Dr. Princess Buchanan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Laura White. Details surrounding her casting and Princess' characterisation were announced in February 2022. She was introduced on 2 March 2022 as a trainee doctor at Sutton Vale Surgery, as part of a storyline that sees the partners at the fictional Mill Health Centre perform a takeover of her surgery. Princess is initially depicted as a hardworking and ambitious doctor who is keen to learn medicine and progress her career, but over her tenure, she was developed into an antagonist on the soap. Her scheming included flirting with various staff members to further her career, manipulating Valerie Pitman (Sarah Moyle) and Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) into completing work for her, covering up mistakes with patients and blackmailing Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg), all of which contribute towards a suspension.
From her introduction, it was hinted that Princess was involved with the disappearance of fellow Sutton Vale employee Dr. Ashdown, who went missing prior to the beginning of the takeover storyline. Another aspect of Princess' backstory that has been touched upon is her strained relationship with her unaffectionate mother, Constance Buchanan (Linda Hargreaves). The character was later given a redemption arc which explored Constance's treatment of her, being wrongly accused of Dr. Ashdown's murder and having insecurities about herself and her career. Princess is later shown to revert back to her old ways when she realises that her colleagues will never side with her. She is eventually fired, after which she gets Valerie fired and leaves the soap.
Metros Chris Hallam felt that the addition of Princess to the cast had "generated fireworks" for Doctors and despite her "extremely manipulative personality", he was interested in learning more about the character. He found it hard to sympathise with the character but suggested that her unlikeable qualities may have been caused by a difficult childhood with Constance. Hallam's colleague Duncan Lindsay billed Princess as "an icon". For her portrayal of the role, White was nominated for the British Soap Award for Villain of the Year twice, as well as Leading Acting Performance at the 2022 RTS Midlands Awards.
Development
Introduction and characterisation
Laura White's casting as Princess was announced in February 2022 via a Doctors episode description on the BBC website. It was confirmed that she would be introduced as part of the Mill Health Centre's plan to take over Sutton Vale Surgery, where she works as a training general practitioner (GP). Metros Chris Hallam described Princess as an "ambitious figure". Princess is "not too impressed by the newcomers" coming into her surgery and Simon Timblick of What to Watch hinted that she would have a feud with Al Haskey (Ian Midlane) when she learns that he is the new lead GP at Sutton Vale. Receptionist Rosie Colton (Janice Connolly) warns Al that Princess is trouble and that there is something about her that he should watch out for, specifically when talking about the case of missing person Dr. Ashdown. The Metros Hallam echoed the onscreen hint, writing: "What does Princess know about the disappearance of Dr. Ashdown? Only time will tell."
When business manager Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee) gives Princess a tour of the Mill, she likes what she sees but does not notice the frosty reception she gets from Emma Reid (Dido Miles) and Luca McIntyre (Ross McLaren). It was noted by Timblick that Princess "makes an impression" amongst staff members upon her arrival at the Mill. Daniel Granger (Matthew Chambers) asks Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) to become Princess' trainer. Sid is impressed by Princess' skills as a doctor, with it being noted by Timblick that Princess is a "hard and dedicated worker". Princess meets with Daniel and Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh) to discuss her future at the Mill. Despite them trying to have her situated at Sutton Vale, Princess pushes them to have her primarily working at the Mill, since she prefers the opportunities it has for her career.