Anton Meyer - Development

Development

"You smoke again, Mr Pearson, and I'll take you back into theatre and undo all that I've already done. You know what a bypass operation costs? Find out–you'd better have an answer next time I see you."

— Meyer at his "bullying best", in a postoperative visit to a patient on his ward.

Irving concentrated on his own ideas of Meyer's characterisation when playing him, believing it was important to ignore outside input, as Meyer in turn is unperturbed by others' opinions of him. Irving describes Meyer as a driven man, determined to only work with colleagues who meet his exacting standards. He feels that Meyer's "dry sense of humour" and bullying manner are both tools he uses to ensure colleagues meet his standards. Irving believes that Meyer's manipulative nature actually serves the greater good of the hospital, and despite his perfectionist and purist tendencies, Meyer is actually a great humanist, who holds his staff in the highest regard.

Graham Keal of the Birmingham Post observed that Meyer begins the series as a "hate figure"–ferocious, unbending and unsmiling, but is actually more complex a character than that, with "much to admire too." Peter Paterson of the Daily Mail described Meyer as "an arrogant, sarcastic, demanding tyrant", a surgeon who "insults his subordinates, terrifies the nurses, and unashamedly puts his social life at least on a level with his hospital duties." Paterson called Meyer "saturnine and sinister in appearance", likening him to James Robertson Justice's Doctor in the House consultant Lancelot Spratt. Shane Donaghey of The People compared Meyer to Hannibal Lecter, describing him as "Part panto villain, part grim reaper, with a bedside manner of a cruel vet" and commenting that he manages his department "with an iron fist veiled in a concrete glove." The Daily Mail's Christopher Matthew called Meyer "wonderfully supercilious", and "one of the great television monsters of our age", likening Irving's portrayal to that of a foreign spy in a 1950s British war film.

Meyer has a penchant for listening to classical music whilst in theatre, and has a "right-hand-man" in his registrar, Nick Jordan (Michael French), who is presented as Meyer's "more humane" counterpart. Meyer's catchphrase is "Walk with me", an instruction he issues to his staff while, according to The Mirror's Jim Shelley, "sneer imperiously" and "saunter around the wards like a Roman emperor, suavely saving lives and damning other doctors with their own inadequacies."

Irving was dismayed by the storyline which saw Meyer shot in a road rage incident, describing filming the scenes as an "unpleasant experiences", the worst aspect being that Meyer loses his spleen as a result of his injuries. Of the later storyline which sees Meyer investigated by Tom Campbell-Gore on behalf of the hospital Board, Denis Lawson explained: " actually rather fancies Meyer's job but if he finds against him in the investigation he cannot get the job because it's a conflict of interest. So he has to play a rather clever game, which he does." On taking over as head of the cardiothoracic surgery department, he commented: "George is fantastic in the show, but obviously I'm going to do something very, very different, so I don't feel that I'm stepping into his shoes."

After four years in the role, Irving decided to leave Holby City and return to performing in theatre. He stated: "I've had four great years but I felt the time had come to leave. The show has gone from strength to strength so now seems a good time to go." Of his decision to leave, Irving explained that, while he enjoyed Meyer's sureness and confidence, he found it difficult to "switch off" the character outside of work, and had been forced to "put the rest of his life on hold" whilst part of the series, deeming it to be an "intense experience." He felt that, had he stayed in the series, Meyer could not have remained enigmatic much longer, and believed: "you have to stop when a character's time is through." Following Irving's departure from Holby City, Benji Wilson of the Radio Times questioned whether he would ever consider returning. Irving responded: "I don't know–my feeling is that Meyer was of his time. He's the kind of character that belongs at the launch of series like Holby and I think that's where he should remain. The memory of Meyer is important to me and I want it to stay as it is."