Molly was initially introduced as a young beautician from a dysfunctional home life who becomes inspired to join the British Army as a combat medic.

Molly's storylines in the series have included breaking away from her troubled home, her success and struggles in the army, and being involved in a love triangle with Dylan 'Smurf' Smith (Iwan Rheon) and her eventual husband Captain James (Ben Aldridge).

Molly, a young nail technician, lives in an impoverished and troubled area in East London with her parents Dave (Sean Gallagher) and Belinda Dawes (Kerry Godliman) and her five younger siblings.

However, she befriends another woman named Katy (Katherine Pearce) and eventually gains respect from her new instructor Corporal Geddings (Matthew McNulty).

Her father enforces that her family disown her for joining the army, but when Molly graduates and begs her mother to attend her passing out, she is visited by her.

Molly quickly finds herself with immediate problems in the forms of her fellow soldier Dylan 'Smurf' Smith (Iwan Rheon), an ex-fling, and her commanding officer, Captain James (Ben Aldridge), who doubts her capabilities as a medic.

In October 2012, it was announced that actress Lacey Turner would star as Molly, a young woman "with little future"[1] who joins the Royal Army Medical Corps, for the show's pilot.

[7] She suggested that Molly considered the army as an "opportunity to become part of a team and a family" and to "feel like she belongs", in contrast to her home life.

[10] When the second series of Our Girl was greenlit in June 2015, it was announced that Michelle Keegan had been cast as Georgie Lane, who would take over the role of protagonist from Molly.

[11] Turner commented that she had "an amazing time making Our Girl and taking Molly on her journey", but explained that she was too "busy working on EastEnders" to continue her role, adding that she was certain that "Tony [Grounds would] write a fantastic [second] series full of action and drama with great characters".

[5] Dan Owen of MSN called "Molly's transformation from cheeky party-goer to a soldier with self-respect and discipline [...] entertaining and occasionally quite moving" and added that Turner's portrayal was a highlight of the film.

[13] Ellen E. Jones of The Independent and described Turner's performance as "immensely likeable" despite admitting that the premiere relied on her charisma "to the detriment of other characters".

Cowan concluded: "Turner has approached the series with a warmth and human relatability in the role and is electric as the maturing, yet conflicted, Molly".

[18] Molly and Captain James's off-screen marriage was met with mixed reactions, with Sarah Doran of Radio Times saying that fans were "gutted to realise they'd missed out on the big day".

[12] Jess Lee of Digital Spy reported that their eventual off-screen breakup had ignited "upset" reactions from fans on Twitter.

[18] Thomas Ling, writing for Radio Times, listed the breakup as one of the reasons why Captain James and Georgie's eventual relationship was poorly received by fans, explaining that "many feel sorry for [Molly]".