BBC Holby City Star Rosie Marcel Announces Sad Retirement After ‘really Tough’ Years
Holby City star Rosie Marcel has confirmed she has decided to retire from acting after a difficult few years, during which her husband Ben Stephenson “nearly died”
Rosie Marcel has opened up about the reality of finding another job in the competitive industry (Image: (Image: BBC))
Rosie Marcel – famed for her portrayal of Jac Naylor in the BBC medical drama Holby City – has announced her retirement from acting.
The 47-year-old actress, who remained on the show until its conclusion in 2022 when her character succumbed to a brain tumour, took to Instagram to share her decision to retire. In a heartfelt post, she wrote: “Well, I guess it’s out there now. No longer a secret that I’ve retired. Go to metro online and read the lovely Calli Kitson’s article.
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t say ‘whatever’ that much…and I’m surely more erudite than that? ? Or maybe retirement and the dreaded menopause has well and truly kicked in! ! Either way. I’m happy. Truly happy. It’s been a pleasure and a journey. I’ve given my bit. I’m happy with what I put out in the world.
“Delighted with some lovely successes. Made some great friends. Lost some dear ones. Lost my mind several times but always got it back. Learnt some great lessons. Gave and got back a lot of kindness. Laughed more than I should have on set. Didn’t laugh enough. What a bloody good bit of life I had. Ready for the next bit. Happy to just be me now.”
Rosie is pictured with the rest of the final cast of Holby City which ended in 2022 ( Image:
(Image: BBC/Kieron McCarron)) Marcel also mentioned to Metro that despite her efforts to find new roles, she hasn’t been offered any acting jobs since. The actress opened up to the outlet, stating: “I won’t lie, it’s been a really tough three and a half years. I haven’t had a single job and that’s been really, really difficult. A lot of that is, I would imagine, people can’t see beyond Jac. I think a lot of it is because of my age, I think it’s my gender.”, reports the Express.
She continued, revealing the reasons behind her decision to leave the industry: “I decided to retire. So I actually retired in May. In all honesty so much changed in our lives in that time – my husband’s gym burned down, obviously I lost my job, Ben nearly died, I lost a couple of babies, I got caught in a terrible accident on the A41, another accident with a guy who’d been stabbed by his son. Just this crazy three years of stuff happened.” She added on a further note: “And not getting any work as well, and getting to the last two for certain things, which was lovely and everything, but the reality of going up for a Netflix job and knowing I was up against 6,000 other people really forced my hand in some ways.”
The star’s fans poured out their support in the comments section. One fan commented: “The most important thing is you’re happy, Rosie. It’s definitely the acting worlds loss, but if you are happy, that’s the main thing.”
Another admirer wrote: “love you so so so so much.” Whilst a third follower expressed mixed feelings: “I’m sad, but also happy for you. Enjoy whatever life brings.”
