met , even if they only ever correspond through Twitter or Tumblr or an anonymous messageboard ( or zine piece ). Scheduled on primetime BBC1 , in a long-running existing serial drama , depicted by two extremely talented actresses , and backed up by some great scripts ( who doesn ’ t love Back in the Ring ? You know you do !), Berena is rare , and it ’ s caught the imagination and set it ablaze . Whilst it isn ’ t the first or second or even third time Holby has featured wlw characters , something about the combination of factors here has made it stand out . For all the sometimes uneven , sometimes real-life-influenced plotting ( the “ Kiev ” interlude to allow Jemma Redgrave a break ; the workman-like rapid dispatching of Elinor to allow Catherine Russell hers ), Berena has been something genuinely out of the ordinary : a true love story between two women on-screen that felt real , believable , even warm ; an integral part of the show it was in , and convincing and natural for the particular characters . The real-time nature of the story developing as the episodes come out each week allowed fans to follow the undeniable all kinds of chemistry from the outset , through the various ups and downs , and to find other fans and as time went on , to create a space to discuss and riff on what is sufficiently so unusual a fictional story ( still ) as to represent a phenomenon . Alongside the canon screen version itself , fan culture has felt inspired to show its appreciation and imagination in creating a space not only for dialogue but Twitter hashtags , videos , fanfiction and of course the endless stream of quality gifs . Long story short , in what ’ s essentially a minor plot in Holby City , of all things , many of us have somehow found an element of truth that maybe is at times missing elsewhere . And what ’ s that ?
Well , put your feet up , open a bottle of Shiraz ( or the alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage of your choice ), because it ’ s Tuesday night at 8pm , and it ’ s time for that regularly scheduled message . If you ask me , all told , Berena does something really simple , but at the same time , pretty unusual ; and sure , it probably shouldn ’ t be such a big deal , that ’ s true , and yes , it ’ s something many people wouldn ’ t feel the need to notice , and something a lot of us , and a lot of the wider world , happily ( and I ’ ll drink to this ) no longer need to hear in order to get through the day or achieve their dreams . But for those who do , who find maybe being themselves not so easy all the time , who , say , can ’ t always be big and macho , or the most fantastic and fearless anyone anywhere , Berena , on a programme maybe your mum and your aunty and your boss and a few million other people watch each week , tells you something , something maybe you need to hear every now and then , or something you ’ d just like to : It ’ s OK to be a woman who loves another woman . Or a woman who would like to . Or thinks she might like to . I ’ m hurtling towards middle-age , in “ real life ” I would say I am as out as I can be , and I would never concede publicly that I ’ m scared to be me , but sometimes , all the same , amidst all the other work I do to try to keep my mental well-being on an even keel , I have to say that when feeling low , or anxious , or not good enough , or like it ’ s all a bit too much , it ’ s really good to hear it : it ’ s OK to be you . by RizztheBizz