passing nurse." Dent deemed Harry unflappable professionally and a gentleman in his personal life, with old-fashioned principles with regards to women. In 2006, MacCorkindale experienced stomach cramps whilst filming Casualty and was diagnosed with bowel cancer. He had a section of his colon removed, and despite recommendation from doctors that he allow ten to twelve weeks for recovery, MacCorkindale scheduled the operation to coincide with a two-week break in Casualty filming schedule. He took a sixth-month sabbatical from the show, during which time he toured with a theatrical production of Agatha Christie's The Unexpected Guest. In May 2007, MacCorkindale learned that the cancer had spread to his lungs, and was told he had five years to live. He returned to film his final series of Casualty in late 2007. He did not disclose his illness to his colleagues, and found it surreal when scripts required Harry to inform patients that they had cancer or an incurable disease. MacCorkindale departed from Casualty at the end of 2007, having appeared in 229 episodes. He died on 14 October 2010, aged 58. John Yorke, Controller of BBC Drama, praised the actor, stating: "As the star and male lead of Casualty for over six years we owe Simon a massive debt. Not only was he a fabulously iconic consultant, he was also an inspirational team leader. One of the reasons so many people have loved working with him on Casualty is because of the tone he established on the shop floor—always welcoming, always disciplined, always quietly the leader." Reception Reviewing the 2002 episode in which Harry attends to a fairground disaster, The Guardian Rupert Smith deemed MacCorkindale "fantastically wooden". He described the plot as "ridiculous", highlighting the convenience of Harry happening to be present when the incident occurred. The following year, Smith again highlighted credibility issues with a plot which revealed Harry to be a friend of photographer Patrick Lichfield, writing that the revelation was "one of the most throwaway bits of exposition ever seen in British television drama." Fellow Guardian critics Sarah Dempster and Jim Shelley have both commented on MacCorkindale's "loud" delivery of his lines, with Shelley deeming Harry a "human Foghorn Leghorn", and Dempster describing Casualty as being "Above all [...] about Simon MacCorkindale, shouting. Then panting, alarmingly, as he peers through some blinds. And then shouting again." References External links Casualty (TV series) characters Fictional physicians Fictional politicians Fictional English