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Saint or Sinner?

Will Dr. Stevens make a nursing nun break her vows?

Is nursing nun Terri Sullivan, Georgie Parker's alter ego on All Saints, about to reunite with her ex-lover? When Dr. Mitch Stevens, portrayed by Erik Thomson, joins the staff of Ward 17, he carries with him a secret that could shatter Terri's restrained personal life.

Terri and Mitch were first brought together ten years previously when the pair embarked upon a torrid love affair that ended as abruptly as it began. The lovers' break-up sent Terri into a convent while Mitch fled to Africa to work for the Red Cross.

Now he's back, and while Mitch respects Terri's commitment to God, the doctor can't deny he still has intense feelings for his first love.

"It must be a bit hard for Terri having a doctor on the staff who's seen her naked," quips Erik. "My character reminds Terri, and the audience, that she is a woman and she still does have sexual feelings."

Regular viewers of All Saints were shocked when Erik first arrived on the show. "They were like: 'Who is this guy being so rude to Georgie Parker?' Then the history between the two comes out, and now they're starting to enjoy Mitch's naughtiness," laughs Erik.

Will the saintly Terri let the devilishly handsome Mitch slip through her fingers in honour of her vows, and will the audience approve? Erik reveals that "the audience could be coming around to Terri reconsidering a life with Mitch."

But how would Terri react if Mitch takes up with another woman? It's rumoured former Sons And Daughters beauty, Ally Fowler, is joining the cast as a physiotherapist - could she be the temptress to drive Terri insane with jealousy?

Erik loves working on All Saints because "this is a show with heart. It's not just escapist entertainment, it questions the audience about how they feel about certain life issues."

Erik comes from a family of medical experts who all met each other on the job, so he knows about doctor/nurse relationships.

"My mother is a nurse and my father is a doctor. So the whole doctor/nurse thing is a reality as far as I'm concerned."

On the set, a nurse is on hand full-time as medical advisor, but it's co-star Jeremy Cumpston who helps Erik out with some of the finer points.

"Jeremy is a doctor in real life and he's able to explain how doctors react under certain conditions," says Erik.

Off set, Erik and his girlfriend share a house with co-star Libby Tanner, who plays Nurse Bron Craig. "We've always been great friends and we rarely work together on the show, so we never feel like we're in each other's pockets."

The big question is: will we see Terri and Mitch living in each other's pockets?

Andrew Mercado
TV Soap
1999