Characterisation and introduction Arthur is characterised as having his own sense of logic that differs to the rest of the hospital staff. Ostlere told a
BBC Online reporter that "he can react in his own unique way" and he enjoys trying to decipher his character's reactions. Arthur's glasses form part of his image. When Ostlere was on-set filming his initial episodes the glasses were loosely fitted and he had to keep adjusting them. This suited the character and became a permanent trait during the actor's portrayal. Arthur begins his career at Holby City hospital as junior doctor on beginning the foundation programme. He is placed on the Keller Ward under the supervision of Consultant
Antoine Malick (
Jimmy Akingbola), but fails to impress him. Glaser told Melanie Hancill of
The People her character Gemma and Arthur share a competitive relationship because they are trying to earn the same role and the F1 prize in the hospital. He later becomes very stressed despite securing the aforementioned prestigious medical prize. Arthur struggles to live up to his new-found reputation, especially when he fails to reach a diagnosis for a patient and hastily dismisses a staff nurse's accurate findings. Arthur carries on his rotation of Keller Ward and learns that he has progressed well becoming the top performing F1. Consultant general surgeon
Michael Spence (
Hari Dhillon) decides to reward Arthur by placing him in charge of the ward. But this proves to be a mistake as he loses control of the ward.
Chantelle Lane Arthur forms a friendship with staff nurse
Chantelle Lane (
Lauren Drummond) and he develops romantic feelings for her. Producers discussed Chantelle at length with Ostlere during the audition process. When Arthur is in charge of Keller Ward he mistreats Chantelle and she accuses him of singling her out because she rebuffed his romantic intentions. He then has to attempt to repair their friendship. Ostlere said that viewers see a change in Arthur and branded it the first time he managed to "man-up". Writers created a car crash storyline for the character, Arthur accidentally crashes his car into the back of a lorry with Chantelle and a colleague as his passengers. Ostlere told Moon (
Inside Soap) that the crash episode is "shocking" with a "very tense" aftermath. Drummond decided to leave the series and producers devised an exit storyline centric to Arthur. Chantelle organises a birthday party for Arthur, but on that day Cameron is admitted to the hospital. Arthur mistreats Cameron because of the mugging attack. He forgets to order a scan and Cameron has a heart-attack and dies. Ostlere branded it a "relationship that has never quite happened" which made it more interesting. He also admitted that Arthur's feelings for Chantelle compromised his ability as a doctor.
Dominic Copeland and Zosia March Following the departures of Drummond and Akingbola, Ostlere began working closely with David Ames and Camilla Arfwedson who play F1 doctors
Dominic Copeland and
Zosia March respectively. Ames was a former guest cast member and his reintroduced character Dom is an enemy of Arthur because he tried to ruin Malick's career. Working together on Keller Ward proves problematic because Arthur and Malick were close colleagues so his return inevitably causes friction. Ames told a BBC Online reporter that "Dom has a long way to go before Arthur even begins to consider them equals, let alone friends. Arthur is a faithful old Labrador." While Ostlere and Ames were interviewed by
Lorraine Kelly, Ames explained that Arthur "is very suspicious about Dominic but he cannot convince Sasha" of his rival's true self. Sacha refuses to believe Arthur because he views them to be working well together, mostly due to Dom manipulating Sacha. Meanwhile, Arthur's flatmate Zosia becomes best friends with Dom despite Arthur's warnings. A dismissive Zosia then invites Dom to move into their flat.
Holby City is usually confined to the hospital set but does often show Arthur, Dom and Zosia in their shared flat. The set is named "Arthur's flat" and often film in dressing gowns and Ostlere uses the on-set bed to rest, learn his lines and tried to spend more time there.
General anxiety disorder Arthur begins to suffer from extreme anxiety. Following an explosion at the hospital he struggled to control his anxiety and stole medication to help suppress his fears.
Morven Shreve (Eleanor Fanyinka) caught him taking hospital drugs for his own use and realised that he had been self-medicating. When Arthur made a mistake during treatment of a patient, Morven ended up getting blamed and she began to consider her future at the hospital. Following his return Dom forces Arthur to remove his "geek look" and try out a new look to aid his recovery. Ostlere told Gibb that "the idea is that he'll get over his anxiety by seeming more confident and putting on a bit of a show." Arthur later returned to the hospital, but struggled to settle back into his daily routine. He was also disappointed to learn that he was no longer Morven's mentor, and that he had a lot of work to do to repair their working relationship. To prepare for the story Ostlere discussed cancer with an oncologist named Bruce. The professional also worked with the writing team to guide them. The actor also talked to his friends who had survived cancer about their experiences. The actor avoided watching other fictional portrayal of the illness such as film and television. He did not want to be influenced and copy stories from other works and preferred to draw from real-life experiences and scripts. The examination is a result of Arthur being tested for compatibility to become a live liver donor for Morven's ill father Austin Shreve (Clinton Blake). When Morven's ex-boyfriend Ulysses Barnes (Rupert Lazarus) is admitted to Keller ward, he offers to become a donor. This upsets Arthur who wants to be the one to help Morven's family. Ostlere later spoke in support of Melanoma Awareness Month and discussed the importance of a once-a-month skin check. He stated that playing the melanoma story made him increasingly aware that regular skin checks aid in the early detection of skin cancer. Arthur's mole is removed and is told that the melanoma has been dealt with. The following month Arthur coughs blood and asks Dom to examine him. Dom orders a CT scan which reveals that he has secondary tumours on his lungs. Arthur tells Morven about his condition and accepts he must endure a tough course of chemotherapy. After undergoing chemotherapy Arthur is hopeful that his illness will be cured. He and Morven decide to get married the same day to celebrate his optimism. But Arthur is told by Sacha that his cancer has spread to his stomach and is terminal. On 7 June 2016, Sara Wallis from the
Daily Mirror revealed that "
I'll Walk You Home" would be Arthur's final episode. It featured Arthur and Morven intending to leave Holby to travel before Arthur dies. Dom believes Arthur is being selfish and Arthur re-evaluates his choice and decides to stay. For Arthur's final episode Akingbola and Drummond reprised their roles as Malick and Chantelle. Malick appeared during a
Skype conversation and Chantelle appeared in dream sequences envisioned by Arthur as he lay dying.
George Rainsford also guest starred as
Ethan Hardy, a character from its sister-show
Casualty. Ostlere and Rainsford were long-time friends and had petitioned producers to enable their character to share a scene. Arthur collapses and falls unconscious. Nothing can be done to save his life as his cancer is too advanced. While unconscious Arthur has visions of his loved ones and hears Morven deliver her final words to him. He then dies surrounded by his friends.
Holby City was cancelled in June 2021 after 23 years on air with the final episode due to be broadcast in March 2022. Producers invited multiple former cast members to reprise their roles during the show's
final series. Ostlere's return was announced on 9 March 2022 and Arthur appears in episode 1100, first broadcast on 15 March 2022. Arthur returns alongside Essie and
Jasmine Burrows (
Lucinda Dryzek); they all appear as a vision to
Jac Naylor (
Rosie Marcel), who is terminally ill and fears dying. ==Reception==