After 10 seasons on Spain’s Hospital Central, Fátima Baeza has announced that she will be leaving the show next season. And, in true lesbian fashion, she’ll be taking her partner with her.
Baeza plays Esther and Patricia Vico plays Maca. Together, they form one of the most popular lesbian couples in Spanish TV history. Yesterday, in individual statements, they announced that they have decided to pursue career opportunities away from the popular medical drama .
Baeza and Vico made TV history in 2005 when their characters, Chief Nurse Esther García and pediatrician Maca Fernández Wilson, were married on national primetime television. Their wedding followed the legalization of same-sex marriage in Spain.
Before them, most lesbian characters in Spain were trapped on cable. The lucky few who made it to the free national channels like Antena 3, Telecino and Cuatro didn’t make it to primetime. Esther and Maca changed all that; they opened the door for an influx of gay and lesbian characters on Spanish TV.
Esther and Maca’s relationship hasn’t exactly been stable. There were one night stands, accidental pregnancies, occasional adultery and even a pretty serious break-up, but that’s standard soap shenanigans. Esther and Maca’s relationship was written just like the straight relationships on Hospital Central.
In their statements yesterday, both Baeza and Vico expressed their thanks to the audience and writers for allowing them to play such authentic, groundbreaking characters.
What’s in store for Esther and Maca in their final episodes? Since they are leaving the show at the same time, we’ve got our fingers crossed for a happy ending.
How do you feel about Fátima Baeza and Patricia Vico’s decisions to leave Hospital Central?
