Howard Bellamy is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Ian Kelsey. Howard first appeared on 28 May 2012, where he is introduced as the practice manager of the fictional Mill Health Centre. Kelsey was cast in the soap following the departure of Julia Parsons (Diane Keen), the practice manager prior to Howard. He is an ex-army captain, and producers deliberately made his personality different to Julia's. Howard was based on a real person since producers had heard of a situation where somebody quit the army to become the practice manager of a doctor's surgery. Kelsey spoke to a real-life practice manager to aid his accuracy in the role.
Howard's storylines in the programme included suffering from bulimia, his on-off relationship with colleague Emma Reid (Dido Miles) and dealing with the miscarriage of their child together. After a brain aneurysm, Howard dies, and made his last appearance on 26 October 2015. Kelsey received numerous nominations at award ceremonies for his portrayal of Howard, including being longlisted for a British Soap Award for Best Actor, as well as being nominated for Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards.
Storylines
Howard first appears when he is introduced by Heston Carter (Owen Brenman) as the new replacement of Julia Parsons (Diane Keen) as the new Practice Manager of The Mill. Howard is a last minute applicant for the job, and asks for a big salary in comparison to the other candidate, Mrs Tembe (Lorna Laidlaw). However, Howard is chosen as there is a re-accreditation at the Mill, needing someone to take charge throughout this. Howard divides opinion between the team, as Kevin Tyler (Simon Rivers) begins to like him, however Freya Wilson (Lu Corfield), Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh) and Elaine Cassidy (Janet Dibley) dislike him in contrast to Julia. After Howard learns that Gary Lucas (Iain Fletcher), a former acquaintance from his military days, is planning to open a rival clinic nearby the Mill, Howard develops bulimia. He purchases a large amount of food, and binges all of it upon returning home, then forces himself to vomit what he ate. Colleague Emma Reid (Dido Miles) discovers Howard's eating disorder and attempts to get him help, but he makes her promise to keep it a secret if he stops.
Howard begins dating army officer Gina Williams (Victoria Pritchard), but after a short-lived relationship, Howard decides that he is more interested in Emma. Emma and Howard begin a relationship despite her being married to husband Sam (Grant Masters), since Sam allows her to see other people due to his disability. After Sam's death, the pair decide to have a "40 Day Date". The relationship later ends, but after Emma discovers that she is pregnant, they decide to become a couple again, since they want to be a family unit. At a baby scan, Ruhma Carter (Bharti Patel) is unable to find a heartbeat, and confirms that Emma has miscarried. Howard is upset, but affirms that he still wants to be with Emma, and states that he has an important question to ask her later. He steps out to get a drink, but on the way back, he collapses due to a brain aneurism. Doctors and nurses attempt to resuscitate him, but he is pronounced dead with Emma at his side. While planning his funeral, Emma reveals to Niamh Donoghue (Jessica Regan) that he had a daughter, Amelia Sullivan, whom he walked out on so that she could become accustomed to her stepfather. Emma calls Amelia, who refuses to come to his funeral.