text: kyla tyson kyla tyson is a fictional character from the bbc medical drama holby city , portrayed by actress rakie ayola . she appeared from 7 february 2006 to 9 december 2008 , from the series eight episode " i 'll be back " to the series eleven episode " sweet bitter love " . ayola had made a former minor appearance in the show several years prior to being cast as kyla , and was later asked to return in a more permanent role . she departed from the show after becoming pregnant with her second child . kyla is a nurse and single mother , constantly trying to balance her career , her child and her love life . her storylines see her subjected to domestic abuse by her husband , temporarily lose her son to foster care and become an alcoholic . after getting her life back on track , she departs from holby , moving to ghana with her partner abra durant ( adrian edmondson ) . in august 2006 , ayola was shortlisted for the " female performance in tv " award at the fourth screen nation awards for her portrayal of kyla , and was granted " honourable mention " in the same category the following year . however , the character has also been criticised for the dramaticism of her storylines , and the manner in which they reflect upon real nhs nurses . development casting prior to being cast as kyla , rakie ayola had made former appearances in both holby city and its sister show casualty - in the former as a patient , in series five , episode 32 " by any other name " , and the latter as a patient 's relative , in series 13 , episode 19 , " trapped " . she was approached about returning to holby city in a more permanent role by bbc casting director julie harkin , who was also responsible for casting fellow holby city newcomers luke roberts as joseph byrne and tom chambers as sam strachan . after a series of three meetings , two years after the birth of her first child , she agreed readily , despite being " nervous about signing such a long contract " , and having claimed just sixteen months previously that she had no desire to work in any long running serial - lambasting the quality of long - term recurring characters by stating : " i watch lots of soaps and love watching them but i often think how frustrating it must be when they make a character into such an idiot . i think it would drive me mad to pick up a script and think , ' who am i kissing now ? ' " ayola has since explained that her change of heart stemmed from becoming a mother . in the early years of her marriage to fellow actor adam smethurst the couple struggled financially , and with the added expense of the birth of their daughter , ayola had been on the verge of giving up her acting career to begin a business franchise . on joining the cast of holby city , she disclosed : " i 've been someone who 's loved the uncertainty of acting . i 've loved that one month it 's sahara in morocco and the next i 'm doing a stage play , then it 's a six - part telly thing . but last summer i started thinking it would be really nice not to have to look for a job every couple of weeks . it would be nice just to stay put for a while . if i 'm going to be a working mum i 'd rather just be one rather than be one intermittently . and then holby came along , so i 'm very grateful . " ayola signed a three - year contract to play kyla , which expired in october 2008 . it was announced on 11 october 2008 that she would be departing from the show in order to have a second child . ayola said of her decision to leave : " it 's strange but sad at the same time . i 've had a great time and i 'll miss it . i made the decision purely because i was pregnant , but i wasn 't really ready to put down the character of kyla . i 'm very sorry to have to let her go " . personality upon announcing the character 's arrival , bbc publicity described kyla as a " survivor " , someone who had " been through a lot in her life , firstly losing out on her dream career as a runner and then escaping a violent marriage . " it was stated : " kyla is compassionate , feisty , gives others the benefit of the doubt , strong and loyal - but you wouldn 't want to cross her . kyla has a habit of picking the wrong men , she 's inflexible once she 's made her mind up and can be volatile if pushed . she has come to holby with her son max eager to start anew . " from may 2007 onwards , the character was portrayed as increasingly emotionally unstable , having had " her whole world crash down around her " , following storylines including the death of her husband , and her son 's request to be taken into foster care . as this emotional instability continued and worsened with the abrupt ending of another relationship , the character was seen to develop full blown alcoholism . series producer diana kyle said of the storyline : " it 's important we cover topics that are relevant today . every day , people in the medical profession deal with patients who have drink or drug problems . plus , the fact that some of the holby staff are also suffering with these addictions is very pertinent to hospitals in real life . " speaking of kyla 's struggle to deal with her addiction , she added : " she 'll work so hard to get her life together . she has a long way to go , but hopefully there 's a light at the end of the tunnel ... " discussing the storyline which saw kyla 's alcoholics anonymous companion stuart mcelroy ( conor mullen ) violently attack her colleague , ward sister chrissie williams ( tina hobley ) , ayola has stated : " it makes her finally accept what stuart was capable of . she sees this huge gash and feels that all her instincts about other people are wrong – so she ends up running off . [ ... ] [ kyla ] has no excuses – all she can think is that she ’ s really messed up and needs to leave . " this plot strand saw kyla once more resort to drinking while at work , and decide to quit her job , only to be talked out of doing so by nursing consultant mark williams ( robert powell ) . ayola explained : " he suggests she takes a demotion , so she ’ ll have less to worry about and more time to deal with her problems . it 's the lifeline she needs , because her work is all she has right now . i think if kyla did leave , she ’ d end up simply going home and buying loads of cheap booze . " when asked if kyla would be able to overcome her addiction and regain custody of her son , ayola responded : " i hope so . kyla 's had trouble being a good parent to max , but she 's had lots of time to reflect on why this is . " relationships kyla was involved in three romantic relationships during her time in the show , the first of which was with physiotherapist justin fuller ( ben richards ) . ayola said of the relationship : " she hasn 't got great taste in men ! she likes good - looking blokes - that whole ' take me to a cave ' thing - but she doesn 't check that there is a soft , gentle , sensitive side to him . he 's gorgeous to look at , but she hasn 't learned that you have to look a bit deeper . " roger griffiths was cast as kyla 's ex - husband harvey . ayola commented on their previous relationship : " i think they split up because kyla is so volatile . the more we learn about harvey the more i think he might not be the reason for their split " . she expanded : " they had a tempestuous relationship and kyla is very irrational which got too much for harvey . harvey brings out the worst in kyla and she just ends up yelling at him . it 's a very difficult and if he knew how to handle her maybe it could work out but he doesn 't . " asked in july 2006 what she hoped for kyla in the long run , ayola responded : " most of all i ’ d like to see her laugh , big belly laughs as she has not done much of that ! ... i also would like her to find a man that she is with not just because he is attractive but someone who can work her out and understand her " . several months after this interview , the character was romantically linked to newcomer and former guest star , general surgical consultant abra durant , played by adrian edmondson . edmondson departed from and returned to the show several times , with kyla and abra breaking up and reuniting on multiple occasions . asked in february 2008 whether the two would ever get back together , ayola responded : " he treated kyla like dirt , so i don ’ t know if she ’ ll forgive him , but i love working with ade – he ’ s a gorgeous man . " the two ultimately left holby together , moving to ghana . storylines kyla arrives at holby general as an agency nurse in the episode " i 'll be back " . she makes a good impression on consultant ric griffin ( hugh quarshie ) , and is invited to take on the position of acting sister . when her former boyfriend , physiotherapist justin fuller , begins working at the hospital , they briefly renew their relationship . kyla tires of justin 's immaturity , however , and breaks up with him again . in retaliation , justin kidnaps kyla 's son max , plying him with alcohol , and sending him into a hypoglycemic coma . while kyla and her ex - husband harvey manage to get to max in time to save him , harvey tells kyla she is an unfit mother and he will be filing for sole custody of their son . kyla and harvey fight a brief custody battle . when it is revealed that max has been bullying his classmates , his parents realise they need to set aside their differences for their son 's sake . shortly after this , kyla begins a relationship with new general surgical consultant abra durant . kyla helps abra cover up an illegal xenotransplantation he performed , and keeps quiet when she discovers he has been stealing and shipping returned anti - retroviral drugs to african hospitals in need . when abra 's illegal dealings are uncovered , he is forced to flee the country , devastating kyla . shaken by abra 's departure , when max falls ill with food poisoning in the episode " feast or famine " kyla realises he needs a male influence in his life and begrudgingly allows harvey to move back in with them . harvey becomes physically abusive , is suspended from his work as a police officer , and begins drinking heavily . when harvey discovers lingerie bought for kyla by abra , the pair fall out once again , culminating in harvey falling to his death from the hospital roof . max , who witnessed this , blames his mother , causing her to lash out at him . as a result , he is taken into foster care , and although social services decide he may return to kyla 's custody , he requests to remain in his new foster home . abra returns to holby , and although kyla initially rebukes his advances , they ultimately resume their relationship , moving in together . abra makes a drunken proposal to her in episode " bad reputation " however laughs it off as a joke when she assumes he is not serious . kyla is seen to develop an increasing dependence on alcohol as she grieves for her son . when abra abruptly terminates their relationship in order to move back to africa , this alcohol dependence continues and worsens . kyla is devastated when max applies for a guardianship order , and becomes negligent at work , leading to the deaths of two patients . kyla admits she has become an alcoholic and agrees to begin attending aa meetings . initially this goes well , and she is supported by new consultant stuart mcelroy who is also an alcoholic . however , kyla 's confidence is damaged when stuart violently attacks colleague chrissie williams , and she resorts to drinking once more . she attempts to hand in her notice , but mark williams persuades her to take a voluntary demotion to give her more time to deal with her problems . kyla is shocked when abra returns to holby again , contemplating going back to both him and alcohol , but managing to resist . in the episode " send no flowers " , she is unexpectedly reunited with max when he arrives at the hospital to visit his foster brother , a patient in kyla 's care . after an argument , max suffers cardiac arrest and requires an operation . kyla suspects he has been neglected by his foster mother . max is initially highly defensive of her , but after a stern talking to by abra , and being implored to do the right thing by kyla , max admits to his social worker that his foster mother is frequently neglectful . kyla is delighted when he finally asks to come home with her . kyla briefly re - unites with abra , when he reveals to her that he was subject to a machete attack in the democratic republic of the congo , however he then leaves holby once more to check himself into a psychiatric hospital . when lola griffin ( sharon d. clarke ) finds abra being treated for post - traumatic stress by his own mother , she and kyla convince abra to discharge himself and return to ghana . shortly thereafter , max is accepted into a prestigious football academy in rotterdam , the netherlands . kyla hands in her notice , intent on leaving with him , however max convinces abra to return and take kyla back to ghana with him . kyla initially refuses , but comes to realise that max only wants to make her happy , and agrees to leave with abra , who proposes marriage to her . reception ayola was shortlisted in august 2006 for the " female performance in tv " award at the 2006 screen nation awards , for her portrayal of the character . the 2007 screen nation awards saw ayola receive " honourable mention " , again for " female performance in tv " , however she failed to make shortlist this time around . kyla has achieved mild popularity with holby city fans . she was voted fans ' fifth favourite newcomer of series eight in the official 2006 awards , and she and abra were voted fifth favourite couple of series nine , the following year in the 2007 awards . the level of dramaticism of some of the character 's storylines , as well as those of other holby city nurses was heavily criticised by the nursing and midwifery council . the lead article of the july 2007 issue of the nmc magazine tackled nurses in popular culture , discussing " the ease with which writers can attach terrible storylines to a caring profession " , and stating : " nurses who become prostitutes to pay the bills , nurses who kill their husbands , nurses who abuse the system to get their own way - holby city has always been a hotbed of slanderous storylines . good people doing bad things makes excellent entertainment ... the bald fact is that real life nurses doing their jobs well just aren 't that entertaining . " kyla 's " no - nonsense " personality has led to mixed reviews in the press . a number of episodes central to her storylines have been reviewed by various publications as televisual ' picks of the day ' - from her introductory episode , to the death of her husband , to the surprise return of her former boyfriend abra . her " fiery " stance resulted in the assessment that , from a viewing perspective , the character " has never been one of the more likeable members of staff " , however her descent into alcoholism drew some more sympathetic reviews , with linda gibson of tv quick writing of the character : " let 's hope that kyla pulls herself together , gets her son back and meets a man who can give her what she wants . " conversely , daily mirror tv critic jim shelley opined that the character had formerly been one of the more " normal " and " reliable " members of the cast , but criticized the handling of her alcoholism storyline , stating that the character seemed to have become an alcoholic " overnight " . in october 2007 , drinks ' industry body the portman group made an official complaint to communications regulator ofcom about a scene in holby city which depicted two medics drinking five shots of tequila following a stressful day at work . the body 's chief executive david poley claimed that in failing to show the negative consequences of this action , the series was presenting a " highly irresponsible portrayal of excessive and rapid drinking " . ofcom received a total of eight complaints about the incident . in response to the accusation that " we would expect the bbc to take greater care with the portrayal of alcohol in programmes " , the bbc released a statement tying the complaint closely to the alcoholism storyline being played out with kyla at the time , explaining that : " holby city is in the middle of a storyline in which a key character ( kyla ) has spiralling problems in her personal and professional life because of alcohol — a storyline that fully and realistically depicts the negative impact of alcohol dependency in the workplace . kyla has now been seen to seek help for alcoholism and the audience will see how she fares on the road to recovery . " in popular culture the 17 november 2006 children in need charity telethon included a segment featuring the holby city cast performing a version of hung up by madonna . ayola as kyla featured prominently in this sketch , performing the song 's bridge and providing vocals for its introduction . the 16 november 2007 children in need appeal again contained a musical performance from holby city cast members . ayola , alongside nadine lewington ( maddy young ) and phoebe thomas ( maria kendall ) provided backing vocals for sharon d clarke ( lola griffin ) , who performed a soul version of aretha franklin 's signature song , respect . on 3 june 2008 , bbc two cooking programme ready steady cook broadcast a holby city special , featuring ayola and edmondson . as well as competing over their cooking skills , the pair discussed their characters ' relationship and storylines .