Oliver "Ollie" Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor James Anderson.

Oliver was introduced alongside his older sister, Penny (Emma Catherwood), as a Foundation House Officer 1 (F1) on rotation at Holby City Hospital.

Anderson was selected to play Oliver; he spent time with a real F1 doctor and trained with the programme's medical advisors to prepare for the part.

[2] When Oliver reached his F2 training, the series formed an on-screen duo by pairing him with registrar Greg Douglas (Edward MacLiam).

He acquires Penny's preferred rotation on the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU),[6] where he develops a flirtatious relationship with ward sister Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley).

[16] Keen to earn praise from his consultants, Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) and Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley), Oliver claims Penny's research as his own, and is awarded her place in an operation.

[17] He is promoted to F2 level, and betrays Penny further by revealing her affair with Scott, which results in her failing her cardiothoracic rotation and being moved to the AAU.

[22] Oliver tries to earn back Greg's respect, but panics while attempting to insert a chest drain, and has to be rescued by ward sister Frieda Petrenko (Olga Fedori).

[27] Having realised that he is close to failing his F2 year, Oliver implicates Penny in a serious surgical error of his own doing, but is caught by registrar Antoine Malick (Jimmy Akingbola).

They were deemed talented physicians with the desire to achieve by McHale, who noted that "one is more naturally gifted than the other", and suggested that their personal lives would cause conflict with their professional ones, as they attempted to progress at work.

[40] When his career began to deteriorate, the publication deemed him reckless,[41] then found him hapless in the aftermath of her death, in reference to the way he "[sank] into despair, finding comfort in drink, drugs and his dead sister's flatmate.

"[42] The Sunday Mirror's Kevin O'Sullivan reflected on Oliver's development since his arrival, with the observation, "Once he was the strutting ladies' man of the wards, a veritable medical Casanova who exuded confidence and charm.

Hobley assessed that Chrissie was surprised to learn that she was pregnant, but pleased, as she had lost a baby five years previously and did not think that she was capable of conceiving another.

Asked about the future of Frieda and Oliver's relationship, she was unwilling to divulge potential plots, but noted, "There's been talk about things heading in all sorts of directions".

[56] She characterised the siblings' relationship as "one of constant rivalry but ultimately unconditional support", and noted, "Everything always comes more easily to Oliver than Penny – she has spent her life playing catch up".

The fast-paced storyline saw Greg initially "kick[ing] against his newfound responsibility", before realising that Oliver could be beneficial to his own career, which resulted in an "unlikely friendship" forming between them.

[36] The pair clashed over conflicting medical opinions on patient care,[61] and their friendship soon created a negative effect over Oliver's work ethic.

Issued with the ultimatum of confessing to Director of Surgery Henrik Hanssen, Oliver realised that "he must take responsibility", lest he "lose the one person who loves him unconditionally.

Henry explained that Hanssen "doesn't think a good doctor should lose his chance at a career in medicine", after learning Oliver risked his own life on the job.

[68] Anderson explained that in the fourteen months since his departure from Holby, Oliver has been working abroad in South America, drinking heavily and self-medicating with several drugs.

[68] Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie) discovers a "bloodied and badly bruised" Oliver near the hospital entrance, and admits him immediately.

[69] Oliver's exit was not announced before transmission and Anderson confirmed the news on Twitter, commenting, "It's with a full, heavy heart that I now move on to adventures new.

[73] "Ollie is meant to be the naturally talented one out of him and sister Penny, but you wouldn't trust him to take a splinter from your finger without accidentally grafting your spleen to the back of your neck.

Having ballsed up one operation and blamed it on his sister, this month Oliver has admitted to failing his original medical exams and swapping his papers with Penny's – meaning Dr Dumbo has been practising illegally all along.

Early in his tenure, he received positive commentary from Inside Soap, who said, "he may be a whizz-kid trainee doctor, but new Holby recruit Oliver Valentine isn't all work and no play!

"[76] A Liverpool Daily Post review said that Oliver made Penny feel about "two inches tall" when he was promoted to F2, and supported her question "Who needs enemies when I've got a brother like you?

In June 2010 she preferred Penny, "with Oliver definitely getting the award for the most annoying sibling in the hospital";[78] the following month she called them irritating and recommended they "get [their] acts together".

[79] On the day Oliver admitted to stealing Penny's exam paper, Daily Mirror critic Jim Shelley featured him in his negative "Down" column and branded him a "weasel".

"[83] The Guardian's Daniel Maier ridiculed Oliver's supposed talents, and jested that he was "a doctor with the blue eyes of Fonda and the medical competence of fondue".

[42][86][87] The Sunday Mirror's O'Sullivan called it poignant,[43] and Rachel Mainwaring of the Western Mail wrote, "It's easy viewing (apart from the odd gooey scene) and full of moral as well as medical issues that leaves you shouting at the screen, 'Do the right thing Oliver, tell them the truth.