that a potential heart donor has died, he wants to donate it to a young patient within his care.
[8] He argues with nurse Jess Griffin (Verona Joseph), who accuses him of being "extremely uncaring" for trying to claim her deceased patient's heart.
Ed decides to bypass hospital protocol and points Nick Hadley (Christopher Smith) out to Joy Lester (Beverly Hills), the young girl's grieving mother, to influence her decision to donate.
[8] A Daily Record writer revealed that Tom soon discovers Ed's scheme and questions his ethics for attempting to accelerate a transplant procedure.
[8] They added that while Tom "helped fast-track his career, he will not put his own position on the line for Ed's rash decisions.
[9] Paul English of the Daily Record reported that the story would continue to play out when John J is admitted to their ward and Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie) operates on him.
[11] In June 2003, Marshall told a reporter from BBC Online that producers had planned even more stories between Ed and Tom.
[5] Ed begins an affair with ward sister Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley), despite her being in a relationship with consultant obstetrician Owen Davis (Mark Moraghan).
[12] Ed and Chrissie grow close and he confides that his father George Keating (Garry Cooper) is in prison because of a crime he committed.
[15] Hobley told the Daily Record's English that Chrissie leaves Owen waiting at the altar and Ed has to convince her to go ahead with the wedding.
[16] Hobley added that Chrissie begs Ed "to assure her there's nothing between them and, when he says the words, she pulls herself together and realises Owen is the man for her.
[17] The story was made more complicated by the fact Owen was having an affair with Chrissie's mother Tricia Williams (Sharon Maughan).
[18] Producers planned to feature Ed and Tom significantly as they brought their unorthodox operations to the forefront of the show.
[19] A Holby City publicist told a reporter from Inside Soap that "in January [2004] we the start of a big storyline when Ed visits his dad in prison.
"[19] Tom continued to bend hospital rules by deciding which patients should receive organ transplants instead of those most in need.
Zubin Khan (Art Malik) finds the genuine test results and orders that the procedure be cancelled.
He said "the best performance came from Rocky Marshall as Ed Keating, a doctor willing to do just about anything to secure a brain-dead patient’s heart for his failing father.
"[29] Catherine McDonnell of the Daily Mirror called Ed a "dedicated doctor" with "no love life" but branded his affair with Chrissie a surprise.
[31] Jim Shelley (Daily Mirror) reviewed an episode he thought was over sexualised and observed Ed becoming the latest victim of Chrissie's man-eating ways.
"[32] An Inside Soap reporter branded Ed's efforts to save his father's life "unethical actions".