Emma Reid

Dr. Emma Reid is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera "Doctors", portrayed by Dido Miles. Emma made her first appearance on 2 October 2012. Emma's storylines in the soap have included her romances with Sam Reid (Grant Masters), Howard Bellamy (Ian Kelsey) and Jasmine Dajani (Lara Sawalha), dealing with Sam's assisted suicide, having a miscarriage, grieving over Howard, lying to the police and being the victim of a homophobic assault. Emma is the first pansexual character to be featured in a British soap opera.
Development.
It was first announced that Miles was to play a new regular character on her official credits in June 2012. Described as "attractive", "more than qualified", and set to "cause quite a stir" by Digital Spy, Miles' casting was confirmed on 23 September 2012. Emma is introduced as knowing Howard Bellamy (Ian Kelsey), but when she arrives, her and Howard both "clearly decide not to acknowledge that they know each other at all". Although Emma is only meant to be a temporary replacement, The Mill is suffering from staffing issues, so Howard is "forced to accept defeat", despite him not being pleased that Emma has arrived. On her official BBC profile, it describes Emma as "fun", "flirty", "teasing" and "selfish", adding that she uses "charm to get what she wants". Nathan Wright, who plays Emma's onscreen son Chris, said that Miles is "wonderful". "She's a fine actress and a joy to work with. We have a strong friendship off screen which naturally makes our job easier and more enjoyable. We live together in Birmingham and love naff TV shows". 
Of Chris and Emma's family, the BBC said, "mother to Chris and wife to the ailing Sam, her difficult relationship with her son is a constant thorn in her side, since she feels that she was never the best wife or mother. Her husband, Sam has sanctioned her to have flings. Emma doesn't wear a wedding ring to work which can cause confusion – something she enjoys". In 2013, Sam expresses that he wants to end his life due to his disability and depression. Actress Miles described the storyline as "great", and that "from an acting point of view, it's a real luxury to have that opportunity. It's been fantastic to work on". She added that she was nervous to film the scenes, stating "you want to get it right. You want to do it justice, so I had nerves and excitement in equal measure when we started on this storyline". On Emma dealing with his depression, she commented: "I think Emma has an idea of how depressed Sam is, but I think she's slightly in denial. She wants to make it right and wants to find a way through it for him". She also confirmed that the storyline's repercussions would be played out over a long time, There isn't a definite cut-off point to this story - it goes on and feeds into other things. You'll see that as it unfolds."
In 2020, when asked who Emma's "dream date" would be, Miles responded that it would be Howard, who died in 2014. She stated that Emma "never really got over him", and that if Howard were to live, Emma's life "would have been different". When asked by "Inside Soap" if Emma is like anybody that Miles knows in real life, she compared her character to her own GP. She also noted how Emma loves 1970s Motown music, and would love to party at the The Nightingale.
Storylines.
Emma is introduced alongside husband Sam (Grant Masters) and son Chris (Nathan Wright). Sam allows Emma to have relationships with other people, since he is disabled and wants her to feel fulfilled. She begins an on-off relationship with Howard Bellamy (Ian Kelsey), and the pair embark on a number of dates. When Sam's pain caused by his disability increases, he develops depression. He expresses that he wishes to end his life, and convinces Chris to assist him in committing suicide. After the death of Sam, Emma initially struggles to move on, but continues her relationship with Howard. The relationship does not work out, but when Emma discovers that she is pregnant, they agree to try again. However, she suffers a miscarriage, and moments later, Howard has a brain aneurism and dies.
Emma explores her sexuality by getting into a relationship with female friend Lena Baker (Josephine Butler), despite Lena being married. However, the pair split. In 2017, Bren Lee (Andrea Gordon), the mother of Emma's colleague Ayesha (Laura Rollins), is brought into custody at the police station. Emma does not check over Bren's health, as she physically appears to be fine; Emma is shocked to find that Bren has died in police custody. Rob Hollins (Chris Walker), the sergeant on shift at the time, had a blackout when he was due to be checking over Bren, and he confides in Emma that he feels responsible. Emma lies to the investigating officer, stating that Rob performed all of the checks diligently. Rob later confesses, and Emma is brought in for a hearing about her job, where she is almost suspended. Ayesha struggles to forgive Emma, due to feeling that Emma is trying to cover up police brutality, although they later become friends again.
Emma gets into a relationship with Gareth Regan (Edward MacLiam), but when she discovers that he is a drug addict and he attempts to rape her best friend Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh), the relationship ends. Emma later begins dating colleague Jasmine Dajani (Lara Sawalha), which causes confusion for Valerie Pitman (Sarah Moyle), who is unsure about Emma's sexuality. Emma confirms that she is pansexual. When Emma and Jasmine are assaulted in a homophobic attack, the pair break up. Emma opens up about the attack on a radio show with Tammy Beckworth (Amy Anderson), and after the success of her segment, Tammy offers her a regular radio show. Emma begins a relationship with restauranteur Aashiq Sawney (Raj Ghatak), but when Valerie sees him with wife Monita Sawney (Perveen Hussain), she informs Emma that he is cheating on her. Emma forms a plan with Zara, who dresses up in a disguise to flirt with Aashiq, and when he reaches in for a kiss, Emma walks in and ends their relationship. Monita also sees the events, and ends her marriage with him. When Aashiq begs for Emma's forgiveness, she insists that they are over.
Reception.
In a poll conducted by Digital Spy, the five main soaps in the United Kingdom, "EastEnders", "Coronation Street", "Emmerdale", "Hollyoaks" and "Doctors" storylines were judged by viewers of the website, with the "Doctors" storyline of Emma's arrival coming last with 1.7% of the vote. 
In 2013, Miles won the award for Best Acting Performance at the RTS Awards. Later that year, Miles was nominated for Best Female Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards, after her involvement in the assisted suicide storyline. She also stated that following the storyline, she received numerous letters "from people who live with that situation", praising Miles for her portrayal of the storyline. In 2015, she was nominated again for Best Acting Performance at the RTS Awards. Then in 2016, she was nominated for Best On-Screen Partnership alongside Ian Kelsey at the British Soap Awards. In 2020, Miles was nominated for Best Daytime Star at the "Inside Soap" Awards.