portrayed abuse victim Jan Fisher.
Jan Fisher, portrayed by
Lucy Benjamin, first appeared on 24 May 2021 in the episode "
Three Consultations and a Funeral". Cast member
Sarah Moyle recommended Benjamin for the role of Jan to producers. Benjamin's casting as Jan was announced a week prior to the airing of the episode by
What to Watch journalist Alison Slade. Referring to her history of appearing on fellow
BBC soap opera
EastEnders as
Lisa Fowler, Slade wrote that Benjamin had swapped "
Walford for Letherbridge". Slade also revealed that it would be a self-contained
standalone episode. The three consultations
Dr. Emma Reid (Miles) has with Jan that are shown in the episode are set over the timeframe of a month. Jan has her first appointment with Emma where she tells Emma that she cannot sleep. Emma asks if she is stressed, but she is interrupted by Jan's husband Mark calling her. He demands to know where she is and apologises for being away from him. Emma asks about the phone call and Jan explains that they have just argued but takes the blame for their argument. Emma asks Jan questions about her life to get a clear idea about her inability to sleep, and when Emma asks if Jan is depressed, she avoids the question. Mark phones again and Jan lies about her whereabouts. Emma questions why she lied to Mark, and she reveals that Mark is having affairs, chooses her outfits and tracks her location, but she does not want to lose their relationship. Jan then demands sleeping pills, but Emma feels that they would not solve her problems. Weeks later, Jan arrives at Emma's office with an injury on her face, having been thrown out by Mark. She explains that she was trying to buy sleeping pills on his laptop and found his affair with a colleague, to which she confronted him. Jan recalls an earlier situation where Mark disappeared for a week, leaving her without money and food, and told her that he would only return if she stopped accusing him of having affairs and stopped interrupting him. Jan explains to Emma that he has a high sex drive and has forced her to have sex with him, as well as having casual sex with numerous young women. Emma asks Jan a series of questions to get Jan to realise that she is a victim of
domestic abuse, but she leaves after being offended by Emma's assumptions. Their third and final consultation is at the police station, where Emma works as a
force medical examiner. Jan asks Emma if Mark knows of her whereabouts, but Emma reminds her that Mark is dead and that Jan has been arrested under suspicion of murdering him. She recalls to Emma that Mark demanded that she stays in the house for a month, but wanted to cook him a special dinner for their anniversary. He threw the dinner at her and forced her to pick it up, taunting her, and Jan attacked Mark with a carving knife. Emma tells Jan about her friend who was a victim of
coercive control which leads Jan to realise that Mark abused her for 32 years. The award marked Benjamin's first award in her 43-year-long career in the acting industry. The episode also won the award for Best Single Episode at the
2022 British Soap Awards. Following the win, the BBC transmitted a special repeat of the episode and confirmed that a follow-up episode featuring Jan's court trial was in production. The episode. "
The Trials of Jan Fisher", aired in September 2022. Benjamin was pleased to be asked back to
Doctors since she felt a responsibility to show the public what had happened to Jan, as well as being excited to work with the crew again. She revealed to magazines that the episodes would cover two separate trials; one which goes badly for Jan compared to a second and more favourable trial. As part of a toxic relationship storyline Benjamin did for
EastEnders, she had visited women's refuges. She used the experiences and stories to aid her portrayal of Jan. She hoped that the ending would show the public and people in similar situations that there can be a positive ending to domestic abuse cases. ==Makeda Sylvester==