Tess Bateman is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by Suzanne Packer. She first appears in the series eighteen episode "End of the Line (Part 1)", originally broadcast on 13 September 2003. The character is introduced as an emergency nurse practitioner in the emergency department (ED) of Holby City Hospital, but was later promoted to clinical nurse manager. For the role, Packer relocated from New York City to her hometown of Cardiff, and commenced filming in April 2003. Tess is characterised as a "traditionalist" with a good work ethic. She is highly experienced in her field and will protect her staff at all times. Packer drew on her experience as a teacher and her mother's experience as a nurse to develop the character.
The character develops friendships with Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) and Abs Denham (James Redmond). Producers introduced Tess's family – husband Mike Bateman (Louis Emerick) and son Sam Bateman (Luke Bailey) – to the series. Packer and Emerick had previously portrayed a married couple on Brookside and had a natural connection. The family's plots feature the breakdown of Tess and Mike's marriage and Sam's bipolar disorder. Writers have involved Tess in dangerous situations. On one occasion, she was drugged and held at knifepoint by Sam's girlfriend, Fleur Butler (Laura Donnelly), and on another, she became impaled on a metal girder after clashing with a teenage patient.
One of the character's later stories saw her have an affair with married nurse Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher (Alex Walkinshaw), a story which played out over two years. The story concludes with Fletch's exit after Tess is involved in a train crash. Packer quit the show in 2015 and Tess departs in the series twenty-nine episode "Forsaking All Others – Part One", originally broadcast on 22 August 2015. The actress reprised her role for a cameo appearance in the show's thirtieth anniversary episode "Too Old for This Shift", first broadcast on 27 August 2016. Packer returned again in 2021 for a two-part Christmas special. For her portrayal of Tess, Packer won the 2006 Screen Nation Award for Female Performance in television. The character has received a mostly positive response from critics, with a reporter from The Telegraph including her in the show's ten best characters.
Casting On 24 April 2003, it was announced that actress Suzanne Packer had joined the cast as Tess Bateman, an emergency nurse practitioner (ENP) in the emergency department (ED) of Holby City Hospital. Packer attended an audition for the role, where she was offered the part. The actress liked the security the regular role of Tess offered her. Packer began filming in April 2003 and for the role, she relocated from New York City to her hometown Cardiff, where her family are based. The actress had given birth to her son, Paris, in December 2002, so she enjoyed being near her family again. Her parents were able to help her with babysitting while she filmed Casualty in Bristol. Having recently given birth, Packer suffered from "nappy brain", stemming from sleep deprivation and causing her to struggle with learning lines. Where she would previously isolate herself so she could learn her scripts, she could not do this with a baby.
Packer had previously guest starred on Casualty in 1995 as a patient who was nearly killed. As this character, the actress was involved in a water stunt. The actress's mother was a nurse, so Packer would often ask her for advice on the medical terminology used in the script. The actress had to overcome her squeamishness for the role. Her mother's job meant that she never watched Casualty, but since joining the drama, she began watching it. In an interview with BBC Online, Packer explained that she felt pressure to maintain the standard of the show. After three years in the role, Packer expressed her enjoyment at playing the role of Tess. She told Claire Brand of Inside Soap that her character has suffered "a lot of trauma" and hoped that she would get a "reprieve soon".
Development Characterisation Tess is characterised as "a traditionalist" who wants to maintain standards that she was taught in nursing college. She is billed as "quite old school [and] quite strict". She is a highly experienced nurse who knows how to handle others. Her appearance as "a kill-joy and inflexible" can cause her to appear like "a bit of a stiff" to the younger members of her team. However, Tess wants to protect her staff and will be there for them in "their darkest hour". Packer thought Tess's work ethic worked as she would get good results with little errors. She added that Tess's experience has proven that this is the best way to achieve the results and that she does not want to "make people's lives a misery". Packer did not believe that Tess was a "bossy" person and instead thought that she "wants everyone to do their best", so reminds them. The actress drew on her experience as a teacher for this aspect of Tess's personality.
While Packer did not always agree with Tess's opinions and worried that she was too "harsh" on her staff, she believed she was realistic, which she had been told by real life nurses. She opined that this made Tess a "complex character". Despite her strict work ethic, Tess has a "wicked, dry, sense of humour". The character is also quite maternal; this led Packer to opine that Tess would choose nursing over becoming a doctor. Outside of her job, Tess is religious and regularly attends church, but does not advertise it. Her backstory states that she was raised in Cardiff and is a third generation Jamaican.
Introduction and family The character is introduced as an emergency nurse practitioner, reflecting the rise in nurse practitioners being hired in NHS hospitals. Tess first appears in the first part of the series eighteen double episode "End of the Line", originally broadcast on 13 September 2003. In her first episode, Tess takes control of dealing with patients in the ED following news of a major incident, where a train has derailed and a tunnel has collapsed. Packer felt nervous on her first day of filming, but settled in quickly due to the friendly cast. She dubbed it "one of the easiest first days I have ever had". Tess establishes good relationships with clinical lead Harry Harper (Simon MacCorkindale) and clinical nurse manager Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson), but clashes with registrar Simon Kaminski (Christopher Colquhoun). In her early episodes, Tess fights to hire a mental health nurse, following an attack on nurse Roxy Bird (Loo Brealey). Consequently, Abs Denham (James Redmond) is hired and despite some initial setbacks, he wins Tess's approval. Packer believed that Abs exposed Tess's maternal nature as she struggles to be hard on him. The actress hoped the character would be used to explore topical issues facing nurses in the National Health Service (NHS).
Louis Emerick's casting as Tess's husband, Mike Bateman, was announced on 17 June 2003. Emerick revealed that he and Packer would appear in "a fantastic storyline, [which] we can really get our teeth into". Emerick was hired for four episodes. The pair previously portrayed a married couple on Brookside, and also worked together in the play Playboy of the West Indies in 1985, which was Packer's second acting role. The actors were excited to work with each other again and Packer felt their history aided their on-screen connection. Tess and Mike had been married for twenty years upon their introduction, and they share three children, including a son, Sam Bateman (Luke Bailey), and a daughter, Saskia Bateman. Tess and Mike are introduced in the same episode. Mike works at the scene of the accident as a fireman. He is suspended for negligence surrounding his work on the crash. Mike resigns from his job, causing Tess to worry about how they will cope financially. Tess secures him a minimum wage position as a hospital cleaner, while she becomes the department's acting clinical nurse manager, which Packer called "a pretty demanding and stressful job".
Sam is introduced to the show during series 19 as the new receptionist. Producers used the character to explore bipolar disorder, something Tess struggles to accept. Tess realises that Sam's behaviour is an issue after discovering him deleting patient files. She is "startled" by his distorted speech as he talks about how the information is "dangerous". Emerick also reprised his role during the series. Mike is surprised to learn about Sam's illness and is annoyed that Tess did not tell him. They argue and he "storms off", before being involved in a car crash, leaving him critically injured. Tess is "shocked" when Mike later files for divorce from her, and returns to work tipsy after a lunch break, prompting Abs to cover for her.
Drugging At the beginning of the twentieth series, in September 2005, Fleur Butler (Laura Donnelly) is introduced as a love interest for Sam. Fleur has a personality disorder, which makes her "highly manipulative" and chaotic. Packer explained that Tess dislikes Fleur and feels "very suspicious" of her and her intentions towards Sam, mainly because she is a "naturally overprotective" mother. On Sam's birthday, Tess and Fleur make plans to celebrate. While Tess plans for a small house party, Fleur turns the house into a "full-scale nightclub". Packer pointed out that it was "a bit over the top for a house party". Tess tries to express her concerns, but Fleur dismisses her, worrying Tess. Packer told Brand (Inside Soap) that Fleur has a "possessive attitude" and acts like she is "the mum and its her home". Fleur calms down and offers Tess a glass of wine, which she has drugged. Tess then collapses and Packer noted that she has no knowledge about what is happening. She commented, "Tess is completely in the land of oblivion".
As Tess becomes unconscious, Fleur stands over her with a knife. Packer opined that Fleur is "completely unbalanced" and although she appears "happy-go-lucky", she is capable of serious things. The twist continues into the following episode as Sam returns home. Fleur claims that Tess is drunk and has passed out, but soon admits that she drugged her. She claims that Tess wants Sam sectioned and he needed protecting. Sam finds Fleur trying to strangle Tess and interjects. Fleur then grabs a knife, but they are saved when Abs and Nina Farr (Rebekah Gibbs) arrive at the party. Packer enjoyed filming the scenes as she did not have learn any lines and had to lie in a bed for two days. She joked that it was "one of the most relaxing episodes" she had ever filmed.
Impalement In 2008, the character was involved in a stunt to mark the opening of the show's twenty-third series. The stunt took place over two episodes broadcast on consecutive nights with Tess's survival used as a cliffhanger between the episodes. When teenager Sammy Malone (Finn Atkins) is admitted to the ED, she clashes with Tess and wrecks her office, before fleeing. Tess is unimpressed and goes to find her on her break. Packer explained that Tess is "furious" and "wants to tell this girl exactly what she thinks of her". She finds Sammy at the local council estate and chases after her, ending up on a building site. Sammy refuses to talk to Tess, who slips and falls, becoming impaled on a metal girder. Sammy watches and does not help Tess; instead, she steals her phone and films her. As she runs away, Sammy is run over by an ambulance driven by Dixie Dixon (Jane Hazlegrove). Consequently, nobody knows where Tess is. Packer called this "a terrible twist".