apply. Prior to the interview, Lofty is "a bag of nerves", which are made worse when he arrives and discovers that the hospital's CEO, Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry), would be interviewing him. As Lofty settles, clinical lead Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) forces him to return to work as the ED is over-capacity. Despite believing he has ruined his chances, Lofty is offered the promotion. In November 2017, Lofty learns that Morven Digby (Eleanor Fanyinka) is estranged from her mother, Evelyn Chapman (Imogen Stubbs). When Evelyn is admitted into the hospital with stomach pains, Lofty starts treating her. However, he is forced to reveal Evelyn's identity to Morven when she tries treating her. Morven is "furious" with Lofty's deceit. Departure In late 2015, producer Hossington teased a new storyline for the character, which would not "disappoint" fans. She added that Dylan would feature heavily in the storyline with Lofty. The storyline begins in February 2016 when Lofty is challenged to run the ED in the absence of senior nurses Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) and Rita Freeman (Chloe Howman). Despite Jacob Masters (Charles Venn) planning to run the ED, Dylan volunteers Lofty for the job, which he reluctantly accepts after encouragement from Dylan. Mead explained that as a senior staff nurse, Lofty has been waiting for such an opportunity. Lofty panics when he has to deal with "football hooligans and AWOL patients", but regains control and runs the department successfully. Lofty hires agency nurse Diane Stuart (Catherine Skinner) to help with the ED's workload; an Inside Soap reporter described Diane as "incompetent". Diane struggles from sleep loss and when Lofty catches her taking pills to keep her awake, he asks to discuss it with her in his office. Diane reveals her husband recently left her and her teenage daughter so Lofty offers her a second chance. Lofty, Diane and Dylan later become stuck in a lift and have to resuscitate a patient. When she fails to remove her hand from the patient in time, Diane electrocutes herself and dies. Mead promised that Diane's death would create drama for Lofty. He revealed that he became emotional when he watched the episode. In the aftermath of Diane's death, Lofty begins to blame himself for her death and prepares to be interviewed by the hospital's board, who decide whether Lofty can keep his job. Dylan is "adamant" that neither of them were to blame and