Former Holby City star Rosie Marcel has announced her retirement from acting and is “truly happy” having made the decision.
Marcel, 47, who played heart surgeon Jac Naylor for 16 years until the series finale in 2022, revealed her decision to quit performing in a candid social media post.
Her character died dramatically in the series finale, tragically succumbing to a stroke after lifesaving brain tumour surgery.
Marcel revealed she has had a “really tough three and a half years” since it was announced Holby City would be coming to an end.
The 47-year-old told The Metro she has struggled to get a single acting gig since the end of the soap, which she describes as “really, really difficult”.
“A lot of that is, I would imagine, people can’t see beyond Jac,” Marcel explained, believing her long time in the role has left her too associated for other projects.
However, Marcel also believes entertainment industry prejudices have also affected her career post-Holby City.
“I think a lot of it is because of my age, I think it’s my gender,” she divulges.
Adjusting to that new reality was hard for Marcel, especially going “from a life of having really good money to having almost nothing”.
Adding to her difficulties, Marcel and her husband faced a deluge of personal crises over the last few years.
“My husband’s gym burned down, obviously I lost my job, Ben nearly died, I lost a couple of babies, I got caught in a terrible accident on the A41, another accident with a guy who’d been stabbed by his son. Just this crazy three years of stuff happened,” the 47-year-old explains exhaustively.
“I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years, and it’s time to step back and focus on other aspects of my life,” she concluded.
Despite a disappointing and sometime traumatic period, Marcel remains sanguine about her future and decision to retire from acting.
“Either way. I’m happy. Truly happy. It’s been a pleasure and a journey,” she wrote in her retirement Instagram post.
She continued: “I’ve given my bit. I’m happy with what I put out in the world. Delighted with some lovely successes. Made some great friends. Lost some dear ones. Lost my mind several times but always got it back.”
Marcel reflected warmly: “Learnt some great lessons. Gave and got back a lot of kindness. Laughed more than I should have on set. Didn’t laugh enough. What a bloody good bit of life I had.”
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Fans were quick to congratulate Marcel on her decision and express their sadness at not being able to see her on screens again.
“Gutted the acting world has lost your undeniable talent, but so happy you’re happy,” one replied.
“Jac has and will always be my favourite character and you my favourite actress and have been since 2011,” another enthused.
Reacting to the bittersweet post, a third said: “Well, that’s a huge disappointment, you’re such a talented lady. But, you have made a choice and I wish you well.”